WWE NXT Superstar Roderick Strong recently spoke with Fightful Select for an upcoming interview and discussed The Diamond Mine, noting that when he “quit” NXT in the storylines, he had to make himself believe it to make other people believe it. He even told his mom he quit WWE.
Strong confirmed that Arturo Ruas was once slated for The Diamond Mine. He also said there were other names pitched to him, and he made suggestions as well. He trusts anything that is put forth by WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and lead NXT writer Johnny Russo, because of their track records.
Strong also put over WWE Hall of Famer Molly Holly for being very helpful to him.
Strong noted that he started doing MMA training back in 2012, with Josh Rafferty, who has worked with Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Batista, WWE United States Champion Sheamus, and others.
Regarding Diamond Mine mouthpiece Malcolm Bivens, Strong noted that he was very proud of his son for his performance in a skit with Bivens a few years back, and said Bivens pitched the skit. In December 2019 there was an angle where Bivens “hijacked” WWE’s The Bump, but was met in the end by Strong and Marina Shafir’s son, Troy. You can see a few related clips below:
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