Swerve Strickland understands that his place alongside Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed may take some getting used to, especially for fans who associate the duo so strongly with Big E.
Speaking with Black Couch Booking, Swerve made it clear that he has no intention of filling Big E’s shoes. Instead, he sees New Level as an opportunity to create something completely different.
Some people are going to have negativity toward it, like, ‘Man, it’s not Big E. It’s not Big E.’ And shout-out Big E. I can never replace a Big E. But we can do something new that moves forward instead of looking backwards.
For Swerve, the timing behind their AEW arrival was just as important as the talent involved. He believes everything from their entrance music to their debut at All In came together perfectly and created an immediate impact.
That’s why the New Level song with Third and Future on the track and stuff like that—all these things just hit at the right time, at the right place, with the right people to put a shockwave into the energy of the wrestling world, all in one encapsulating time. And I was like, ‘That’s the only way I could do something like that. These are the guys to do it with.’
Rather than trying to recreate The New Day, Swerve wants New Level to establish its own identity and move forward.
Do you think Swerve Strickland is the right partner for Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed?
