Rich Swann will take on Trevor Lee tomorrow night on Impact Wrestling. Many feel the 27-year-old’s style is a perfect fit for the promotion’s X-Division. He was given an opportunity to show what he can do at Impact’s recent television tapings in Windsor, ON, Canada.
Additionally, Swann wrestled Austin Aries for the Impact World championship at the One Night Only pay-per-view, Zero Fear. He can also be seen on Major League Wrestling’s show on BeIN Sports, Fusion.
Swann recently answered questions from the media as part of Impact Wrestling’s teleconference call.
Rich Swann On Impact Wrestling’s X-Division
“Oh man, I was such a fan,” Swann said of the early days of the X-Division. “Seeing guys like Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal.”
Swann would also specifically mention AJ Styles as someone he enjoyed watching during this period of the X-Division.
“At that point in time in professional wrestling, there was only one company,” Swann continued. “Then to see these guys kind of throw out this style, this cruiserweight style, this style that had kind of been forgotten about thrown out and abandoned, and put it on TV, it mesmerized me.”
Swann emphasized that he was influenced by the X-Division style growing up. Winning X-Division gold was something he dreamed of as he aspired to be a pro-wrestler.
“Growing up aspiring to be a professional wrestler my size and stature that was one of my goals, if not the goal, to be in the X-Division to be in Impact, to get the X-Division championship.”
The X-Division roster is pretty stacked these days, so Swann will have no easy climb to the top. Current champion, Matt Sydal, recently Tweeted that he will be keeping his 3rd eye fixed on Swann’s match with Lee tomorrow night.
“That’s a dream right there for me,” Swann said in reference to competing in the X-Division. “That means the world.”
What’s Up With Rich Swann’s Hair These Days?
Swann’s recent haircut was addressed on the conference call as well. He stated the haircut is an homage to Minoru Suzuki. The “Beautiful Sadist” and leader of Suzuki-Gun often shaves designs into the top of his head and leaves the back longer than the top.
Rich Swann and Su Yung Moving Forward, Focussed on Positivity
“My wife and I are living a happy life,” Swann said on today’s conference call. “We would like to forget about the past and focus on the present and our future and focus on positivity.”
Impact Wrestling Vice President, Don Callis, addressed Swann’s hiring on an earlier conference call. He stated unequivocally that after speaking with Su Yung, Impact management (Scott D’Amore, Ed Nordholm, and Don Callis) made the decision on the spot to give Swann a chance in Impact Wrestling.
“(Su Yung) explained the situation to us and what happened and it was decided there and then between the three of us” – Don Callis
Yung and Swann are moving forward, focussed on the future, and focussed on Impact Wrestling.
