On the April 26 edition of AEW Dynamite, fans were shocked to see the debut of Roderick Strong as he came to the aid of his former stablemate Adam Cole. The reemergence of Strong caught many off guard as the star hadn’t been seen on WWE TV for over seven months and there was radio silence in regards to his status with the company.
Many are still confused over what exactly led to the Messiah Of The Breakbreaker signing with AEW and now, following a new report from PWInsider, it’s been revealed that the former Undisputed Era member’s WWE contract actually expired last November, with the star wanting to take some time off before his next move.
*Strong’s WWE deal actually expired in November of last year.
*Since WWE does not announce NXT departures and it wasn’t a release but a contract ending, it flew under the radar.
*It was so under the radar, he was listed on WWE.com well after he debuted for AEW.
*Strong had been banged up, so he chose to take time off to get ready for the next stage of his career.
-PWInsider
Also, the report notes that All Elite Wrestling had been negotiating with Strong for ‘quite some time’ and the involved parties were very particular about the right moment to debut him.
He and AEW had been quietly talking for some time about him coming in and came to a deal.
-PWInsider
The debut was well-executed as no reports came out indicating his free agent status at any point. The star’s first AEW match is already set with him teaming up with Adam Cole, Bandido and Orange Cassidy next week on Dynamite to battle the JAS.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any updates on Roderick Strong and his AEW debut as we hear more.
