Swerve Strickland Heaps Praise On Rising WWE Star

Swerve Strickland thinks it’s only natural that a WWE star will surpass him.

After establishing himself on the independent circuit, Swerve Strickland landed in WWE in 2019. He went on to become the leader of Hit Row in NXT, and the popular faction arrived on the main roster in late 2021.

But despite high expectations from fans, within weeks the entire group had been released.

While this marked a significant setback in his career, Strickland quickly bounced back and signed with AEW in March 2022. From there, Strickland has made himself one of the biggest stars in the entire company, winning a World Championship in the process.

However, despite his success, Strickland is already looking at those stars coming up behind him.

Swerve Strickland Is A Big Fan Of A WWE Star

During a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Strickland dismissed the idea that he’d be frustrated by comparisons between himself and stars like Je’Von Evans. He added that fans saying Evans is better than him doesn’t bother him because that’s how the industry is supposed to evolve.

“I’m always in favor of the next guys. Always,” Strickland said. “Some people, because we do this comparison game, ‘So and so is better than so and so. So and so is better than so and so.’ I’m like, ‘He’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be.’ That’s how evolution works.

You know, it’s not an insult to say, ‘Je’Von Evans is better than Swerve.’ I’m like, yes, he is. At 21 years old, he is better than I was at 30. I have more intangibles, because I’ve learned those things on the indies. He’s in the [WWE NXT] system now at 21.”

Strickland went on to reiterate that every generation should evolve past the previous generation, so Evans’s progress is impressive but expected. Strickland tipped Evans to find a while new level when he puts everything together.

“He’s supposed to be better. That’s because — who is he watching? He was watching myself. He’s told me to my face. He’s watched me and Lio Rush and guys like that. And he took it to the next level, which is what we did. You know, like, Ricochet watched the same guys. He watched Rey Mysterio and took it to the next level, because that’s what evolution is supposed to be.

Of course [Evans is] better than me. He’s gonna be [terrifyingly good at 30]. Like, he’s gonna be scary in the next three years. You know what I mean? But the point is, it’s like, I have all these other intangibles that just make me me. I can’t wait to find the intangibles that he finds that makes Je’Von Je’von. I can’t wait for him to find those things, you know?

But, like, is he better in-ring? Hell yeah, no sh*t. He’s taller too.”

Evans has been in several high-profile matches of late, most notably against Gunther on Raw. During a recent interview, Sheamus heaped praise on Je’Von Evans after “testing” him during a math at a live event.