Swerve Strickland has had the chance to work for both AEW President Tony Khan and WWE’s Triple H throughout his wrestling career.
Strickland joined Fightful’s The Wrestling Perspective Podcast where he spoke about how Hit Row, a group he was part of in WWE, did have creative freedom in the company.
“No, there’s still a lot of creative freedom, because nobody could talk like us, nobody could write our material, so they kind of gave us like guidelines. When we kind of put our own little spin on it. However, the time would fit even doing small short promos with the New Day. We just came up with that right then and there, or doing something with Sami Zayn. We just came up with it with those guys there. What I figured out is that I was trying to create something that nobody else can tell you how to do it. Because it’s your’s and that’s where if you’re confident with it, people believe in it. That’s where a lot of my confidence came from. I know this will work, I believe in it because I am the one that can pull this off. I’m the only one who knows and sees three steps ahead how this can form and flow into what the culmination will be.”
“What I figured out is that I was trying to create something that nobody else can tell you how to do it. Because it’s your’s and that’s where if you’re confident with it, people believe in it. That’s where a lot of my confidence came from. I know this will work, I believe in it because I’m the one that can pull this off. I’m the only one who knows and sees three steps ahead how this can form and flow into what the culmination will be.”
Strickland pointed out how the confidence that Triple H had him in is the same confidence that Khan had him as well.
“So you can’t take this and put it with them, you can take this and put it with her, and I have to do it. I’m confident, I know I can do it, and being able to stand up to Triple H and say, “I know I can do this, I need you to believe in me.” You can’t help but be confident in yourself, and I think he and I knew he felt that, and therefore he put it out there for me. He just was like, “alright go, because you believe in it, I believe in it.” Now, Tony Khan is the same way with all of 2022, like even me taking pliers to Billy Gunn’s hands. I believe in this, and then he believed in me. He believed this would work, even bringing Kevin Gates and Rick Ross, all these things they do work. Because I believed in it and I have to be confident with it.” Strickland said.