Since his debut in AEW in March 2022, former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland has been a force to be reckoned with. Whether it was during his beginnings in the company alongside Keith Lee, or merging his “Mogul Affiliates” stable with Prince Nana’s faction to become the Mogul Embassy, to becoming the “Most Dangerous Man in AEW” during his heated feud with “Hangman” Adam Page, Strickland’s character has evolved many times over the course of four years. According to Strickland on the “Battleground Podcast,” evolution is key, as he doesn’t like to think he’s starting over from scratch.

“Every time there’s a return or me coming back, there’s an evolution of me. I always put it as like, bodybuilding,” Strickland explained. “You bulk up… you add all these things on to you and that’s when you get to the big weight, and then after awhile, you realize you don’t need that weight anymore, and you cut… So, it was removing certain things that I didn’t need anymore, like the Mogul Embassy, that got removed. Then the dark eyes, that got removed. The gold teeth, that got removed. The big fur coats, that got removed. So, it was just cutting… to now, it’s just like, the frame of Swerve right now is just leather and a tank top. That’s the core.”

He said that he doesn’t need all the “pizazz” now, because those are the things that people said got him over in the first place. Though, he questioned the reason for being where he is now that he doesn’t have those. He said he’s evolving into a more “adult version” of the “kids’ Swerve” that fans saw when he came in to AEW.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Battleground Podcast” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.