Swerve Strickland says AEW has helped him flourish in a way that NXT didn’t, plus defends flame thrower

Swerve Strickland tells Newsday that AEW has helped him flourish in a way that NXT didn’t. He also defended use of the flamethrower and discussed Will Ospreay, framing him as a “little brother.” The following are key excerpts on those topics and more…

•On some of the controversy surrounding the use of a flamethrower at Double or Nothing:

“As long as it’s professional and it’s being handled the right way, I don’t see an issue with it. (In the Attitude Era), they would push the boundaries. I feel like it’s a different climate right now about safety and pushing boundaries on television in the world today. A lot of people are a little more cautious about things. I feel like, at AEW, we’re always going to get the reaction first, and then the emotional tie-in later . . . They’re going to react and say what’s on their mind, ‘Yada, yada, yada’ online. And the later on they’ll be like, ‘You know what? I did have fun. I didn’t expect that.’ And as long as I felt like if we provide something that they just don’t expect, I feel like we’re always going to be in a great position in wrestling world.”

•On why he thinks of Will Ospreay as his “little brother.”

“I’ve been wrestling him since he was about 19, 18-years-old when he was in the UK. I knew he was going to be something special before he even came to the States. I knew he had so much talent then . . . Now being here and on All Elite Wrestling in the United States, nationally televised product, it’s only going to get even more scary for like a lot of the roster in the upcoming years. But I’m here to show them that there’s still a lot to learn.”

•On how he’s grown since wrestling in NXT:

“From my time in NXT, I don’t feel like I had enough time to really flourish and showcase who I truly could have become. So AEW gave me the time, gave me the resources, gave me the opportunity, gave me the TV time, gave me the opponents, gave me the story, gave me the matches—all to improve in a very short time.”

•On whether we’ll ever get that Keith Lee match:

“That’s a question that’s above my head . . . I’ve always been available and ready,” said Strickland. “I’m not going to work towards it. I’m going to keep doing and push them forward doing bigger things. And we’ll see what comes on. We’ll see how things align.”

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