Swerve Strickland and His Impact on DEFY Wrestling

Swerve Strickland, also known as Shane Strickland, has had a significant impact on the world of professional wrestling. His journey through various promotions, including DEFY Wrestling, has solidified his reputation as a talented and versatile performer.

Born Stephon Strickland on September 30, 1990, Strickland began his career in 2008. He has wrestled under various ring names, including Shane Strickland and Swerve Strickland. Standing at a billed height of 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) and weighing around 240 lb (109 kg), Strickland has competed in numerous independent promotions, making a name for himself with his unique style and charisma.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Strickland spent the first seven years of his life in Germany, due to his father's military service. Later, his family settled in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, where he attended Donegal High School. Shortly after graduating, he joined the Army Reserve at 17, serving as a 25U Signal Support Systems Specialist for eight years in York, Pennsylvania.

DEFY Wrestling Career

Shane Strickland's time in DEFY Wrestling was marked by memorable matches and championship reigns. He defended the DEFY Championship against a formidable lineup of challengers. Strickland earned his inaugural run via victory in a 4 way match in Vorhees, NJ at CZW in 2017 against DEFY Champion Davey Richards, Lio Rush, and Joe Gacy. However, he eventually lost the Championship to Artemis Spencer at DEFY On Edge in December of 2018.

A grueling match with Darby Allin at March 8th’s DEFY DRAGON SPIRIT wraps up Shane SWERVE Strickland’s run in DEFY Wrestling. Shane Strickland wraps up a storied DEFY career after a stunning defeat by Darby Allin.

Read also: Strickland's Unique Approach

Post- Dragon Spirit, correspondent Kevin Diers caught up with Strickland backstage and gave the two-time DEFY World Champion a chance to say some last words to The DEFYANCE.

Shane Strickland would challenge Cody Rhodes, at the inaugural Defy event, Defy1 in a loss.

On this week’s DEFYonDEMAND THROWBACK watch SHANE STRICKLAND vs. DEFY Throwback Thursday: Shane Strickland vs Darby Allin from DEFY PDX I at The Hawthorne Theatre in Portland Oregon.

Return to Seattle

Shane Strickland returned to Seattle Washington on Saturday January 19th 2019 with "DEFY NEVER DIES: 2nd Anniversary". Darby Allin returned to Portland Oregon on Saturday February 9th 2019 with "DEFY PDX 4: SLAMTOWN". Subscribe to DEFYonDEMAND.com now to binge on past DEFY events and catch brand new episodes of DEFYNOW every other Thursday. DEFY Wrestling can also be found on the Powerslam Wrestling Network, available on AppleTV, Roku, and Amazon.

SwerveCity Podcast LIVE

The hit podcast produced by DEFY Champion Shane SWERVE Strickland and MC extraordinaire Monteasy Moore is coming back to Seattle for another SwerveCity Podcast LIVE. This time, Monteasy will also perform an exclusive concert as well. It takes place on January, 19th before DEFY NEVER DIES that same night.

Read also: Discover the story of Casey Swiderski

This is following the show’s debut in Wilmington, Ca with PCW Ultra on January, 18th. Doors open at 3pm and tickets are $20 with seating being first come, first serve.

“Swerve and Teasy are incredibly hype to be announcing that the Swerve City podcast will be teaming up with PCW Ultra and DEFY for a double shot weekend. We couldn’t have made this happen without all our supporters help! ”- Shane Strickland

SwerveCity Podcast is a weekly display of topics that covers sports, life, music, and much more with special guests. Ticket On Sale, guests and location TBA. You can watch their first Seattle show on DEFYonDEMAND.com right now and subscribe to the podcast on all major podcast platforms.

The takeover continues!!!

CZW and Evolve Wrestling

Strickland made his Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut on February 4, 2012, in a dark match. On March 10, 2012, at Aerial Assault, Strickland participated in the main event. Then, Strickland started a feud with Joe Gacy. At Dojo Wars 6, Strickland lost the title against Gacy. However, Strickland regained the title two weeks later at Dojo Wars 7. In July 2017, he defeated Gacy, Lio Rush, and Davey Richards in a 4-way to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.

