AEW star Swerve Strickland has given WWE NXT talent Myka Lockwood her flowers after seeing her execute a familiar move with an added degree of difficulty.

The discussion began after Strickland reacted to footage shared by a fan showing similarities between Lockwood’s double pumphandle into a falling powerslam and a move from his own arsenal. His initial response was simple: “influence.”

Strickland later expanded on his comments on X, pointing out that Lockwood was using the hand-clutch setup associated with Shane Mercer. According to the former AEW World Champion, that particular variation is considerably more difficult than the powerbomb version he has performed.

“The hand clutch setup is the @theirondemon version which is MUCH harder to do than my powerbomb version. Which she pulled off both excellent,” Strickland wrote.

Lockwood has quickly started attracting attention since arriving on WWE NXT. She competed on the first two seasons of WWE Legends & Future Greats, where The Undertaker served as her mentor and spoke highly of her potential.

She officially made her NXT debut in April before becoming associated with Vanity Project as she continued her development on the brand.

Lockwood also generated plenty of discussion online last week following an NXT live event, where footage showed her powerbombing CM Punk.

With Lockwood continuing to make an impression both inside the ring and online, praise from an established performer such as Strickland adds to the growing attention surrounding the NXT prospect.

The hand clutch setup is the @theirondemon version which is MUCH harder to do than my powerbomb version. Which she pulled off both excellent https://t.co/aCakBjE2vW

, Swerve Strickland (@swerveconfident) August 23, 2026