Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)
11. Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott
Then: The rest of the Hit Row faction followed B-FAB out the WWE exit doors a few short weeks after her 4 November 2021 release. Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott was the most shocking of those 18 Nov releases, because he seemed to have limitless potential and was clearly someone who'd earned his stripes as NXT North American Champion on the third brand.
His last WWE match was a squash match tag win (with Top Dolla) over some "local competitors" on the 22 October episode of SmackDown.
Now: As expected, Tony Khan picked the renamed Swerve Strickland up in March 2022, and he debuted on that year's Revolution pay-per-view. AEW presented Swerve as a big time pick up from WWE, and it was generally believed that the E would regret pushing him away.
That kind of conversation was snuffed out during a clumsy period as Keith Lee's tag partner ('Swerve In Our Glory' was a shockingly crap name for the duo), but Strickland would eventually find his feet again and go on to become a breakout success.
It's amazing that he managed to rise above shoddy ideas like the team with Lee and his Mogul Embassy to become AEW World Champion in April 2024, but it happened. Swerve lasted as champ until losing the title to Bryan Danielson in front of 46,000+ at Wembley Stadium in London, England for All In 2024.
Main eventing a show on that scale was a giant show of faith from TK in Strickland's work. He's still going strong and remains committed to the #AllElite cause in 2026.