Swerve Strickland believes the modern wrestling landscape is doing young performers a disservice by signing them before they are truly ready, arguing that premature contracts are stunting growth across the industry.
Speaking with The Cruz Show, Strickland reflected on how different his own path to prominence was compared to what today’s performers experience and why he believes the current approach is creating a fragile foundation for emerging talent.
“Wrestling now is a different world than when I was coming up. I still had to get DVDs and shop my stuff, send emails to promoters and all that. Now it’s like you can go viral and be on TV or getting a contract just from going viral. I think everybody’s getting contracts before they master their craft first, and that’s killing their growth.
Before you get the audience, the likes, the clicks, the retweets, you’ve got to grind it out first. You’ve got to hone in on your craft first. You’ve got to suffer. Because as quick as you get it is as quick as you’ll lose it if you’re not good enough and experienced enough to keep carrying it. So master the craft first,” Strickland said.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Cruz Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
