Swerve Strickland Admits to Not Answering Phone Call for WWE Return

Swerve Strickland’s run in the WWE lasted from 2019 to 2021. During this time, Swerve had established himself as one of the top wrestlers on NXT’s roster.

Strickland’s star power continued to rise and he eventually won the NXT North American Championship. Despite his growing popularity as a singles star, Swerve was put into a faction called Hit Row which marked the beginning of the end for him.

Swerve was finally released from his WWE contract in 2021 and he went on to sign with AEW. Since then, he has never looked back. During a recent interview with Smooth Vega Podcast, Swerve spoke about how Hit Row fared after he left the company/

“That comes from experience. I had a different experience than those guys had. I’ve known how to build myself from the ground up on the independents. I knew how to hustle, get here, get to there, put on performances and matches, and then go, ‘How do I get that?’ Then monetize that into this and make this into something. Everything, throughout my career, and to this day, I apply; one thing leads to another and to another. That’s kind of how you see those little things in my entrance and my music, my wrestling, my look, the sound, all that was weaving together from going from here to here to hustling. That’s something those guys still need to learn.“

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Swerve then spoke about WWE’s creative process saying it is not easy when a wrestler doesn’t have creative control. He then said that he never answered the phone call from WWE to return.

“It’s tough in that organization, WWE, it’s really tough creatively when you don’t have your hands on your creative, and it’s left to the powers that be to maneuver you how they see fit, and that’s not easy for anybody. For me, I was in a place where I knew I needed to be. I needed to be in AEW. When I got the phone call to go back, I didn’t even answer it. It was, ‘Nope.'” 

Swerve Strickland is currently feuding with Hangman Adam Page on AEW. The two men will face off against each other in a number one contender’s match for the AEW World Championship. Stay tuned to Ringside News as we bring you live coverage of AEW Dynamite.

What are your thoughts on Swerve Strickland’s comments? Do you think he has done a better job in AEW? Sound off in the comments section.