Roderick Strong shocked the pro wrestling world with his surprise AEW debut on Dynamite this week.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that very few individuals had knowledge of Strong’s WWE contract expiring.

According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE had been tight-lipped about Strong’s status in the company and there had been talks of appointing him as a coach at the Performance Center for the remainder of his contract. It’s unknown if the Diamond Mine member was ever aware of that idea.

Strong signed a new contract with WWE in 2021 and was set to be the focal point of a rebooted NXT cruiserweight division.

Eventually, Triple H lost control of NXT due to his health issues and those plans changed, as did the plans for Diamond Mine when several names were released from the company (including Arturo Ruas, Marina Shafir, Stokely Hathaway, Hideki Suzuki, and Tyler Rust).

In 2021, Strong asked for his release but WWE denied his request.

It’s believed that Strong’s WWE deal was supposed to continue until 2024. His colleagues didn’t have any clue about his status, except for the fact that he hadn’t visited the Performance Center “in quite some time.” Strong was cleared to compete and doing well physically.

The AEW locker room was said to be “pleasantly surprised” by Strong’s debut, as the 39-year-old wrestler is well-liked in the industry.

Prior to his departure, WWE told 2K to drop Strong from WWE 2K23.

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