Swerve Strickland Calls Christian Cage A ‘Ghost of My Past’, Says He’s Not Taking Him Lightly

In an interview with TMZ Sports (via Fightful), Swerve Strickland spoke about his match with Christian Cage at Double or Nothing, calling Cage a ‘ghost’ of his past. He spoke about their history and why he’s not taking Cage lightly.

He said: “Our history together dates all the way back to August 2023 at Wembley Stadium, we tagged together. I was the one that got put in the coffin by Sting & Darby Allin and lost. He has not forgotten about that, he has not forgiven me for that. I thought those things could’ve just parted ways and we would’ve just been good, but he’s also fostered Nick Wayne, we all know what I’ve done to Nick Wayne, I’ve broke into his father’s wrestling school and beat him down and bloodied him. If anything, The Patriarchy, the people that follow Christian, that’s kind of created by me. All of the bad things I did in 2023 created my enemies now. That’s my ghost of my past coming back to haunt me and Christian is not someone you want to take lightly, that’s a former world champion. That’s a legend in this industry. Don’t let his age fool you, the man still has a peak physique. He looks phenomenal, he’s smarter than he ever has been before. Daggers on the microphone, people believe him and he’s main evented AEW pay-per-views before. So, that’s someone I’m learning a lot from, but it’s also someone I gotta be more calculated and a lot smarter then. Once again, he’s a multi-time world champion, he has a tenure. I’m new, so this disadvantage is wavering there as far as intelligence. But, my physical is stronger than it’s ever been before. I’ve literally gained 30 pounds in that last eight months. My relentlessness, I can inflict a lot of pain. I put down Samoa Joe the same way, so I feel like I’m gonna do the same with Christian. I have a lot more tricks up my sleeve as well.”