– During a recent appearance on Busted Open Radio, AEW star Swerve Strickland discussed the inspiration for his character in AEW. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):
Swerve Strickland on his character taking inspiration from Wesley Snipes: “It’s based off of Wesley Snipes. The core of it, when I was in NXT, was based on Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man. But it was a lot of Wesley Snipes-esque mannerisms in his acting. Then I went to New Jack City when I kind of transitioned over in to the Mogul Embassy/Mogul Affiliates type of genre.”
On also being inspired by hip-hop artists: “Then I started really feeling like a lot of rappers that I’m a fan of, like Playboi Carti. The black leather, braiding the hair back … the eyeliner or eyeshadow, those little elements of me were just starting to change and people weren’t noticing it but they felt something new.”
On how his character became even darker: “It was a purpose because of something Sting did to me that affected me that transitioned me to where I am. It’s a purpose for why this happened.”
Due to the draw with Hangman Page on last night’s AEW Dynamite, both Swerve Strickland and Page will challenge Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship in a Triple Threat match at AEW Revolution. The event is scheduled for March 3 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
