Swerve Strickland lifted the lid on his emotional tribute to Bray Wyatt at AEW Full Gear.
The Texas Death Match between Adam Page and Swerve Strickland at Full Gear is remembered for being one of the bloodiest in All Elite Wrestling history, featuring the use of multiple weapons and even a divisive spot where Page drank some of Swerve’s blood.
For Strickland, however, the match holds another meaning as he paid tribute to the late great Bray Wyatt with his ring attire. Wyatt passed away on August 24th at the young age of 36.
Speaking in a new interview with Sam Roberts, Swerve Strickland opened up about wearing ring gear inspired by Bray Wyatt’s Fiend character, saying that Wyatt was ahead of his time with his brilliant portrayal.
“I didn’t know Bray as close as a lot of people like Brodie Lee, there were people influenced by him from his time there, but some people have known him since FCW or NXT and they have that personal connection.
“To me, I remember when The Fiend was really going, there was a lot of chatter that it wasn’t for them, as a fan. I was like, ‘No, this is brilliant work.’ I don’t think people really appreciated the brilliance he was bringing to the screen and a lot of risks he was taking, week by week, which is not easy to do. Weekly television on two shows. It wasn’t just Raw or SmackDown, he was doing both shows with his material. Bringing that to the real world. I really appreciated that and I think he was ahead of his time.”
“His Spirit Powered That Match” – Swerve Strickland On Bray Wyatt’s Influence
Continuing, Swerve Strickland spoke about his interactions with Wyatt during their time in WWE together, saying that he was influenced by the late star’s leadership.
“I just wanted to show appreciation that the love and influence wasn’t lost. I put that as part of my gear, and I was in the locker room with him during my time at 205 [205 Live], he always gave me hugs. He was awesome. At one point, I had to help him with a Fiend mask. It was COVID and we were all in that box together. There were times I had to help him with that.
“There were times I would see him in Gorilla coming back when they were testing the red lighting after the show and getting that going. I’ve seen a lot of those processes with him. He was always a good brother in the locker room. He was fun, really cool. That was one of those things of, ‘you’ve always influenced me through all of this.’
“No matter what, if it was their taste or wasn’t, I’m a horror person, and I was really happy to see a new age of horror brought to the screen in an industry that I love and I was like, ‘Man, that was a revolutionary.’ I wanted to take a little piece of that into what I was doing that night. If anything, I feel like his spirit powered that match.”
According to Swerve Strickland, Bray Wyatt’s influence changed the lives of those who really cared about him, and he was inspired to push the boundaries of what was possible in wrestling because of Wyatt.
“It’s very rare that it hits across the board and gets a ten from every outlet and every fanbase. It’s just impossible in this day and age. Just know, it hit the right people. It hit the notes with people that really cared. The ones that it did hit, it changed their lives. That’s what matters. It definitely did for me. It changed my viewing and the possibilities of what we could really do in this medium and this industry. I’m going to take a piece of that and revamp it in a way that fits me.”
h/t Fightful