Former AEW World Heavyweight Champion Swerve Strickland is also a former champion in WWE. Strickland is a former NXT North American Champion. Recently, the AEW star shared that he always wanted to be a ‘Triple H Guy’ during his time in WWE.
While speaking on the No Contest Wrestling Podcast, Swerve Strickland mentioned that he was unhappy as he was not one of the ‘Triple H guys.’
“That was back with NXT when I think I sustained an injury. I think I tore my meniscus or something. I was off TV for maybe three or four weeks. It was so short that it wasn’t really noticeable. Some people think I never got hurt. But I was off TV for three-four weeks and I watched… I went to an NXT taping and I was just like unhappy that I just wasn’t on this. It’s almost like one of those competitive things like, ‘You put this on? Not me?’… And you got to have that. You got to have that. It’s nothing against who’s getting the opportunity. But it’s like, I should feel I’m better than that. I should feel I deserve the starting job on any team. And that’s how I felt. I’m like, ‘I need to be a starter. I don’t like this.’”
Swerve Strickland asked Triple H what would it take to be one of his guys
During the same interview, Strickland mentioned that he constantly asked Triple H why he was not one of the top guys on the Black and Gold brand.
“So, I approached Trips [Triple H] and I was just like, ‘Yo!’ We had several conversations months before and I’ve said this in other interviews. I was like… I kept asking him, ‘What do I got to do to be one of your guys?’ You can tell who the guys are… You can just tell who’s really getting the rocket and the attention. They’re always main eventing, they’re always on the Live shows, they’re always…
“I’m like, ‘Who’s to say I can’t do that? You’ve hired me because I did that. But now you’re saying I can’t do it here.’ So, I was nice about it and I was patient about it like, ‘What do I got to do to be one of your guys?’ I had those conversations three times. Three different months. And then, when that taping happened, I’m like, ‘Why am I not one of your guys?’ And I pressed him on it.”
The former WWE Superstar then mentioned that it was William Regal who loved his wrestling style.
“And then coming back from that, I was like… You saw the red hair change, you saw the grill come in. I started wrestling Leon Ruff and things like that. And then, William Regal is like, ‘I like this. I don’t know what it is. But I like it.’”
Do you think Strickland would have been the top star in the current ‘Triple H Era’ of WWE?
