Swerve Strickland talks Will Ospreay, Other Wills, AEW, Sami Callihan

After defeating ‘Hangman’ Adam Page at WrestleDream, AEW’s Swerve Strickland caught up with Grapsody’s Phil Lindsey and Righteous Reg for a Fightful exclusive interview. Here are some notes from their discussion.

Swerve told Fightful that everything at AEW has been amazing. He said there had been a lot of movement within the company in the past month or so.

Swerve told us that he’s seen the AEW fan base taking to what they are doing and taking to The Mogul Embassy. He mentioned how the crowd has reacted to Prince Nana and Brian Cage. Swerve said the Mogul Embassy has had some big matches. He brought up Brian Cage’s match against Nick Jackson and Claudio Castagnoli. Swerve also mentioned Gates of Agony’s match against Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho the night before WrestleDream on Collision. Swerve added that he was proud of the group.

Swerve was asked how he felt about the AEW crowd being behind him when his character is not considered a “face.” The former AEW Tag-Team Champion compared it to the Marvel Comic character Erik Killmonger. Swerve said, “he's doing some bad stuff in the movie, but [you’re] either going to gravitate towards him or you're going to be appalled by his actions. (Killmonger is now widely known from the first Black Panther film. Actor Michael B. Jordan portrayed the character)

Swerve said it was a blessing to be back in Seattle because of the audience's growth and the recognition he’s getting in Seattle. He talked about his history with Defy Wrestling, which began in 2015, and mentioned his first main event match against Cody Rhodes.

The former NXT North American Champion talked about his motivations. Swerve said people knew his skills were already there, and he wanted to know what he could improve and what was holding him back. Swerve said he hired a personal trainer. He noted that he’s doing thousands of reps in the gym and putting in multiple hours for his workouts.

Swerve was asked how he plans to approach his upcoming match against Bryan Danielson. He said the same way he did with Adam Page at WrestleDream. Swerve said he had a hometown advantage against Page but will not necessarily have one with Danielson, but added that maybe Independence, Missouri, is Swerve’s House.

Swerve also discussed his friendship with Will Ospreay. He’s known Ospreay since Will was 19 years old and knew Will would be the best in the world. Swerve said when Ospreay won the Super Juniors, people still did not understand what Ospreay had to offer. Swerve added that he wants to wrestle Will in AEW when there is some hardware to show for it.

During the interview, Swerve spoke about Sami Callihan being a mentor to him and that he hopes to see him in AEW but just wants to see him prosper in the business for a long time. Swerve also talked about Adam Copeland joining AEW and wanting to face him.

Swerve also spoke about his relative and former host of Fightful’s Grapsody podcast, Will Washington. He said Will is working hard and doing great work, and we’re seeing much of his work on television.