AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland took part in the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door post-show media scrum to talk about a number of topics including how he is feeling after his match.
Strickland said, “It’s humbling, but at the same time it’s like me proving to everybody that I was right again. It’s one of those things I’ve got to constantly go out there and fight for every day. This man [Tony Khan] once said, being part of AEW is constantly, you’re always fighting, always defending. And I relate to that so much because I’ve been doing all my whole career. People think I’m good to a certain level, or the expectations on me are always getting lower and lower until I break through and they gotta create another ceiling.”
“And so like, I think me and Will, we had a chip on our shoulder to constantly prove why this place is special. And we are so competitive in every aspect of this game. And that’s why I’ve always respected him; I still respected him all the way up into this match. I have my methods, I get into people’s heads. And that’s kind of like my boxer mentality, I want to get in your head, and I’ll poke at every part of you until I get you where I need you to be. And that’s what got me the win tonight. But definitely, I feel like I silenced a lot of critics. And I’m going to have to do more, because there’s going to be more questions. Probably tomorrow, and then by Dynamite on Wednesday, and by All In in Wembley.”
On wanting to face Bryan Danielson at All In:
“I think he’s at the position to fun for me now, especially after tonight. But I still want that win back so bad. That’s something that still irks me to this day, that loss from Bryan. Because he’s someone I idolize and look up to, especially coming from the Pacific Northwest. We both share the Seattle-Tacoma native background. And from his career for the last 10, 15 years I’ve been watching and studying that man. And getting in the ring with him, feeling how special he is? That’s a win that I need to mark off of my list. And I don’t have a long list really, it’s very small. But definitely, Bryan Danielson’s at the top of it.”
You can check out Strickland’s comments in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
