Swerve Strickland became the eighth man and first African American man to hold the AEW World Championship at Sunday’s AEW Dynasty pay-per-view. Mark Henry discussed the significance of the win the following morning on Busted Open Radio. He says AEW believes in Swerve and even though ‘representation matters,’ his success was earned and he’s got the talent to be in this new position.
As a multi-time World Champion himself, Henry speaks from experience. He knows firsthand what the win says about the company’s faith in Strickland the responsibilities that come with being the new face of a major wrestling promotion.
“To be a World Champion in pro wrestling and have a company backing you and believe you enough that you’re going to get the job done is big. I mean, you are the guy that’s carrying the torch, and just like the light was on Moxley and the light was on Danielson and the light was on Joe, now the light is going to be shined on Swerve.”
On #bustedopen247, @TheMarkHenry shares beautiful thoughts w/ @davidlagreca1 on @swerveconfident becoming #AEW World champion:?? pic.twitter.com/jLNtQWOfPa
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 22, 2024
Earned on Merit
The ‘World’s Strongest Man’ said AEW is confident Strickland he can carry the company like Kenny Omega, Hangman Page and MJF did before him. While it’s important for young fans to see people who share their culture achieving success in the ring, Swerve’s success has been earned through his talents and hard work.
“They didn’t pass up on an opportunity to do the right thing. It’s earned. It wasn’t because he was an African American. It was because he was talented and I feel like that’s a beautiful thing and representation matters and it means everything.”
Representation in Wrestling
Here are some more recent articles about wrestlers talking about the topics of representation and diversity in entertainment:
