What Is The Next Move For Shane Strickland?
One of the most talked about names on the independents in the last several months has been Shane Strickland.
Shane “Swerve” Strickland has been stealing shows worldwide while racking up championships almost anywhere he goes. Now, the focus turns to the future of Swerve as he looks ready to begin the next chapter of his career. Speculation has been rampant that he’ll be joining WWE/NXT, but nothing is certain especially in the ever-shifting landscape of professional wrestling.
If you’ve attended or streamed an independent wrestling show in the past couple of years, chances are pretty good that Shane Strickland was a part of that show. Chances are even better that, if he did compete, he completely outshined everybody else on the roster. That isn’t a dig at the other wrestlers, though – just a testament to how good Strickland is.
The first time I saw Strickland in person was April 30, 2017, at WrestleCircus in Austin, Texas. Prior to that, I had to settle for only seeing him compete on Lucha Underground as Killshot. Having just moved to Austin a month prior, we were stoked to find out that indie wrestling was alive and well in the city but we weren’t quite prepared for just how good the match, and the rest of the show, would be. (Seriously, look at this card. It was pretty stacked.)
From that match forward, I was a Shane Strickland lifer. He continued to turn out all-star performances at WrestleCircus each month against the likes of The Lucha Bros, Sami Callihan, and Brian Cage until the promotion shut its doors in 2018.
Seeing Strickland in person made one thing incredibly evident – he had the star factor to raise any wrestler or promotion to the next level. From the moment his music hit, you knew you were in for something special. With the incomparable “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan blasting over the speakers, you were suddenly in a room full of professional wrestling fans losing all inhibitions and singing along (loudly) to a song you’d otherwise never hear associated with a professional wrestling show.
Regardless of his placement on the show, Strickland strides to the ring with a confidence and swagger you’d expect to see from someone already at the top of the card in a major promotion. The way he moves on his way to the ring commands attention from every eye in the building and those who are familiar with his work wait with fervor for the bell to ring.
What happens when the match begins should be enough to excite any wrestling fan whether Strickland is headed to AEW, NXT, main roster WWE, or anywhere else. There’s certainly no shortage of wrestlers on the indies who can bring a crowd to their feet, eliciting chants of “This Is Awesome!” or some more explicit favorites. Strickland, however, is someone who has proven that he can have those moments with any manner of opponents regardless of size, style, or match stipulation.