Rich Swann Names His TNA Mount Rushmore
Since 2018, Rich Swann has given his full attention to elevating Impact Wrestling (formerly known as TNA) by delivering fun, exciting matches and significant moments to viewers. This included a memorable nearly 200-day reign as Impact World Champion, winning the title from Eric Young at Bound for Glory 2020, then dropping it to Kenny Omega at Rebellion 2021. Swann appeared on a recent episode of "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and opened up about which TNA/Impact performers left a lasting impression on him when he was still watching the show as a fan.
"For me, [creating a TNA/Impact Mount Rushmore is] easy because these are the guys that definitely — especially when I was young and just started to get into pro wrestling as an athlete and everything like that," Swann said. "I would stay Sting, for sure. I would say, Christian Cage, for sure, because he was definitely a big jump. Once he left WWE to come to TNA, nobody thought that like, 'Oh, wait a minute! What's he doing here?!" The whole star on the thing and the video of his feet — that whole thing was awesome."
"Definitely AJ Styles," Swann continued. "The last one, though, you know what, you might be right. It is hard. Yeah, Samoa Joe, for sure. He definitely had a type of aura about him that was like, 'Alright.' And, at that point, too, he wasn't somebody that came over from WWE or anything like that. Both him and AJ were homegrown." Swann is still regularly competing on Impact television as he tries to earn a spot on other fans' TNA/Impact Mount Rushmore. As reported on December 22, 2022, Swann signed a new two-year deal with the company.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.