Roderick Strong recently spoke with The Miami Herald to promote weekend WWE NXT live events in Orlando, Miami and Ft. Pierce. The full interview is at this link and below are highlights:
Getting the call from WWE and signing last October:
“I had been wrestling all over the world for 15 years, and I had been a mainstay in Ring of Honor for almost 13 years. I had a tryout with WWE before in 2014. I’ve communicated with [William] Regal. Just the timing of everything. I got a phone call from them. They were interested, and obviously I was interested, and here I am today [chuckles].
[Sigh] It left me speechless for a second but also very excited. I had already planned to end my chapter in Ring of Honor. I was going to go back to doing the indies more often and possibly working more of a full-time schedule in Japan. If I didn’t get the chance to go to WWE, that would have been a bummer to me, but I was just going to continue to do the best I could and continue my legacy.
“To actually get the call [from WWE]..I was leaving the gym, and I was just talking about it that day. I’m going to go do my thing, but if the opportunity comes, I’m going to jump on it, and if it doesn’t, I’m very happy with the career I’ve had. It was perfect. It left me speechless that it was finally here, the opportunity was finally here, and now I got to do my best to take advantage of it.”
The WWE Performance Center and its coaching staff:
“It’s amazing. Every single day that I go there, I learn something new. From the position I came from, you didn’t get advice or constructive criticism as often as probably necessary to help you grow as a performer. The guys and the girls who are here are so lucky to have a staff that just wants you to be good. They want everybody in here to eventually make it to the main roster and be as successful as possible. Just to be in that environment is infectious to push me everyday to be better.”
Winning the NXT Title and his list of goals:
“That is the first one on my list. Then after that, making the main roster and becoming world champion. Cement my legacy in professional wrestling. Show a lot of people that hard work and perseverance and dedication really pays off.”
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