WWE NXT: Isiah “Swerve” Scott is redefining who he is, talks character shift

Even after two years with WWE NXT, Isiah “Swerve” Scott has only scratched the surface of what he can accomplish. Thanks to his most recent character change, fans who weren’t familiar with his work before coming to the company are starting to see what he’s fully capable of.

Leon Ruff has played a major role in his evolution, as the former NXT North American champion has been a thorn in his side for months. The two are set to clash in a highly-anticipated Falls Count Anywhere match that will kick off the May 4, 2021 edition of NXT.

Swerve sees it as another opportunity to show up and show out en route to capturing a championship. He hasn’t tasted gold yet in NXT, but it’s more a matter of when than if given his immense amount of potential.

Between taking care of business in the ring, putting out two new albums on Spotify, and hosting his Swerve City podcast, he’s busier and firing on all cylinders now more than ever before.

Ahead of his encounter with Ruff on Tuesday night, Swerve spoke to Daily DDT about how their rivalry has been responsible for his character shift, inspiration for his promos, how he’s evolved from his Shane Strickland days, what he learned from his time in Lucha Underground, and more.

Isiah “Swerve” Scott talks feuding with Leon Ruff and a potential partnership between NXT and MLW

Aside from a six-man tag team Street Fight in September 2020, Swerve has never had a singles stipulation match in NXT. That’s going to change come Tuesday night, and despite his inexperience with that type of bout in WWE, he’s had his fair share of Falls Count Anywhere wars over the course of his career.

“It’s showing new viewers of the NXT Universe and WWE Universe what I’ve been brought up into, this type of stipulation and gritty-type matches,” he said. “I came up in that in a sense, so the people who’ve followed me for the last 10 to 12 twelve years of my career, they know what they’re going to see. If they’re sitting next to someone who’s unfamiliar, they’re going to tell them, ‘Hey, you don’t know what you’re about to witness. This is going to be something special.’ It’s also going to be something uncomfortable.”

It was Ruff scoring an upset over Swerve back in February that caused Swerve’s character to shift gears. They’ve had terrific chemistry any time they’ve gone one-on-one, but their upcoming outing is sure to bound to bring out a different side to both of them.

He isn’t forgetting that Ruff is a former NXT North American champion and won’t be overlooking him once they step inside the squared circle together. He also recognizes that Ruff never stays down and that he’ll likely have to use the weapon he’s had stored away this entire time like an RPG game.

“He’s definitely my Spider-Man to my Green Goblin, that’s the best way to put it,” Swerve said. “Honestly, and I’ve said this before, but this type of match is truly more in favor of Leon because he’s the environmentalist, the one who jumps around, and he uses the CWC and platforms around him to turn defense into offense. It’s almost Jackie Chan-like. Jackie Chan was never an aggressive fighter, he always had to be on defense and use what he had around him as offense.”

Dave Meltzer reported last week in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE might be open to working with MLW and using them as a feeder system of sorts, much they once did with EVOLVE prior to its closure. As someone who spent time in MLW from 2017 through 2019, Swerve would love nothing more than to see more companies joining forces, provided it’s mutually beneficial and is a logical move.

“I’m all for crossover,” he said. “If it makes sense and it’s beneficial, I am all for a crossover with a brand… I loved the Bad Bunny match at WrestleMania because it was crossover appeal and he took it seriously. He worked hard and he was passionate and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed what he was doing, so therefore us as viewers enjoyed watching him.”

Isiah “Swerve” Scott on inspiration for his promos and comparing his character to when he was Shane Strickland

“Swerve” isn’t a nickname Scott had bestowed upon him when he signed with WWE in April 2019. Rather, it’s a moniker he’s been carrying with him all over the world since the start of his career a decade ago.

Prior to lashing out on Ruff, fans felt Swerve’s persona hadn’t been properly defined yet, and he shared that same sentiment. However, he’s happy with how his transformation into who he is today has been gradual over the last two years.

