10 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About Roderick Strong

by Andrew Soucek

1. A Botched Styles Clash Changed His Life

After A.J. Styles left TNA, he became the most sought after indy wrestler in the world. ROH quickly picked him up for a few dates, and The Phenomenal One's very first match back made the news, but for the wrong reasons.

Styles and Strong were delivering a great match in front of a hot crowd, when the final move left people fearing for Strong’s well being. As Styles held his opponent upside down for the Styles Clash, Strong tucked his head, which is the body’s natural reaction to being in that position.

However, it’s a bad way to take the move. Strong's neck was spiked into the mat, and he was incredibly lucky that he didn’t break it. Still, it caused him to miss some ring time.

During this time off, Strong says that he “took inventory of his life” and began to really study the psychology of a wrestling match. By the time he returned to the ring, he became a better worker and credits the unexpected time off to his improvement. This may also be why he is finally ready to accept that WWE deal.

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As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at." Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week. Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com