One year ago, there were multiple reports detailing how Roderick Strong repeatedly requested his release from WWE. Those requests were not granted at that time. Strong last wrestled for NXT in August 2022. As far as most people knew, he’s been out injured since then but still under contract to WWE.
That’s why his debut last night for All Elite Wrestling was such a shocker. We didn’t have any rumors or reports ahead of time indicating this was even possible. Many folks in WWE must have been surprised by the news as well, because Roderick was still listed on WWE’s official roster page while he was beating the crap out of Jericho Appreciation Society inside an AEW ring.
Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer claims that most people in WWE didn’t know that Strong was no longer under contract with them:
“That was a shock to a lot of people in WWE. I know that there were people who knew that his contract was up, but most people did not know that.”
As of this morning, Roderick Strong has now been removed from WWE’s official roster page.
I’m sure there will be rumors and reports in the coming days and weeks to explain what exactly happened behind the scenes here. For now, it sure looks like a lot of folks in WWE were just as caught off guard as fans were when Roderick Strong made his shocking AEW debut.
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