Nick Wayne Says He’s Very ‘Nitpicky’ About His Own Work, Talks Rivalry With Swerve Strickland

In an interview with Cageside Seats, Nick Wayne said that he’s very nitpicky when it comes to his own work and is always trying to improve in the ring. Wayne will face Swerve Strickland on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Here are highlights:

On being critical of his own work: “I’m one of the most nitpicky people when it comes to myself and my work. There’s matches that I enjoy and I love deeply and I’ll cherish for the rest of my life, but I’ll always find something nitpick. I’m always trying to get better. I’m always trying to learn, so I’m always looking for stuff to critique on myself, asking others for their critiques… And I always try to put other people’s input into my work.”

On working with people he grew up watching: “This is stuff you dream about. Growing up watching guys like Edge and Christian on SmackDown every Friday, and then guys like Sting that my Dad knew and I would see from like old WCW stuff. And then I would go on to study Sting’s work. It’s such a crazy thing to be able to be in there with those guys, especially at a young age and getting to just pick their brains and try to become a better version of myself through them.”

On watching Swerve Strickland: “I would show up to the DEFY shows and he was there since day one. He was the main event at the first show and he would then go on to main event all the shows. Watching him [at] 14 years-old, sneaking into these shows and watching him in the corner of the room, I ended up idolizing him. I saw what he was doing on the independents and everything that he’s achieved and where he was going. I was like, wow, this guy is awesome. I looked up to him, I wanted to be like him. I wanted to do the things that he did.”

On Strickland being his rival now: “Now, he’s the face of AEW. The AEW champion. He started in a new era in AEW. I’m proud of him. I congratulate him, but at the end of the day, Double or Nothing, we’re going into a war with Christian [Cage]. It’s all of us against him. We’re coming for blood, still. We’re coming for the world title.”