Swerve Strickland's journey to becoming one of the top wrestlers today

Before beginning his wrestling journey, AEW's Swerve Strickland enlisted in the US Army. Just two weeks after leaving Donegal High School at the age of 17, Strickland decided to follow in his father's footsteps and join the United States Army Reserve. It was a time that Strickland says he found solace that helped mold him into the man he is today. On the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast, he also mentioned how what he learned during his time in the Army carried over to wrestling.

"Man, things aren't going the right way. There's a way to figure this out. I'm gonna figure it out. And I've always kept that mindset through everything. It's not easy, but this is a challenge. With challenges it takes time."

- Swerve Strickland

While serving in the military, quickly began training to become a professional wrestler at the Ground Zero Wrestling Training Academy. In his early days, he would wrestle only near his Army base in Pennsylvania before making his way through the Independent circuit. He had a long journey in Lucha Underground, Major League Wrestling, and other promotions before signing with WWE in 2019.

Although he had established himself in the wrestling world already through the underground, Strickland struggled to find much traction with the company after becoming the NXT North American Champion. During his tenure in NXT, he struggled to become one of Paul "Triple H" Levesque's guys. On The No-Contest Podcast, Strickland mentions it was around this time when he came up with a new character and persona that was inspired by Wesley Snipes from the movie Demolition Man.

"I approached Trips (Triple H) and kept asking him what do I have to do to be one of your guys. You can tell who the guys are. They're the ones that get extra or multiple segments, getting the bigger matches. You can tell the pageantry is going up for some people. You can tell who is really getting the rocket. You've hired me because I did that and now you're saying I can't do it. I had those conversations three or so different times. "

- Strickland on time in NXT

That was when he made the persona change and William Regal was the first to notice. Strickland adopted some of the Snipes character Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man. It was at this point where he came up with such a brilliant idea of a character that WWE was never really able to capitalize on, but AEW has.

"That's where I got into a pocket that they (WWE) couldn't control. They didn't know how to. They couldn't maneuver it. They couldn't put their strings on it, but it's not their creation -- it's mine. And that's where I came in through the back door with Hit Row. I knew this would work and I had to be confident in the fact that I know what I'm doing and you can only get this from me and my mind. "

- Strickland on character change in NXT

The 2021 WWE Draft was the beginning of the end of Strickland's tenure in WWE. He lost the NXT North American title to Carmelo Hayes after holding the title for 100-plus days and was released along with the other faction members a month later. It all ends up being a blessing in disguise since today Strickland has grown to be one of the biggest superstars in all of professional wrestling today.

His character change in WWE was only scratching the surface to what he has already done in AEW. The former AEW Champion has become one of the most eccentric characters in all of professional wrestling today. Believe it or not, Strickland credits adding horror to his act to enhance it even more.

"Horror has always been an underlying tone in my character. Which you wouldn't think about with most black wrestlers. We're all very flashy, we're charismatic, we're athletic. I'm like, yeah, we're all those things, but what's that in addition to? For me, I'm not a horror character, but I have horror elements about my character that I bring into play like a Candyman. So I was like how do I take a Wesley Snipes Demolition Man Simon Phoenix in the ring and add a little horror to that."

- Strickland on adding horror to act

Strickland came out on top in one of the greatest feuds in AEW history with "Hangman" Adam Page. He beat him twice after having his home burned down and ended up being one of the most intense and personal feuds in wrestling today. Whatever the future holds for Strickland, he has worked tremendously hard to get to where he is today and what he's accomplished. Becoming the first black AEW World Champion in history, and also becoming one of the highest-paid wrestlers in the world today. The best part about it is he is only getting started.