“I definitely wasn’t clearly defined yet [when I debuted] and I’m happy about that,” he said. “I’m really happy that there’s still more layers to peel off with me. I’m always thinking several steps ahead and that’s the way my mind works… I’m not thinking about the moment, I’m always thinking ahead. With this character, the hardest thing right now is entertaining the viewers. The viewers always want the results first and the steps second. It doesn’t work like that.

“When you see the last couple of promos I’ve been doing, you stop and you sit up in your chair a little bit and listen and scoot forward,” he added. “I always want to give a different vibe or a different feeling.”

Swerve revealed that he goes off the top of his head for most of his promos nowadays. He sees the red light on and goes to work stress-free.

He named Wesley Snipes’ character from 1993’s Demolition Man as one of his biggest inspirations for his current character and for when he cuts promos.

“The first inspiration for this character, and I don’t want to give all my tricks away, but the very first inspiration was when I was watching Demolition Man and watching the Simon Phoenix character from Wesley Snipes,” he said. “It was like, ‘Oh my god, this guy is sinister. He’s awful and doing drugs and kidnapping people and holding hostages. He’s taking on cops and innocent bystanders. He doesn’t care. But I can’t take my eyes off of him.’ Scene by scene, he steals every scene he’s on and he’s laughing about it. I thought, ‘Oh, man, I might have something here.’ Now I’m this evil scientist music producer.”

When asked about how different Isiah Scott is from Shane Strickland (the name he went by pre-WWE), he mentioned that there are some similarities between them, but for the most part they’re completely different people.

A segment of the NXT fan base would love nothing more than to see Swerve come out to his old entrance music or to do a character along the same lines of what he was doing previously. Swerve himself would rather look forward to the future and carve out a character that’s new, unique and creatively stimulating to him.

“There’s buyers remorse with fans who knew me beforehand,” he admitted. “They’re like, ‘Oh, I miss Chaka Khan and I miss this and that.’ Trust me, I miss it, too, but I’m pretty sure there were fans that missed Final Countdown from American Dragon, Bryan Danielson, but guess what it turned into? We learned to adapt and move onto “Yes! Yes! Yes!” and what he’s coming out to. Now that’s a staple. Now that’s a household name. With the music, fans know who it is before they even come out. I feel like fans will take to the evolution of Isiah ‘Swerve’ Scott and still have a nice place in their heart for where Shane Strickland was left behind.”

Isiah “Swerve” Scott reflects on what he learned from his Lucha Underground stint

Aside from his work with MLW and other independent promotions, Swerve also made a name for himself in Lucha Underground. He was one of the few members of the roster that was presented as a central character during its time on the air from 2014 to 2018.

Despite being under a mask and being called Killshot, his exceptional in-ring work shined through. He had memorable matches with Dante Fox and Son of Havoc, but it was really his rivalry with Marty “The Moth” Martinez” that put him on the map and served as a turning point in his career.

“[Lucha Underground] gave me the confidence to be a performer on TV, especially on a roster that’s stacked as it was. [John] Morrison was the top person with Prince Puma a.k.a Ricochet. You had the Fenixs and the Pentagons. You had the Cages, the Blue Demon Jr.s, the Chavo Guerreros, some of the most athletic human begins you’ve ever seen on planet earth. All on one card. Where do you fit in? There’s a lot of things in the ring I can do. I just don’t do it as good as them. That’s truly what they’re made for and they made a career off it. Jumping in that lane and trying to compete with that would do me a disservice.

“I had to take a step back, sit all night in my hotel room and think and really think,” he continued. “I just went a different way and got gritty. Honestly, it’s like the Leon Ruff situation: it was the least likely opponent for me that really helped me shine and that was Marty ‘The Moth’ Martinez. He really brought something to the table and I could use a lot and really start getting into my mad scientist lab. ‘I could do this, this and this!’ It really brought out some new elements to me that nobody else was really doing on the show.”

Now rebranded as Isiah Scott in WWE NXT, Swerve is ready to take things to the next level, first by taking care of Leon Ruff on Tuesday’s episode airing on USA Network at 8/7c.