Talha Asad Iqbal on January 25, 2023
Swerve Strickland is one of the greatest wrestlers on the AEW roster. Strickland is an incredible athlete, and his accomplishments in the ring are only growing. He has been praised in the past by Jon Moxley for his stint in Lucha Underground as Killshot. It seems Strickland has earned the respect of another prominent AEW star. Strickland earned Chris Jericho’s respect through his ability to boost ratings whenever he’s on-screen.
Wrestling television ratings have always been a big thing in the pro wrestling business. A prime example is the Monday Night Wars between WWE RAW and WCW Nitro, which is still talked about to this date.
Recently, Chris Jericho appeared on WTF With Marc Maron, where he discussed Swerve Strickland. To the Ocho, a great wrestler is determined by his ability to draw in ratings. For Swerve Strickland, it doesn’t seem to be a problem, as he always drives the ratings up each time he appears on-screen.
“If you get put in that top position and you don’t draw and people don’t watch your matches…TV ratings are so important. I read the minute-by-minute TV ratings every week to see, how did I do? How did this guy do? Who is drawing every week? You can kind of see this pattern of whenever he’s on, the ratings go up. Swerve Strickland is one of those guys. He’s not a ratings bonanza, but whenever he’s on, the ratings go up.”
When inquired further about what makes Strickland such a hit with the fans, Chris Jericho simply replied, “Connection”. Another person who Jericho believes has a connection and presence with the fans was AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill.
Chris Jericho further went on to talk about the importance of ratings to AEW CEO Tony Khan. He stated that if a star is put in a top spot and is not able to draw ratings, they would be pushed down.
“They [Swerve & Jade] are stars and I want to see what this person is doing. That matters. If you don’t draw…my boss, Tony Khan is a numbers fanatic. If you are put in that position and the ratings go down, you won’t be put in that position anymore. That’s part of it. You have to connect and people have to watch you on screen. If not, you won’t be on screen in that position, or maybe you won’t be on the main show, you’ll be on the next show. There are levels to that too.”
Chris Jericho would be seen in action on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, where he would be partnering up with Sammy Guevara to square off against the team of Ricky Starks & Action Andretti. For more updates, stay tuned to Ringside News.
How do you feel about Swerve Strickland? Sound off in the comments below!
January 25, 2023 11:19 am
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