Mr. ROH. The Messiah Of The Backbreaker. Roderick Strong has owned some great nicknames during his career in professional wrestling, but perhaps the WWE could conjure up one that accurately reflects his consistent greatness night after night.
PW Insider reported that WWE put 205 Live in Triple H’s control in order to boost the show’s falling stock, and it’s not a coincidence that Roderick Strong was promptly brought in to participate in a tournament that will culminate in a showdown for the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 34.
Although Strong lost this week to Cedric Alexander in the semifinals, the fact that he made it that far is a testament to just how high Triple H and the company are on him. Out of all four semifinalists in the tournament (Alexander, Strong, Mustafa Ali, and Drew Gulak), Strong was the only wrestler who wasn’t a member of the 205 Live roster before the tournament started.
Despite the fact that Strong was a newcomer to the 205 Live scene, his matches were the crispest of anybody’s. Strong may not have had as much experience on the purple roped-show, nor as much experience wrestling the likes of Alexander and Kalisto, but he did what he does best; he made all of his opponents look fantastic, which is exactly why Triple H had him go deep in the tournament.
Strong’s match against Alexander has likely been the best bout of the tournament so far. It was a showcase of endurance, nasty moves (Alexander took one hell of a bump on the ring post), and top-tier athleticism. And like every match Strong is involved in, it told a story that slowly crescendoed to the finish, where Alexander picked up a victory on the strength of his wits before cutting a heartfelt promo.
What helped make Strong so effective is that his intensity in the ring allows him to act like a heel without actually turning heel. Against Kalisto and Alexander, he got both of their high-flying moves over, and he also kept them grounded with taunts. He told Alexander that he didn’t want to win badly enough. He mocked Kalisto’s “Lucha” taunts.
Even though Strong is the typical “everyman” babyface who works his tail off, his desire to win can allow him to act heelish in the ring in order to help make a babyface look even better in a face vs. face matchup, but it doesn’t come at the expense of hurting the integrity of his character.
Of course, the Cruiserweight Tournament isn’t the only example of how the WWE, specifically Triple H-run shows, likes to use Strong to elevate other wrestlers and titles.
On NXT, Strong usually loses and comes “just so close” to winning, but he does so in ways that don’t neuter his character, in ways that are believable, and in ways that are entertaining. Unlike other wrestlers who rack up “just missed” losses, Strong does occasionally win big matches, most notably his victories against Bobby Roode and Tyler Bate.
That match against Roode was one of the most underrated bouts in all of 2017, and it was a truly wonderful example of a babyface finally overcoming an evil, arrogant opponent. Yes, it came after Roode had already beaten Strong and after Roode had already dropped the title before heading to the main roster, but it felt impactful nonetheless. It was also a nice way of paying it forward to Strong, whose work as a babyface “foil” for Roode was key in making the former United States Champion look so good as NXT Champ.
Roode vs. Strong isn’t the only time that Roddy has been used to make an NXT Champion or contender look better.
He had an excellent match with Andrade “Cien” Almas last year while the WWE was beginning to build him up, and he also had several tremendous bouts with Drew McIntyre. Even though it was obvious Strong would lose those matches, he hit so many big moves and performed so well that you couldn’t help but stay on the edge of your seat.
The same goes with his match against Pete Dunne for the United Kingdom Championship. Even after defeating Bate for the opportunity to face Dunne, Strong didn’t have a chance in hell of coming away with the title. But the match left moments of doubt. Strong hit several huge moves, including an Olympic Slam off the top rope.
He and Dunne traded so many big moves during the match, and both men told the story that they were willing to step out of their respective comfort zones in order to match each other blow for blow. In the end, Dunne’s manipulation of Strong’s digits gave him the edge, because he just couldn’t clasp his hands together to maintain effective covers or produce enough finger strength to effectively end the match with the “End of Heartache” finisher.
What makes Strong so good is the fact that he can tell a wide range of stories and work effectively with any opponent. His matches against Roode, Kalisto, McIntyre, Alexander, and Dunne required him to do very different things as a performer in order to tell the correct story. Against Roode, he had to be the underdog babyface. Against Alexander and Dunne, he had to be the menacing “equal”, yet he had to get Alexander and Dunne over in different ways that suited their characters (Dunne as a brutal threat, Alexander as a perseverant and resourceful babyface).
Although all of Strong’s matches contain similar spots, such as vicious dropkicks and backbreakers to the outside, each has a unique flavor. There were dueling foot-on-the-rope spots against Alexander, fast-paced action against Kalisto, and slow, classic face/heel story-telling with old match callbacks against a familiar opponent in Roode.
I can’t remember the last time Strong had an underwhelming match, and I would challenge anyone to find one. Heck, there’s rarely ever a misplaced, sloppy, or meaningless spot in his matches. The model of consistency, Strong is both true to his character and capable of helping his opponents display their characters when they are in the ring with him.
You could argue that the likes of AJ Styles and Seth Rollins are better than Strong, but it’s hard to argue against the notion that Strong is stylistically WWE’s most versatile performer. Over the past several months in both NXT and 205 Live, Strong has done nothing but emphasize his ability to produce a stellar match with anyone.
