Swerve Strickland

Swerve Strickland
Strickland in 2022
Birth nameStephon Strickland
Born (1990-09-30) September 30, 1990 (age 33)
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Children3
FamilyFred Strickland (cousin)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Isaiah "Swerve" Scott[1]
  • Killshot[2]
  • Lt. Jermaine Strickland
  • Shane Strickland
  • SW3RVE
  • SW3RVE the Realest
  • Swerve Strickland
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1][3]
Billed weight233 lb (106 kg)[4]
Billed fromTacoma, Washington[1]
Trained by
Debut2011
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army Reserve
Years of service2008–2015

Stephon Strickland (born September 30, 1990) is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Swerve Strickland. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and was a member of Hit Row.

Strickland began his career in 2008, working as Shane Strickland for several independent promotions until 2019, including Major League Wrestling (MLW), Evolve Wrestling, and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), winning the respective main titles of these promotions, the MLW World Heavyweight Championship, Evolve Championship, and CZW World Heavyweight Championship. From 2014 until 2018, Strickland performed in Lucha Underground as a masked wrestler named Killshot. In 2019, he signed a developmental contract with WWE, where he worked as Isaiah "Swerve" Scott in NXT. While in NXT, he was part of the Hit Row stable and won the NXT North American Championship once, but soon after he was promoted to the main roster on SmackDown, he was released from his contract in November 2021.

After his WWE release, he changed his name to Swerve Strickland and signed with AEW in March 2022. He formed a tag team with Keith Lee, winning the AEW World Tag Team Championship once. After turning on Lee, Strickland became the leader of the Mogul Embassy stable and went on to win the AEW World Championship in April 2024, holding the title until that August.

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference WWEprofile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Killshot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference fightful.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Swerve Strickland's Entrance At AEW WrestleDream". 2 October 2023. Retrieved 7 Sep 2024.