As PWMania.com previously reported, Roderick Strong made a surprise debut on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite when there was a segment with Adam Cole and Chris Jericho.
Cole called out Jericho, who declined the offer and sent out the Jericho Appreciation Society instead to attack Cole. This led to Orange Cassidy and Bandido trying to come out to make the save, but they were outnumbered.
Strong then ran out to make the save. Cole and Strong hugged after the brawl.
Strong’s appearance comes after he disappeared from WWE television after being used in NXT for years. There had been rumblings since last year that he wanted this released, but WWE wouldn’t grant it. Strong is now All Elite.
WWE was quiet about Strong’s status for months. According to Fightful Select, “WWE talent we spoke to revealed that they believed his contract was set to run until the following year, but this information has not been officially confirmed. Recently, 2K was instructed to remove Roderick Strong from their wrestling game.”
Fightful added WWE had reportedly considered having Strong work as a coach for the remainder of his contract but Strong had not been seen at the Performance Center for “some time.” When Strong made his appearance on Dynamite, he was still listed as part of WWE’s active roster on the company’s website.
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Strong’s AEW debut shocked a lot of people in WWE.
“That was a shock to a lot of people in WWE. I know there were people who knew his contract was up, but most people didn’t know that [he was joining AEW that night],” Meltzer stated.
