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RODERICK STRONG COMMENTS ON HIS DEPARTURE FROM ROH

By Mike Johnson on 2016-06-22 19:05:00

Former ROH champion Roderick Strong will be finishing up with ROH this weekend.  His final scheduled appearance for the company will be at this Saturday's TV taping in North Carolina. 

Strong, 32, has held every ROH championship over the course of his run with the company and with the exception of The Briscoes, was the longest tenured talent in the company.  He initially debuted for the company in 2003 during the Murphy Rec era after breaking out on the Florida independent scene and as part of Generation Next, was an important part of the company's resurgence in 2004. 

Strong was so loyal to ROH that when he was also working for TNA at the same time and was ordered by TNA to leave a ROH event to avoid a blizzard that was to hit NYC the night before a TNA PPV in Orlando in 2006, Strong still wrestled on the ROH event and arrived late due to the weather - leading to TNA suspending him and eventually playing a role in his departure from the company. 

Strong morphed into one of the best in-ring performers in the world over the course of his ROH run and was coined "Mr. ROH" for his role in the company.  Over the past several years, he really found himself and was able to bring out his personality in a major way.  He leaves a hell of a legacy behind and was pretty much a guaranteed great match any time he was on a big event.  In many ways, he was the ROH measuring stick for many years and will absolutely be missed.  His ROH deal expires this month.  He will face Mark Briscoe at the Best in the World PPV Friday and Dalton Castle at the ROH TV Taping on Saturday 6/25 in Concord, NC. 

Ring of Honor released an interview with Strong on his decision to depart the company this Saturday at this link.

Noting that Strong intends to leave to "pursue other opportunities", the article featured quotes from Strong about his ROH run, noting that it was an early career goal to even perform for the company.

"After seeing ROH for the first time I immediately went and put “Wrestle for ROH” at the top of my goals," said Strong.  "It was everything I wanted as a fan. As a wrestler, I knew getting there and staying there would be a difference maker for my career.  As I prepared to walk through the curtain, all I could think was, ‘don’t screw this up!’ Honestly, I felt I was still very young but I couldn’t be more prepared for whatever opportunity I would be given."

On why he remained with ROH for so long, Strong commented, "ROH was everything great about wrestling to me, getting the most talented people together to push each other and come up with super-unique and interesting things to make the product stand out. They gave me my first real chance to grow and had the confidence in letting me fail or succeed. ROH will always mean the world to me.”

The article covered Strong's different ROH title runs and he noted, "Believe it or not, when I lost the World title to Eddie Edwards, it was a very special moment for both of us. Looking back, I realized I was happy that I could be a part of a landmark moment for his career. Losing the TV title to Adam Cole also holds a special place in my heart. To see the crowd react the way they did and making him really earn it was awesome. To be a part of their moments is something ROH gave me and I will never forget.”

On his run and the decision to leave, Strong said, “I want to be able to personally thank everyone, from the new fans that just found ROH, to the fans that have followed me from the beginning. Ring of Honor is more than just a company to me. It's my family, I started as 20-year-old kid just looking for an opportunity to learn and grow as a performer. Now I stand here after 12 and a half years loving it just as much, if not more than when I came in. I want to thank you for your patience as you watched me grow over time. I want to thank you for the cheers, the boos and the passion you showed me. Most importantly I want to thank you personally for always supporting the greatest company in the world, Ring of Honor. I hope to see everyone this Saturday in Concord”

To read the entire interview, click here.

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