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On May 5, 2012, Strickland made his debut for Evolve Wrestling, where he teamed with Latin Dragon to defeat DMC and Nate Carter. On August 4, 2018, Strickland defeated Matt Riddle to win the Evolve Championship at Evolve 108. At Evolve 114 he lost the championship to NXT's Fabian Aichner, ending his three-month reign. After not appearing for three months, Strickland returned to Evolve at Evolve 121 on February 15, 2019, to face NXT's Adam Cole.

Other Promotions

In 2016, Strickland made his debut in Germany for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), taking part in the 16 Carat Gold tournament and later their World Tag Team League, which he won alongside David Starr.

During 2017's WrestleMania 33 three-day weekend, he wrestled seven matches for five different promotions, including four in one day. On August 25, 2018, Strickland appeared at Triplemanía XXVI. He and A. C. H. appeared at that event to represent Major League Wrestling through the MLW and AAA partnership. They were in a Four-way match for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship. Strickland would fail to capture the championship.

Strickland won the PCW Ultra Light Heavyweight Championship on March 26, 2018. He finished the year with successful defenses against Dragon Lee, Flip Gordon, Rey Horus and Darby Allin, among others. On December 7, 2018, Strickland defeated Pentagon Jr.

On March 9, 2019, Strickland gave a farewell speech at a DEFY Wrestling event, indicating he will soon be signing with a major company. At Wrestle Summit 2019, he appeared as PCW Ultra roster member. At the event he lost his PCW Ultra Heavyweight Championship to Mil Muertes.

Lucha Underground

Strickland participated in El Rey Network professional wrestling television series Lucha Underground. He portrayed the character of Lt. Jermaine Strickland, a military vet who carries dog tags to honor the memories of his fallen comrades and wrestled under a mask as Killshot. During the first season, he aligned with Big Ryck and Willie Mack and participated in a tournament for the LU Trios Championship, but they were defeated in the finales by the eventual winners Angélico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse.

In Season 2, had a feud with Marty Martinez after Marty stole his dog tags after a match between them ended in a no contest. Their feud ended in a Weapon of Mass Destruction match, where Killshot defeated Martinez. After the match, Killshot started a storyline when he received a letter from A. R. Fox, a former brother in arms who Killshot left for dead in battle. They faced each other at Ultima Lucha Tres Part I in a Hell of War match where Killshot won.

Two weeks later, The Mack reunited Killshot and Fox and won the Trios Championship. During Season 4, Killshot had a feud with Son of Havoc which culminated at Ultima Lucha Cuatro in a mask vs mask match. After losing the match, Killshot surrendered his mask to Son of Havoc and revealed his identity as Lt. Jermaine Strickland. As he was leaving the temple, he apologized to Dante Fox and asked to be relieved of duty.

Major League Wrestling (MLW)

On October 5, 2017, Strickland debuted in the main event of Major League Wrestling's 2017 rebirth show One Shot by defeating Ricochet. On April 12, 2018, Strickland defeated Matt Riddle at one of MLW's first major shows, to win an eight-man tournament and the vacant MLW World Heavyweight Championship. He lost the title to wrestler Low Ki after Strickland had a few successful defenses, with his reign lasting 91 days. Following that he feuded with Sami Callihan, which ended in a street fight won by Strickland.

On episode 32 of MLW's weekly program MLW Fusion, Strickland faced Low Ki in rematch for the Heavyweight title. After the match, Strickland grabbed a microphone and begun a worked shoot towards MLW management turning heel in the process. He mentioned owner Court Bauer and blamed management for his bad luck as of late. He ended the promo with, "As of right now, I am terminating my contract and I'm.." as his microphone got cut off. At the event he was defeated by CMLL luchador Rush.

WWE NXT

On April 12, Scott was announced as a participant in a tournament to determine the interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion, representing Group B in the tournament, where he was defeated by Akira Tozawa and Gentleman Jack Gallagher, but was able to defeat El Hijo del Fantasma. Scott then began feuding with Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, El Hijo del Fantasma's new ring name, after Scott claimed to be the only one who has pinned Escobar.

On the May 4 episode of NXT, Scott defeated Ruff in a Falls Count Anywhere match after A. J. Francis interfered on Scott's behalf. Tehuti Miles (now called Ashante "Thee" Adonis) and Briana Brandy (now B-FAB), forming the stable Hit Row.

On the June 29 episode of NXT, Scott defeated Bronson Reed to win the NXT North American Championship, his first title in his WWE career.

