AEW Star Swerve Strickland Details 'Epiphany' That Led To Wrestling Journey

Swerve Strickland is currently enjoying a huge wave of momentum after establishing himself as a main event star in AEW. Despite having an ego-driven persona that he likens to Kanye West, Strickland recently revealed his humble wrestling origins on his "Swerve City Podcast." According to Strickland, the epiphany to pursue a career in wrestling happened during one of his 4 AM shifts working at UPS.

"I'm like 18 years old at the time, and it was like 'I don't want to be here.' I don't want to pursue something that I don't know what I'm pursuing. You're just doing it but you don't know what's at the end? If I'm gonna pursue something, I wanna know what I'm trying to accomplish." Following his realization, Strickland called his mother and asked her whether he could go back home to live there while he trained to be a wrestler. "She's like: 'I'll support you in whatever you're doing as long as you're not in the streets, you're not doing drugs, you're not being a menace to society. I know where you're at. Come, please.'"

Additionally, Strickland claimed he didn't simply sit idly while training, and surprisingly worked in a cemetery at this time. "You wanna know what my job was to pay for wrestling training? I worked in a cemetery. I was a groundskeeper, I was like driving a little Gator around, making sure the plots look nice."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Swerve City Podcast" and provide Wrestling Inc. with a h/t for the transcription.