Swerve Strickland finally got his knee fixed, but don’t expect him to start wrestling like he’s afraid of contact.
Speaking with Forbes, Swerve explained why he finally had surgery on a torn meniscus he had been dealing with since 2019. He said the injury was not always killing him during matches, but the aftermath was a different story, especially when he was limping through airports and icing it after getting home.
“It was nagging pain that, at the time, I was just like, ‘No, I don’t have to deal with this pain anymore. I don’t have to fight through something that’s irritating me and bothering me. Even in the ring, it wasn’t as bad. It was always post-match. Post-match was limping through airports or having to ice it for so long when I arrived home and stuff.’”
Swerve said after his AEW World Title run and All In Texas, he finally felt like he was in the right spot to stop pushing through it and actually take care of his body.
“I’m in a position after the world championship and after All In Texas where it was like, ‘No, I’m in a good spot. Let me take care of that so I can come back better and come back 100 percent.’”
He also said turning 36 and heading toward 37 made him think more seriously about preserving his body and avoiding a bigger issue later.
“Now I’m at the age, 36 going on 37 this year, where I’ve got to know what’s going on in my body to preserve it, keep it going, make it look as good as I can, perform as good as I can and feel as good as I can.”
As for whether the surgery changed how he works in the ring, Swerve shut that down fast: “Absolutely not.” Swerve said doctors found some arthritis starting to develop, but he’s using treatment to help remove pain and strengthen the joint rather than just mask the issue.
“They looked at it and saw there was a little bit of arthritis developing. So I’m on the medication, the peptides, and everything to make sure there’s no pain. Not just to mask the pain, but remove the pain and actually improve things.”
Bottom line, Swerve says the surgery was about extending his career, not slowing himself down. With Will Ospreay waiting in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, he clearly wants everyone to know he’s still operating at full speed.
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