Top AEW Star Claims He Didn’t Answer Call Regarding WWE Return

AEW, WWE

A top AEW star has claimed that he didn’t answer a phone call from the WWE regarding a return to the company.

Upon Triple H first taking over WWE’s creative in the Summer of 2022, The Game began a quest to re-hire many stars that were let go from the company, particularly those he had experience working with in NXT.

While many of these stars would find their way back to WWE, some did not, with AEW’s Swerve Strickland being one example, despite other members of his former Hit Row stable doing so.

Now, in an appearance on the Smooth Vega podcast, Strickland discussed Hit Row’s struggles without him in WWE upon their return in August 2022:

Strickland explained:

“That comes from experience,” “I had a different experience than those guys had. I’ve known how to build myself from the ground up on the independents.

“I knew how to hustle, get here, get to there, put on performances and matches, and then go, ‘How do I get that?’ Then monetize that into this and make this into something.

“Everything, throughout my career, and to this day, I apply; one thing leads to another and to another.

“That’s kind of how you see those little things in my entrance and my music, my wrestling, my look, the sound, all that was weaving together from going from here to here to hustling.”

Strickland then went on to reveal that WWE did in fact contact him regarding a return, however he did not entertain the idea:

“That’s something those guys still need to learn. It’s tough in that organization, WWE, it’s really tough creatively when you don’t have your hands on your creative, and it’s left to the powers that be to maneuver you how they see fit, and that’s not easy for anybody.

“For me, I was in a place where I knew I needed to be. I needed to be in AEW.

“When I got the phone call to go back, I didn’t even answer it. It was, ‘Nope.’”

Since debuting with AEW in March 2022, Strickland has gone from strength to strength, winning the AEW Tag Team Titles with Keith Lee and now embarking on a run towards the AEW World Championship in 2024.

With a potential clash with Samoa Joe at Revolution 2024 in the balance, Strickland will face off with Hangman Adam Page on tonight’s AEW Dynamite (February 7).

For all the latest AEW news ahead of the show follow this link here.

Transcript via WrestleZone

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• Swerve Strickland
• Return
• AEW
• wwe

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