“Time present and time past
-T.S. Eliot
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.”
Burnt Norton
There’s something special about figures in professional wrestling. About the moments and the memories made that live on in ways unforgettable. For many a fan, Roderick Strong has been this, be it on the independent scene, on WWE’s NXT brand, or as of late April, 2023, All Elite Wrestling.
Originally, this article was being written at a time when all thought he was still under contract to WWE, awaiting his return to the Diamond Mine stable. This was to be an ode to the Messiah of the Backbreaker, to remind that we haven’t forgotten him. Truth be told, I missed seeing the dude wrestle, and was hoping that most importantly, Strong was doing okay.
Then that moment happened. That glorious moment.
Once Adam Cole was taking a beating at the hands of the Jericho Appreciation Society, another moment in another eternity, a division was bridged as Roderick Strong came out to the tune of Killswitch Engage’s “End of Heartache”.
This moment felt surreal to me – Killswitch Engage is among the bands I heard at a time I needed them, and it’s playing as a wrestler I admire needed it. In that moment, it felt special to me all over again – suddenly the message I took from it about not being alone pertained once more.
Not only is this continuing a story long since thought ended in NXT, Roderick Strong represents a direction for AEW and a return home for ROH. The stiffness, the tenacity, the in-ring charisma is going to awaken fans to something quite a bit more.
When I see Roderick Strong, I see the heart of what the American independent scene was. Sure, he didn’t have the promo skills of say, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, or Bryan Danielson, but he brought something so special to his work that he never needed that. When I see Roderick Strong, I see a modern day Dean Malenko – and I hope history is as kind to Strong, if not kinder, than it was for The Man With a Thousand Holds.
“In my beginning is my end. In succession
-TS Eliot,
Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place
Is an open field, or a factory, or a by-pass.”
East Coker
Early on, Strong was great in his craft; over time coal would be mined into diamond as he sparkled in brutal stiffness and strategic in-ring chess. From being Generation Next’s enforcer to lasting fifty-six minutes with Bryan Danielson, to going toe-to-toe with Kenta and with CM Punk.
Over the decades, Roddy’s moveset has proved consistent and he’s stayed to his strengths. Focusing on breaking backs, chopping chests, and being overall a brute despite his appearance, he’s great in getting you to believe.
Not only is he a physical force, but he can outthink others if need be, and it doesn’t matter if you’re bigger than someone or not. He may act like a chickenshit and not play fair when he’s at his morally worst, but he is undoubtedly not one to underestimate in the ring. For instance, his April 2009 match with Jerry Lynn proves he’s going to go past what would be thought of him.
When one bleeds, sometimes it’s nauseating and disorienting and possibly even so painful that it causes hindrance. Not for wrestlers like Roddy. It fuels him, sending waves of adrenaline, dousing the flames of battle with the gasoline of rage. It is then that the fighting spirit is unstoppable. It is then that he is free.
So imagine the expectations when Roderick joined the super-indie WWE product that was the black-and-gold NXT. Through the roof. And I’d say he more than lived up to it. Though he didn’t reach the heights he needed to, I insist on this, Strong was fucking great on NXT. He’s won tag team gold and North American gold, for sure – and his alliance with the Undisputed Era was a great addition to that.
For an entry-level fan seeing NXT for the first time, seeing Roddy and Kyle O’Reillly defeat Mustache Mountain at NXT Takeover Brooklyn IV, the Wargames match later in 2018, and toward The War Raiders in Phoenix Arizona, The Undisputed Era were the focus and one of the best things in all of wrestling to watch.
“I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river
-TS Eliot,
Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable,
Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier;
Useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce;
Then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges.”
The Dry Salvages
Roderick Strong’s ride at the top saw him through two more Wargames matches and a fantastic showing at 2019’s Survivor Series against AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura that saw him win in spectacular fashion to really set the statement that NXT was the brand to watch. At a time when WWE barely got NXT to overtake AEW Dynamite in the ratings, seeing Strong be one of many at the forefront of that shows how important he is and how valued he was. But, sadly, things would go awry.
Fellow Undisputed Era member Bobby Fish would sustain an injury following the 2020 Wargames match and the uneasy alliance Undisputed Era had with Finn Balor, the world fell apart due to one man’s greed and another man’s ascension.
Jealous of Kyle O’Reilly’s rise to the top, Adam Cole turned his back on the group, swearing he carried them all. Kyle was filled with revenge and the need to prove himself – but where does this leave the middle? Where does this leave Roderick Strong?
Months after the betrayal, Strong clung to memories while falling and so found himself a mine in the dark. A Diamond Mine, and it saw the coal of which heated along the likes of Tyler Rust, Hachiman, Malcolm Bivens, the Creed Brothers, and Ivy Nile. While Bobby Fish was let go, while Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly left to newer, elite pastures, Strong led these new rookies of a post-black-and-gold NXT to a better way. The Strong way.
It worked, for a time, as he won the NXT Cruiserweight Championship from Kushida and pushed his young prospects. So much so, at times it felt as though it was at their detriment until he was sidelined.
After sitting some time alone and seeing his Undisputed Era mates have the time of their lives in All Elite Wrestling, he longed to close the distance and dissolution. He had to become undisputed once more.
“Midwinter spring is its own season
-TS Eliot,
Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown,
Suspended in time, between pole and tropic.”
Little Gidding
What a fitting way for Roderick Strong to make an entrance in AEW than his sudden entrance. The Undisputed Era always set out to “shock the system”, didn’t they? While Kyle O’Reilly is out on injury and Bobby Fish is searching for where the lie is (funny joke), Roderick had to make his move.
Nobody knew that Roderick was freed from his contract with WWE. No updates, nothing. Just silence. Everyone expected him to not be let out of his contract – quite the opposite. Injury could have kept him on WWE’s roster until his contract ran dry. But it didn’t. He’s out, he’s here, and the stories that are about to be told, quite frankly, excite me.
Moments like this debut stand out for lifetimes. Lighting that petrifies the world until it’s time to process what is happening. Among all the roster defections in wrestling history, this one is going to be talked about for a while. Personally, I’d rank it up there with Malakai Black’s surprise debut back in 2021.
With the Messiah of the Backbreaker on Tony Khan’s payroll, there’s so much that could be done. So many stories to return to and to start. Dream matches and rivalries renewed. More backs to obliterate and more blood to be shed.
When the diamond begins to rust, Roderick will continue to be a great asset, keeping the American indie style alive for those who sit under his learning tree.
Talents like Roderick come around not very often. They’re to be utilized to the best of their abilities. When you have a wrestler who can make the in-ring action feel believable and tell the story just as well, if not better than any words can, you capitalize on that.
That, my friends, is undisputed.
