WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Wrestlers - Where Are They Now?
17. Roderick Strong
Entry: #34
Time: 06:00
Then: Many people immediately picture Roderick Strong and Daniel Bryan chopping the ever-living-crap out of one another when they think of the Greatest Royal Rumble. That's something nobody can take away from Roddy. He's imprinted on the match in a unique way, because fans didn't get to see strike-based brutality like that in WWE too often.
At least not until Gunther became a company full-timer and major star.
Bryan had only just returned to active wrestling in April 2018, and it was obvious that the workhorse wanted to make up for lost time by having an absolute blast out there. Strong, and his similar ROH roots, would've been revelling in that competitive buzz. He'd wrestled against Bryan in Honor, PWG, NOAH etc, but now they were tangling in WWE.
It was a fine moment in Roderick's otherwise non-existent main roster career. He was on NXT as part of The Undisputed Era at the time, and he'd eventually form his own faction too (Diamond Mine). During the GRR, Strong lasted 6 minutes before being eliminated by Baron Corbin.
Now: Strong joined AEW in April 2023 by saving his old pal Adam Cole from a kicking. He's been in various groups ever since - Roddy has been in The Undisputed Kingdom and The Paragon, and he also memorably squeezed a lot out of being wheelchair bound/yelling "ADAM". That extended to shouting other people's names just for kicks too.
He's a savvy veteran who has found a sweet spot by becoming #AllElite. Away from the ring, he's married to fellow AEW star Marina Shafir. They got hitched in November 2018, which was 7 months (roughly) after the GRR. Let's hope his chest had healed by then!