Roderick Strong might have injured his ankle.
On this week’s WWE NXT 2.0 broadcast, Strong and Damon Kemp were supposed to face NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly in a non-title contest. However, the match was nixed.
Instead, WWE aired a backstage vignette with The Diamond Mine, featuring Kemp on the phone with WWE executives, warning them that Strong has rolled his ankle and will not be able to wrestle.
There’s no information on the extent of Strong’s injury, or even if it’s real. Strong hasn’t wrestled on TV since losing to NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov on the April 7 NXT UK episode, which was taped in early March. Strong’s most recent match was on NXT 2.0 on March 29th, when he and A-Kid were defeated by current NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes.
Strong is said to have asked for his WWE release several times in recent months, but management has denied him and has him in planned creative ideas. Strong reportedly signed a new WWE contract following his main roster dark matches earlier this year, just before The Diamond Mine debuted last year. Strong is allegedly dissatisfied with numerous things within WWE over the last year, which led to his release request. WWE apparently offered Strong a name change, but he declined. Many within WWE were surprised that Strong was not included in the late April NXT releases, given that he has stated his desire to leave the company. Malcolm Bivens, the former Diamond Mind manager/leader, was included in those releases because he had also indicated his desire to leave the company. WWE began a storyline shortly before Bivens’ release in which tensions were rising between members of the group, primarily Bivens and Strong, who stated that he wanted to make changes to The Diamond Mine so they wouldn’t fail as The Undisputed Era did.
Strong is said to have handled creative every week with professionalism. Strong is also said to be a part of WWE’s future creative ideas. Therefore there are currently no plans to release him.
Pretty Deadly will defend the NXT Tag Team Titles against Brutus and Julius at the NXT In Your House event on Saturday, June 4. We will keep you updated on what WWE has planned for Strong and Kemp.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more.
Here is footage from this week’s NXT segment featuring The Diamond Mine:
