Swerve Strickland on Returning to Perform at This Year’s WaleMania

– During a recent interview with The Athletic, AEW star Swerve Strickland discussed being a part of WaleMania this week. Below are some highlights:

Swerve Strickland on performing at last year’s WaleMania in Dallas: “I shared the stage with Monteasy last year in Dallas and played four or five songs and had a great time opening for them. This year, I’m going to be going solo a little bit.”

On the crossover between the hip-hop and wrestling fanbases: “It’s huge for wrestlers to see there’s a movement on that side, too. The fanbase of wrestling is very timid when it comes to that, when it comes to hip-hop … [They] don’t understand the music, how big the artist is, or [why] the music is aggressive. The WaleManias and stuff like that brings them in and they get a little more comfortable with it.”

On working with Rick Ross in AEW: “He is a passionate fan of wrestling, always has been. He’s so gung-ho about getting involved in a lot of things; he pitches ideas. He’s all about maximizing the most out of it.”

This year’s WaleMania will take place tomorrow (March 30) at The Novo in Los Angeles, California. The event will feature DJ Whoo Kid, Guapdad 4000, TJ Banks, Dr. Britt Baker DMD, Ricochet, Saraya, DJ Money, The Embassy, Mo Jabari, The Renegade Twins, EJ Nduka.