WWE SmackDown

As part of the 2021 Draft, Scott along with the rest of Hit Row, were drafted to the SmackDown brand. On the October 12 episode of NXT, he defeated Santos Escobar to retain his NXT North American championship, only to lose to Carmelo Hayes, ending his 105-day reign. On November 4, B-Fab was released from her WWE contract, shortening the group.

All Elite Wrestling (AEW)

On March 6, 2022, Strickland signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), debuting under the new name Swerve Strickland at the Revolution pay-per-view event. He made his in-ring debut for AEW on the March 11 episode of Rampage, defeating Tony Nese. The following week, Strickland aligned himself with Keith Lee in a feud with Team Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks).

At Dynamite: Fyter Fest Night 1 on July 13, Swerve In Our Glory defeated defending champions The Young Bucks and Team Taz in a Triple or Nothing match to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship. They had successful title defenses against the likes of The Lucha Brothers and the Gunn Club (Colten and Austin Gunn). They would then enter a three match series with The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens), defeating them at All Out, losing the belts to them in a rematch at Dynamite: Grand Slam, and losing to them once more at Full Gear after Strickland slapped Lee when Lee refused to use pliers as a weapon, causing Lee to walk out on the match.

The following month, at the ROH event Final Battle, Swerve In Our Glory faced Shane Taylor Promotions. Strickland began a feud with Sting and Darby Allin, starting when Allin defeated Strickland on the April 12 edition of Dynamite. On May 28 at Double or Nothing, Stickland competed in the 21-man Blackjack Battle Royal for the AEW International Championship, but was lastly eliminated by Orange Cassidy, who retained the title.

Strickland received a match for the title on the June 7 edition of Dynamite, but lost when he was defeated by Cassidy. After the match, Strickland and The Mogul Embassy attacked Cassidy only to be chased off by Allin and Sting. The following month, Strickland was forced to reteam with Keith Lee in the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament, but the duo were quickly eliminated by Allin and Cassidy. The following week, Strickland defeated Allin's protege and rival on the independent scene Nick Wayne.

On the July 26 edition of Dynamite, Strickland avenged his loss to Allin, by defeating him. The feud further intensified when Allin's ally, AR Fox betrayed Allin, joining The Mogul Embassy. On August 23, Strickland and Fox lost to Allin and Wayne, causing Strickland to kick Fox out of Mogul Embassy, ending their short term alliance, ahead of the duo's match against Allin and Sting at All In: London.

Strickland returned, for the first time since being placed in the coffin at All In: London, on the September 6 edition of Dynamite, confronting "Hangman" Adam Page. Strickland berated Page, claiming that if he was given the same opportunities as him, he would be the "first black AEW World Champion". Upon further mocking Page, Mogul Embassy member Brian Cage ambushed Page. The following week, Strickland once again confronted Page during his match with Brian Cage. Following Page's victory, Strickland challenged him to a match at WrestleDream on October 1.

The feud intensified at Rampage: Grand Slam, where The Elite (Page and The Young Bucks) defeated Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun) to win the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. On the September 27 edition of Dynamite, Strickland and Page met in the ring for a contract signing to confirm their match at WrestleDream. Strickland participated in the first Continental Classic tournament, where he finished joint top of his block with 12 points, allowing him to advance to the semifinal round.

On the February 7, 2024, episode of Dynamite, Strickland wrestled Adam Page with the winner facing Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship at Revolution. At Dynasty, Strickland defeated Samoa Joe to capture the AEW World Championship.

During Strickland's match at All In: London, Adam Page made an appearance, distracted Strickland, which allowed Danielson to gain the upper hand. On the August 28 episode of Dynamite, Strickland confronted Page and challenged him to a steel cage match at All Out on September 7, which was later made official. On the September 4 episode of Dynamite, a contract signing was set for the cage match between Strickland and Page. While Strickland arrived to sign the contract, Page didn't show up as he was at Strickland's childhood house, which Strickland had just recently purchased. Page proceeded to burn down the house as Strickland watched in horror.

After a brief hiatus, Strickland returned on October 12 at WrestleDream, where he started a feud with the debuting stable The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin). On October 30 at Fright Night Dynamite, Strickland defeated Benjamin, but would be attacked by a debuting Lashley afterwards. On November 23 at Full Gear, Strickland was defeated by Lashley.

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