Swerve Strickland on How Important His Time in Defy Wrestling Was, How It Felt To Be In The Ring with Shelton Benjamin

Swerve Strickland made his return at AEW WrestleDream to respond to the recent business offer from MVP, but chose Prince Nana. After the show, Swerve spoke during the post-show press conference and discussed what it felt like to be in the ring with Shelton Benjamin, and how important his time in Defy Wrestling was for his career. Highlights of his comments are below.

On what it felt like to be in the ring with Shelton Benjamin (question asked by Jason Jones, Athletic): “It’s pretty surreal. Honestly, over the last year, I’ve been doing that. I got into the ring with RVD, childhood hero, I got in the ring with Jeff Hardy, childhood hero, I got in the ring with Bryan Danielson at Wembley. These are guys I’ve been studying since I was a kid. With Shelton, we’ve had a match before but to do it on a new stage, once again, AEW does a great job bringing in these guys, these legends, and really bringing that shock back into them, revitalize them for the next stage of their career.”

“With Shelton, it’s gonna be a true gift to the AEW fans.”

On how important Defy Wrestling was for his career (question asked by Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer): “Huge. I love Defy. That’s a flag I’ll always plant, and every time I get the chance to shout them out, especially in this state, I’m gonna do it. Defy really was the birthplace for a lot of us to really get to the next level, especially on the independent level, that was really where elite wrestling came from, especially for this area, Pacific Northwest, there’s only a handful of guys who have made a name for themselves out of this area. Defy introduced a whole new crop, a new wave, like myself, Darby, Nick Wayne, Brody, there were so many matchups, when they happened in Defy, they sparked a wave of attention across the country and then across the pond, in UK, and you had PROGRESS coming over and doing these things, New Japan started doing some work with them, it was instrumental. It really taught me how to truly be a star.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit 411mania.com for the transcription.