Swerve Strickland appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.
During the discussion, the former AEW World Champion spoke about returning with a new bulked up physique this past Saturday at the AEW Full Gear 2025 pay-per-view event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Additionally, the former WWE Superstar spoke about why he is presented differently in AEW compared to WWE, why he decided to re-sign with All Elite Wrestling and more.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where he touches on these topics with his thoughts. Also embedded below is a complete archive of the discussion.
On bulking up: “I am definitely bigger, and it’s miserable maintaining it. Because there’s times where I’m in bed, and I’m like, I gotta get one more something. Because Applebee’s is my go-to, at like, 11:45-12, most places are closing down. So let me order just a salmon and asparagus and rice. It gets there, and I’m like, I don’t even have the energy to use a fork. I’m just picking at it with my hands to my mouth and, in bed, just feeling like [crap].”
On how big he is looking to get: “I don’t even know. I didn’t even know I could get to this. Honestly, I got to a point where it was like, I didn’t know I could do this. What more can I do? So it’s like that’s the addiction to it.”
On why he is presented differently in AEW compared to WWE: “I would explain it to somebody like this. It’s like, you can have a talented quarterback drafted number one, if he’s not in an organization that allows him to be a franchise quarterback, he’s not going to play like a franchise quarterback. Your quarterback and your talent on a team is only as good as your organization allows you to be. If they don’t allow you to be as great as you possibly could be, then you’re not. Imagine a lot of these great quarterbacks that came through in franchises, if they had Bill Belichick [they’d be even better].”
On when he started to feel like that about himself: “It takes losing the job to really believe it. I also felt like I was too giving, especially when they handed me Hit Row. I felt like Triple H wanted me to be LeBron in the [Miami] Heat, scoring, not passing the ball. That’s why I don’t think we did as well. I think I should have gotten the ball and been the LeBron with the team. Like when he lost it in the finals with the Mavericks, I felt like I should have been like, No, give me the ball. I felt like that was one of those moments. I didn’t take that initiative enough, strongly enough, and have been the franchise guy.”
On why he re-signed with AEW: “Everything. Me and Tony Khan were bonding as well. I didn’t get that trust yet from him, and once I finally did, not only just to trust to do what I want on TV. I think people think it’s like, oh, just do what you want on TV. It’s like, No, it’s not like that. It’s trust to be like, I need something done on TV that will work. You’re the guy to do it. That’s a different trust. I got this information from Paul Wight, Big Show. We’re sitting at catering one day. Also one of the times I was just coming off tagging with Keith Lee. So I was like, in that little singles void, which happens to everybody. It doesn’t happen just at AEW, it happens everywhere in wrestling, when a tag team has been tagging, then you split off into like, alright, what are these two guys do? Who’s going where? So he was just like, you know, one thing that I’ve always respected about John Cena, and you talked to the man, I was like, he always brought Vince what he wanted. He always made sure Vince got what he wanted. He’s the only guy I’ve ever seen, I sat in Gorilla and watched him, where before he would go out there, he would say, ‘Vince, what do you want? What are you looking for?’ And he would go out there and gave him exactly what he was looking for, exactly what he wanted. He came back, and Vince was like, ‘That’s what I was looking for.’ So Vince was like, That’s my guy to get exactly what I’m looking for, whether you agree with it or not, whether you like it or not, he’s going to come back and give this guy what he wants. And that’s why Cena is where Cena is. I was like, You know what? Let me flip my mindset for like, always thinking, I know what the best thing is. Let me just find out. What does he want? Tony, what are you looking for out of this? And if it’s just a good match, cool, simple. You got it. Hey, Tony, what do you need out of this promo? I need these things. You got it. No bickering back and forth. No, I don’t think it should go this way. I was just like, No, what do you need? How do you see it happening? How much time do you want? You got it. And that’s where I started building the trust with Tony. And that’s where things start opening up more and more and more.”
