Former Champ Talks WWE Using Real-Life Drama on TV

Can he handle it? Rich Swann burst onto the mainstream wrestling scene last year when he made a strong run in the inaugural Cruiserweight Classic. With his high energy persona and a lot of dancing, Swann became one of the more popular wrestlers in the cruiserweight division. However it wasn’t all fun for him growing up.

Swann was recently interviewed by USA Today and talked about what he went through growing up, which included both his parents dying before he was 18 and drug issues. That being said, Swann seems to like the fact that his real life issues are used on WWE TV. Swann said the following about what it can mean to use his story:

“The thing is you can never sugarcoat anything. If you’re going to tell a story, tell the truth. If you’re going to tell something, why not tell it all? So what I decided to do was share my story because there’s other people, there’s other children, there’s other males, there’s other females that could be affected in a positive way. I saw that as a way to show not only the WWE Universe, but the world that you can overcome, no matter what.”

Opinion: It’s always cool to hear about someone who finds a way to overcome their problems like this and Swann has certainly succeeded. I remember watching him in the Cruiserweight Classic and not thinking much of his at first, only to eventually be impressed by the energy he brought to the ring.