Swerve Strickland opened up about how a current AEW and former WWE star’s advice helped him gain Tony Khan’s trust.
Former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland was a guest on the INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast. Addressing his decision to re-sign with AEW, Strickland shared that Paul Wight (The Big Show) gave him some valuable advice that helped him earn Tony Khan’s trust.
“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.”
Swerve Strickland said Paul Wight shared a key lesson from observing John Cena’s approach in WWE. He said that Cena consistently delivered what Vince McMahon wanted rather than pushing his own ideas, which eventually led to his success in WWE.
“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.”
Swerve Strickland Said Changing His Mindset Helped Him Improve His Relationship With Tony Khan
Swerve Strickland then said he adjusted his mindset and tried to emulate John Cena’s approach. He noted that it helped him to prove himself as a reliable performer, which led to Tony Khan trusting him more.
“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,” Swerve Strickland said.
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