Despite graduating from prospective standout and into “The World’s Most Dangerous Man in AEW,” Swerve Strickland still has skin in the game. And as always, men like him recognize who will ascend to the same heights or higher than he has in his 18-year career so far. Although his tenure in WWE was cut short (2019-2021), Strickland looks forward to seeing how these budding stars, who aspire to be like him, will fare in the Stamford-based promotion in the years to come.

“WWE has some guys coming up, like Oba Femi, young dude, powerhouse, great dude. I look forward to his growth,” the former and first-ever Black AEW World Champion in company history shared in an interview with “Baller Alert” before listing off a few more names. “Trick Williams, like, charismatic, can talk anybody into a building; look forward to his growth. Je’Von Evans. Young guy. He grew up watching me, he said. Now, he’s 21-years-old living his dream on the main roster…Great kid; looking forward to his growth…Hopefully an influence on our side [AEW] influences their side [WWE], and then we both grow together.”

As of now, Strickland is on a warpath back to the top. After taking out “The God of Professional Wrestling” in Kenny Omega, for the foreseeable future, Strickland has acquired other beastly opponents, like Brody King, whom he faced at Revolution this past Sunday in Los Angeles.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Baller Alert” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.