AEW's Swerve Strickland Discusses His Relationship With Adam Copeland From WWE Days

Adam Copeland and Swerve Strickland bonded when both men were in WWE. On the latest "Notsam Wrestling," Strickland said that it was their shared love of wrestling that brought the two AEW stars together.

"He started studying tapes, getting on the phone with me watching '205 Live' matches and dissecting them for like 30 minutes on the phone," Swerve said. "I got two of the biggest compliments of my tenure there, when [Copeland] said ... '[Swerve's positioning and offense] makes sense from a fighting-combatant stand.'" According to Strickland, Copeland said he saw a little bit of Bret Hart in the Mogul Embassy frontman. The other compliment came from 'NXT' head trainer Matt Bloom who said Strickland reminded him of former WWE Champion Randy Orton.

Strickland and Copeland soon ended up going in different directions; the former was released from WWE and joined AEW. Copeland would soon follow suit when his WWE contract expired at the end of September, debuting in Strickland's hometown of Seattle at October's WrestleDream.

Copeland and Strickland have yet to cross paths in AEW. Strickland had been tied up by his bitter rivalry with Hangman Page before pivoting into the AEW Continental Classic. Copeland, on the other hand, is busy feuding with his friend-turned-rival Christian Cage and his Patriarchy stable.