9 months ago
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Swerve Strickland believes he provides an aura in professional wrestling that no one else currently has.
All Elite Wrestling‘s Swerve Strickland was a recent guest on Busted Open Radio. When asked what he attributes to getting more over with the fanbase, Strickland said it’s all about creating an aura for himself that over people don’t have.
“It was all about creating an aura about myself that not a lot of people can really provide on the show,” Swerve Strickland said. “I watch a lot of stuff, I watch everything, I watch what’s going on in this channel, what’s going on this channel this program. I watch heavily about what’s going on in our program.
“And I always tell people that are trying to get a spot on main cards or on TV, a consistent spot. Not just show up one day, and then you’re not gonna see him for like three weeks and stuff. You have to create something that isn’t available right now. You have to provide a service. It’s just like any boss or any job that you go to.
“Like why do I need to keep bringing you back constantly over and over again? You need to provide a service that nobody else can provide. So, therefore, you become a necessity. So for me, it was about providing an aura about myself. A look, a feel, and for me, the feel was fear. And I tapped into that with like, kidnapping Billy Gunn, breaking his fingers with The Acclaimed.
Swerve Strickland likes providing a real type of horror vibe to his character
“Then I was like, okay, how do I double down on that? And that was to go into Nick Wayne’s school and just doing like a film. I’m a big horror film person. So it was just like tapping into movies like Hostel, movies that made you feel uncomfortable. But it was also very real too. It wasn’t too spooky type of horror film. It’s like no, this could really happen.
“That’s a very fearful thought and feeling to have, and for some people may be a little traumatic that triggers something in you to get a feel for that person, that character, that act, that segment that’s going on. So I just keep tapping into those things, that worked for me. And just the fact that it was an African American character in that setting doing those things.
“It made it just unique and different because we don’t really see that kind of stuff in our culture. We’re kind of like the showmen. We’re very showy and very loud and eccentric in a lot of our gimmicks and stuff.
“I wanted to be like what if I went the other way and made a very serial killer-esque type vibes, and like home invasion type feels and stuff and you’re just like, ‘Oh, wow. This is something unique we haven’t seen,’ and that’s what worked for me. So I feel like the fans really gravitated to that they see something that has reminded them of other films and stuff and I just kept doubling down and tapping in.”
READ MORE: AEW Fight Forever Season 3 Revealed, Featuring Swerve Strickland, Claudio Castagnoli, And More
What do you make of Swerve Strickland’s comments? Do you think he’ll become the new AEW World Champion at Revolution? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit Busted Open with a link to this article for the transcription.
