Swerve Strickland says AEW pays better than WWE and explains why he believes Tony Khan is a ‘player’s booker.’
Former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland recently sat down for an interview with Baller Alert. When asked which promotion pays wrestlers better, WWE or AEW, Strickland noted that Tony Khan’s company does it significantly better because their pay is guaranteed.
“AEW by far because it’s guaranteed,” Swerve Strickland said. “They(WWE) got their select few up top. They’re just like untouchables, but a lot of those guys are starting to retire now. Cena just retired, AJ Styles just retired. Those are like the top earners. Taker can’t go no more. So that pyramid is starting to get really pointy and small up top.”
Swerve Strickland also praised Tony Khan’s management style
Speaking further, he praised Tony Khan’s management, saying AEW has an organized system similar to a professional football team. He believes Khan knows how to utilize his talent, which also helps him to know how to pay them.
“If I could compare the two, Tony Khan owns AEW, he’s also a part-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Fulham soccer team in the U.K. He treats the roster not like talent, but athletes. You know, there’s player-coaches, there’s organization, there’s system-coaches, he’s a player’s booker,” Swerve Strickland said. He’s in tune with his talent and his roster and where to put those guys. He utilizes us very well, and it’s like a scheme on a football team.
“So, me and him gel very, very well, because he knows my strengths, he knows where I belong, he knows how to utilize all his players in the right way. So, therefore, he knows how to pay them, too, and motivate them in certain ways. We’re only in year seven of the company, which is a very small window and short time of being in a wrestling promotion as big as we are. We did 80,000 seats in Wembley Stadium. We filled it,” Swerve Strickland said.
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