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AEW arrived on the pro wrestling scene five years ago, and since then we've seen several stars jump ship between the rising promotion and WWE. One of All Elite Wrestling's biggest names has just revealed a huge mistake he made with his former employer.
Speaking to McKenzie Mitchell on her new Threads show, the All Elite star Swerve Strickland talked about the mistake he made while with Hit Row in WWE. The 33-year-old said he should've stepped up as a leader instead of being a team player to keep everyone happy.
"If there's one mistake I'd say I made in the past, with like Hit Row, and NXT, and WWE... I should've stepped up and been, just... I'm the leader of this, instead of trying to be a team player. Team player... I wanted everybody to be happy and I wanted everybody to get their piece of the pie, and I wanted everybody to enjoy the good time, and everybody shine," Swerve Strickland said.
Strickland is currently a top AEW star in the main event scene. After signing with WWE in 2019, Strickland ended up as a member of the Hit Row faction until his release in November 2021 due to COVID-19 budget cuts. The former Killshot then debuted for NJPW, and has been with Tony Khan's promotion since March 2022.
Strickland's final WWE match came on October 22, 2021. He teamed with Top Dolla on SmackDown that night to defeat enhancement talents Daniel Williams and Dustin Lawyer, in what was Hit Row's return bout.
Swerve Strickland rumored for major AEW Dynasty moment
The inaugural AEW Dynasty pay-per-view will take place on Sunday, April 21 from the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dynasty will feature Swerve Strickland challenging Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship. This will be the first big world championship singles match for the 13-year veteran.
Swerve vs. Joe is rumored to headline Dynasty, which adds to the speculation for a potential title change. Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay was believed to be the main event at one point, but Danielson recently mentioned that their match will not close the show.
All Elite Wrestling has announced a big contract signing for Swerve vs. Joe on next week's Dynamite. The episode will air live from the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.
