Swerve Strickland is calling out what he sees as one of wrestling’s biggest modern problems — wrestlers going viral and landing contracts before they’ve truly mastered the craft.
While speaking on the Cruz Show, Strickland reflected on how different the wrestling business is today compared to when he was grinding through the independent scene trying to build his name from scratch.
According to Swerve, his generation had to constantly hustle just to get noticed, whether it meant sending DVDs to promoters, emailing companies, or traveling endlessly across wrestling scenes trying to improve and gain exposure.
“Wrestling now is a different world than when I was coming up. I still had to get DVDs and shop my stuff, send emails to promoters and all that. Now it’s like you can go viral and be on TV or getting a contract just from going viral. I think everybody’s getting contracts before they master their craft first. And that’s killing their growth.”
The former AEW World Champion then explained why he still believes struggling through the independent grind is critical for long-term success in wrestling.
“Before you get the audience—the likes, the clicks, the retweets—you’ve got to grind it out first. You’ve got to hone in on your craft first. You’ve got to suffer. Because as quick as you get it is as quick as you’ll lose it if you’re not good enough and experienced enough to keep carrying it. So master the craft first.”
He also became nostalgic while discussing the independent wrestling era that helped launch stars like Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega, Penta, Will Ospreay, Mustache Mountain, GUNTHER, and Ricochet. According to Swerve, that era felt different because so many future stars were simultaneously pushing each other across packed indie cards in smaller venues.
“I miss seeing a Bryan Danielson being the indie star, the Kenny Omegas being indie stars. I miss seeing the Lucha Underground guys, Penta being a star on the indies.
Man, that era was so tough and so competitive, but we were all working together at the same time. Will Ospreay was coming from the UK and we were like, ‘Oh, that’s our UK brother.’ Then Mustache Mountain was coming over, and then Gunther finally came over, and we were just trading guys.
The indies were healthy. The best wrestling you were seeing wasn’t in stadiums—it was in these little clubs, because it was all of us at the same time. We were all rock stars in that era.
Ricochet was on the card and you’re like, ‘Oh, he’s on the card—I’m going to this indie show,’ and it’s 50 bucks around the corner. That kind of is dying now—the indie star isn’t really having that anymore.”
Bottom line: Swerve Strickland believes modern wrestling has become too focused on viral popularity and instant success, while the long grind that once created elite-level performers is slowly disappearing.
Do you think Swerve Strickland is right about modern wrestlers getting opportunities too quickly, or is wrestling simply adapting to how entertainment works today? Leave your thoughts and feedback below.
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