Swerve Strickland Recalls Emotions After Match With Bryan Danielson at AEW All In 2024

Swerve Strickland made history when he defended the AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson at All In: London 2024, and he recently reflected on his emotions after. Strickland faced Danielson with his title on the line at the 2024 PPV in Wembley Stadium, becoming the first Black World Champion to main event the famed venue. Danielson ultimately defeated Strickland to win the title.

Strickland spoke with Jamal Niaz of Monopoly Events and was asked about his emotions coming into the match. He noted that he didn’t feel the emotions around the match until after it was done. He also spoke about how his confidence has evolved to the point that he doesn’t feel the stress around such high-profile bouts anymore. You can see the highlights below:

On His Emotions After the Match:

“So honestly, the first emotion I felt was after the submission, I roll out, the confetti falls. I walk up the ramp and I’m with Nana. And I was like, ‘We did it.’ Because it was like, I was trying to do justice for him, because Nana was somebody who’s not supposed to be in this position. Nana was written off so many years ago when Ring of Honor was kind of like, getting bought out. So people weren’t necessarily like, clamoring for him. But then us coming together built such a historic moment — and not just in AEW, but in professional wrestling history. I was one of the guys that was just like, I was written off after being let go from WWE. People weren’t expecting much of me. Nana was written off, people weren’t expecting much of him. And we came together and made such an impactful moment, that we’re making history in Wembley Stadium as the first Black World Champions in wrestling history to main event Wembley Stadium.

“And we’re walking out and like, are we walking out victors? No. But we walked in as champions, and that’s a proud moment. That was the first emotional nerve that struck, because I was with him and we did it together and we did it authentically ourselves.”

On Becoming More Confident Over His Career:

“I was always saying that confidence is like a muscle. And once you start exercising it, it gets stronger. And so when your confidence — like mine early on in my career was kind of like right here [middle range], but I like started exercising it and it started growing. So my career and my physique, and my in-ring style — all those things, my creativity started growing because I kept exercising the muscle, which is the confidence in me.

“And then once I got to that point, it was just like, ‘Okay, I’m unstoppable. I’m undeniable. Put something in front of me that you think I can’t accomplish, I will conquer it.’ And especially when people aren’t checking for you, when you’re so off the radar, that’s where you become the deadliest because people are not checking for you. And then now it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m so in the forefront of it now.'” Now the expectation’s there, but my confidence has grown so much more because of that. And I just kept exercising that muscle, and now I’m just ready for anything that come my way. I don’t feel the nervousness. So I don’t feel the the stress and the responsibility that’s on my shoulders anymore. I just feel like, ‘I’m just going to give you my authentic self and you’re going to accept it.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Monopoly Events with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.