Swerve Strickland is giving major credit to one of WWE’s fastest-rising young stars. During an interview with Chris Van Vliet, the AEW standout spoke highly of 21-year-old Je’Von Evans, calling him a once-in-a-generation athlete who is already ahead of where Strickland himself was deep into his career.
Strickland didn’t hesitate to put Evans’ abilities into perspective.
“It’s not an insult to say Je’Von Evans is better than Swerve. I’m like, ‘Yes, he is. At 21 years old, he is better than I was at 30’,” Strickland said.
He emphasized that Evans’ accelerated development isn’t surprising. Unlike Strickland—who had to grind through the independents to acquire the subtler parts of his craft—Evans is being molded in a system from a young age. Strickland said that gives the breakout NXT star a jump start physically, while Strickland’s own edge lies in experience and hard-earned intangibles.
According to Strickland, this is simply the natural progression of the industry—each generation building on the one before it. He compared Evans’ evolution to that of another modern standout.
“Ricochet watched the same guys. He watched Rey Mysterio and took it to the next level, because that’s what evolution is supposed to be,” Strickland explained.
Evans grew up watching high-flyers like Strickland himself and Lio Rush, giving him a foundation that he is now pushing to new heights. Strickland said what truly excites him is seeing how Evans will round out his game beyond his early technical prowess.
“I have all these other intangibles that just make me, me. I can’t wait to find the intangible that he finds that makes Je’Von, Je’Von. I can’t wait for him to find those things,” Strickland said.
Evans has been gaining momentum rapidly on NXT television, and praise of this level from a top AEW name highlights just how bright his future may be.
