AEW's Swerve Strickland Details Etymology Of Ring Name

In the present day, pro wrestling fans know him as Swerve Strickland in All Elite Wrestling. Before that, he was known as Isaiah "Swerve" Scott in WWE. According to Strickland, the latter came as a product of mass name changes across WWE's developmental talents as well as some of his personal rap influences.

"I came up with Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott because I'm a big Isaiah Rashad fan and Travis Scott, which is funny enough [because of what] Travis Scott's doing what he's doing now," Strickland told "Vlad TV," referencing Scott's recent involvement at WWE Elimination Chamber. "So [I chose] Isaiah Scott, but they allowed me to lease the name 'Swerve' to them, so if I'm ever released or anything like that, I get 'Swerve' back and I could still continue making my money on that."

Regarding the "Swerve" portion of his moniker, Strickland noted that it derives from "Mercy," a 2012 rap song in which Big Sean repeats the word "Swerve" throughout. "It was just a cool ad lib for the song," Strickland said. "I was just like 'Yo what if it was like Shane 'Swerve' Strickland?' That feels cool, like a boxer nickname in the middle, so I just ran with [Shane] 'Swerve' Strickland for like 10 [to] 15 years."

Upon his arrival at the Revolution pay-per-view in 2022, AEW initially introduced the veteran performer as Shane "Swerve" Strickland. Shortly thereafter, though, his nickname replaced pre-WWE first name, thus making him Swerve Strickland from then on. Under this version, Strickland has captured the AEW Tag Team and World Championships.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Vlad TV" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.