Making A Case: Why Roderick Strong Needs To Be Called Up Or Released

You can call many people the heart and soul of NXT. However, one man has outlasted all others and has given his all to WWE’s third brand. Now, it is time for the company to give back to Roderick Strong.

If you quit watching wrestling for a year and turned back on NXT expecting to see your same favorites, then you would be in for a real shock. Almost all of the guys and girls that you tuned in to see a year ago are in different places now. From leaving the company in general to being called up to the main roster, NXT 2.0 looks like a nearly completely different place than NXT was. While we have seen familiar faces like Apollo Crews return recently, there are only a handful of people on the roster that were there a year ago. Even Tommaso Ciampa who seemed so sure that he would never leave NXT made his way to Monday Night Raw.

When you look further back, there is only one man that has been there since nearly day one and that man is Roderick Strong. While we have seen people come and go in NXT, Roderick Strong has been the one constant person to expect on NXT. He has had one of the most storied journeys in NXT from his early babyface days to turning on Pete Dunne and becoming the fourth member of The Undisputed Era to most recently leading The Diamond Mine stable. It doesn’t matter if you love him or hate him, there is doubt that Roderick Strong has made his name known in NXT

As a part of The Undisputed Era, Strong spent years on the top of the NXT mountain. Roderick has won every championship in NXT besides the NXT World Championship. While that is a shame that Roderick never held the world championship, at this point, he doesn’t even need it. He has won every other championship that NXT had to offer him. While NXT could clearly continue to get a lot out of Roderick Strong, there is nothing that NXT can offer him. After spending over five years in NXT, it is time for WWE to make a big decision. Call Roderick up to the main roster or release him as he has already requested.

Roderick Strong has made a name out of himself for being the workhorse in any company he joins. Before he ever made it to NXT, Strong spent thirteen years in Ring of Honor and earned his nickname as “Mr. ROH.” He could easily now be known as “Mr. NXT” today and that goes to show how good Roderick Strong truly is. However, Roderick has not been given his opportunity to show just how good he actually is. He was held down under the star appeal of Adam Cole and since the rest of his friends are gone, NXT hasn’t decided to go forward with a push for Strong even though the company says they have plans for him.

Roderick Strong is heading into his sixth year in NXT and it seems those plans may just be to not let him go anywhere else. At this point, the words of Owen Hart have to be heard in his head, “enough is enough and it’s time for a change.” Roderick has been left behind and watched all of his peers go different ways. The rest of his Undisputed Era stablemates are teaming together in All Elite Wrestling. His old partner Pete Dunne changed a bit but is making a name as Butch on SmackDown. There is a story in the works here for Roderick Strong to become a star on the main roster. He stayed true to WWE and never left but now he demands respect.

Any fan of Roderick Strong knows that he has what it takes to go against the very best the WWE has to offer. He is even one of the dream opponents for Cody Rhodes who would love to see Strong come to Raw and finally get that dream match. However, if the WWE really have these alledged “plans” for him, they need to just let him go. While he would be a catch for whatever company could sign him, he would easily be able to fit in with his Undisputed Era brothers and his wife, Marina Shafir, in All Elite Wrestling. If the WWE doesn’t want to lose another diamond from their mine, pun intended, they need to throw Roderick Strong a well-deserved bone.