During Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry commented on the in-ring AEW debut of Swerve Strickland on AEW Rampage against Tony Nese this week.
Strickland was let go by WWE last November and he signed with AEW at Revolution. While with WWE, he was an NXT North American Champion. Henry stated that Strickland didn’t get a big platform in NXT:
“I thought it was a really good match. I think it was a great first representation for Swerve. Shane is one of the guys that I really liked down at NXT. Unfortunately for him, he was not allowed to really get into defending the title that he won because of the regime change and changing the brands. He never really got to be the champion that any of the other NXT champions were. I’ve seen him work against the best guys in the main events. A lot of people didn’t get to see it and it’s sad, but now he gets to shine and show people who he is.”
He continued, “I had a conversation with Paul White, and Paul White said, ‘I don’t know him.’ There are people in the wrestling industry that don’t know Strickland’s work. So now this is the platform that he’s going to have to use to create the national buzz. The regional buzz of working the indies, working Canada, and the middle at NXT, didn’t really give him the national platform. Now, he’s going to be one of the guys. He could work with anybody. I feel like he’s better suited as a fan favorite because he’s got some toughness, he’s not a pushover, and he can do everything. He’s very skilled and the fans will get to see that.”
H/T to
WrestlingNews.co for the transcription