AEW's Swerve Strickland Opens Up About His 'Guardian Angel,' Prince Nana

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Former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland has spoken in glowing terms about the impact his manager, Prince Nana, has had on him.

Strickland, who is still recovering from his brutal steel cage match with Hangman Page, stopped by "The Rich Eisen Show," where he discussed how Nana is faring without him on "AEW Dynamite" in recent weeks.

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"Now you're seeing how [Prince] Nana navigates the backstage without me," Swerve said. "You peel back another layer right there, and you see Nana's little excursions while I'm away."

Nana has been in a verbal war with MVP, who referred to Nana's act as "shucking and jiving," leading to Nana threatening to lace up his boots and wrestle MVP. While many are not taking Nana as seriously without Swerve, the former AEW World Tag Team Champion says he owes Nana a debt of gratitude.

"[Michael] Jordan didn't win anything until [Bulls coach] Phil Jackson came along, you need that extra push. I have no problem saying Nana taking a dance and a visual to a song took it over the top," Strickland explained. 

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He stated that everyone on his team has their role. He and Nana also had a shared background in music, as Nana was a DJ previously, which has made the partnership even deeper. "He's a guardian angel to me, as well ... If he wasn't there, what would've happened? If Nana wasn't there, I would've lost Texas Deathmatch. If Nana wasn't there, Luchasaurus would've killed me with a chair on the House of The Dragons match."

While Strickland is recovering, he's celebrating the finalization of his lucrative contract with AEW, which he recently re-signed for many more years with the promotion.