Tag: isaiah swerve scott

Shane ‘Swerve’ Strickland reportedly signing with AEW

Posted on by Josh Nason

AEW’s free agent signing frenzy will continue as Fightful reported Wednesday that former WWE NXT North American Champion Shane “Swerve” Strickland is going to ink a deal that begins next month.

In last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that Strickland, fka Isaiah “Swerve” Scott in NXT, was expected to sign but wasn’t definitive it would happen.

In the Fightful report, it said the deal was expected since January and that it goes into effect the first week of March — the same week as their Revolution pay-per-view.

The report also noted there is talk Strickland is seen as a potential crossover star and that AEW was immediately interested when he got released by WWE after more than two years in the system.

Strickland and the rest of Hit Row (Top Dolla, B-Fab and Ashante “Thee” Adonis) were a surprising part of two rounds of November 2021 releases less than six weeks after they were called up to the main roster as part of the WWE Draft.

After the faction formed in NXT and became a top act, Strickland defeated Bronson Reed (JONAH) for the North American title, holding it for over 100 days before losing it to Carmelo Hayes.

Strickland has a busy schedule in the months ahead with his Terminus debut Thursday, an upcoming DEFY match against prodigy Nick Wayne, several matches during WrestleMania weekend in Dallas and two GCW events in April.

Shane ‘Swerve’ Strickland announced for The Wrestling Revolver event in April

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Shane Strickland is heading back to the independent wrestling scene.

The Wrestling Revolver announced tonight that Shane ‘Swerve’ Strickland was announced for their event that will take place on April 16. No opponent was named. This would mark Strickland’s first announced appearance post-WWE.

Swerve, formerly Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, was released from WWE on November 18 of last year after signing with the company in 2019. Swerve, alongside Top Dolla, Ashante Thee Adonis, and B-Fab formed a stable in NXT called Hit Row. Swerve had won the North American Championship thanks to their help and were called to the main roster in October. However, B-Fab was released on November 4, and the rest of Hit Row were released later that month after only making a handful of appearances on the main roster.

Prior to signing with WWE, Swerve had been a fixture in the independent wrestling scene in such promotions as Combat Zone Wrestling, Lucha Underground (under the name Killshot) and Major League Wrestling.

Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott introduces Hit Row stable on WWE NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Isaiah “Swerve” Scott introduced his new group, Hit Row, on tonight’s NXT.

Hit Row consists of Scott, two other men, and one woman. AJ Francis, who has appeared on A&E’s WWE show Most Wanted Treasures, introduced himself as Top Dolla. Brianna Brandy, who signed with WWE in 2019, introduced herself as B-Fab. Rounding out the group is Ashante “Thee” Adonis, who has appeared regularly on 205 Live in the last year and has been aligned with Scott in the past. During the promo introducing the group, Swerve said he was tired of not being himself and wanted to be around people who think like him.

Members of Hit Row have previously been seen in vignettes, but officially made their debut at the Capitol Wrestling Center last week. Swerve faced Leon Ruff in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Ruff was about to launch off a platform, but Top Dolla grabbed him before he could land and slammed him on the barricade instead, leading Scott to pick up the win.

WWE had trademarked the term “Hit Row Records” on May 6.