A Farewell to Roderick Strong

This weekend at PWG's Thirteenth anniversary event which celebrated the 13th year of the company, one of PWG's longest running stars made his exit.

Roderick Strong, a former PWG World Champion, 2x DDT4 Tournament Winner, Mount Rushmore stable member, and former PWG World Tag Team Champion, has been a staple in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla since 2005. When wrestlers came and went because of injuries or moving onto higher & "better" opportunitiues, Roddy remained. Through the Kevin Steen's, the El Generico's, and the Davey Richards', Roddy remained. When a new face came into PWG, he was the gatekeeper, he tested them to see if they were good enough because at the end of the day he is PWG.

Roddy facing off with Rob Van Dam & Chris Hero in January of 2010

For many years, Roddy was admittedly overlooked in Reseda. He was known for having killer matches in his first few years in the company such as his contests with Matt Sydal & Rocky Romero and his tag team affairs with PAC (Neville), with whom he won the innaguraul DDT4 tournament with. However, he was never THE guy. He came in at the same time as Kevin Steen and El Generico only to watch them soar to the top of the promotion. He & Davey Richards came in at exactly the same time and Roddy watch him win BOLA just one year after his debut. Roddy won DDT4 and tag team titles, and made it to the finals of BOLA on three separate occasions (2007, 2009, & 2014). Despite that, he could never peak through that ceiling that held him down for so long. Therefore, his consistency and importance went unnoticed. That is, until, 2014. The year that Roddy solidified himself as quite possibly the greatest athlete to grace a PWG ring with a run that spanned two and a half years and transformed Strong into not only the best wrestler in PWG, but the best wrestler in the world.

Ironically enough, this transition began at this same time two years ago at the 11th Anniversary show as Roderick Strong defeated current stablemate Adam Cole to become the #1 Contender to Kyle O'Reilly's PWG World Championship. The match was fine and your typical high impact Roddy showcase, but it was the post match in which things shifted. Roddy came out to confront O'Reilly following his title defense against Chris Hero and as soon as he turned his back, Roddy struck, dropping the champion in the center of the ring with the end of heartache. Following the show, a backstage interview with Roddy detailed the source of this aggression. He was tired of being held down, tired of being overlooked, and he was going to take what was his in the form of the PWG World Championship.

This began a series of events that saw Roddy attack O'Reilly AND newcomer at the time, Zack Sabre Jr after their match in the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. In an incredible moment of foreshadowing, Roddy beat O'Reilly to the point that he could not continue in the 2014 Battle of Los Angeles and bloodied the mouth of ZSJ. Strong would go on to the finals of BOLA for the third time where he came up short to Ricochet, only to break his trophy post-match thus leaving a sour taste in everyone's mouths. Roddy's plan was derailed, or so we thought. Enter December 2014, Black Cole Sun, Roddy "no shows" the event where he was supposed to face Bobby Fish only to show up at the end of the show and attack an exhausted Kyle O'Reilly to a match for the PWG World Championship. In a heated whim, O'Reilly accepted and he went to war with Strong in a brutal Guerrilla Warfare match that saw tables, chairs, chains, turnbuckles, and ring ropes used in various violent ways. The odds were too much for O'Reilly and the dastardly deeds of Roderick overwhelmed him thus leading to the crowning of a new champion. O'Reilly wouldn't be seen in PWG for over a year and Roddy would begin his reign of terror.

From this point forward, Roderick Strong became THE guy that he never was in the previous 9 years of his PWG career. He wasn't cheered, he was booed. And he wasn't just kinda booed, he was DESPISED. The audience hated him and he ate it up. It was a beautiful thing to watch unfold from the outside because for a solid year and a half, there was no better bad guy than Roddy. Certainly not in PWG, and undoubtedly nowhere in the world. The hatred he garnered on his own from the way he won the title, jumping innocent victims like Candice LeRae, assaulting referees like Rick Knox and using sly tactics to keep the championship, only doubled when he became the leader of the newly reformed Mount Rushmore 2.0 alongside The Young Bucks & Super Dragon. This led to a series of amazing title defenses in which the heat built more and more with each match. Roddy's bouts with Trevor Lee, Mike Bailey, and most notably Zack Sabre Jr were all stellar, with the latter being a major moment in the story that is being told.

At "Don't Sweat the Technique" in April 2015, Roddy faced off with Zack Sabre Jr in a match that he called for due to the love that Sabre Jr received in his debut weekend in Reseda. After the beating that Sabre received at BOLA from Roddy for no reason, Sabre welcomed this championship opportunity with open arms and the two proceeded to burn the roof off the legion hall with one of the best matches of the year. Roddy would come out on top by going to great lengths to sneak away with a win however this rivalry was no where near over. For the next few months, Sabre found himself at odds with Roddy and his stable mates on a number of occasions. The animosity that was displayed by Roddy for Sabre was a true spectacle to see because Roddy exhibited disgust and arrogance in a way that not many 21st century professional wrestlers can. And honestly, in a way that I don't think many thought he could.

For so long, Roddy was known as just a solid worker and in some cases, a bland one. He was a moves guy and nothing more. He had no charisma nor character. Despite coming up with the likes of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, he became labeled as the generic Indy worker. But with this story, Roddy showed the world that he is not that. He's just as good as CM Punk ever was and he can manipulate an audience with the drop of a hat. You could sense the determination in Strong every time he appeared on screen. It was a deep sense of cockiness and spite and it resonated.

Over the next several months, Roddy's tension with Zack Sabre Jr built tremendously which led to the rematch that took place nearly a year later in March of this year. Sabre Jr earned this rematch by winning the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles and Roddy, being the dick he is, made Sabre wait several months before giving him his title shot. This just made the fans want Roddy to be dethroned even more as the champion continued to suck them in. Then comes March 5th, 2016, the two men face off finally and the audience is once again mesmerized as two of the best in the world do their thing. The tension in the room was high as the crowd bit on every near fall because they could sense a new champion being crowned, but they never doubted Roddy's ability to retain, either. The match was stiff and exhausting, a 30 minute battle came to end with Sabre finally trapping Roddy in a predicament he couldn't get out of in the form of a submission hold in the center of the ring. The champion was forced to tap and the roof exploded off the legion hall where PWG has held shows at since 2006. Sabre jumped into the crowd to celebrate with his believers as a new era began. Chills went through my body as this moment unfolded.

This moment wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the unreal talent that is Roderick Strong. He may have lost, but he told the story and played the perfect counterpart for Sabre Jr during his entire feud with him. Both men played off each other in the most excellent manner possible and it was one hell of a ride.

Following the loss of the PWG Title, I was curious whether or not the hot streak of Roddy would continue. I mean, this awesome story began before he won the title, but the crux of the entire thing was when he held the PWG World Championship as it signified him as the top dog, a despicabal one at that. Once a villain is defeated, people usually quit caring because he is no longer important. Well, that couldn't be more wrong in this case as Roderick Strong's reign of terror continued as he came out to Zack Sabre Jr's music out of spite in route to his main event contest against Sami Callihan at PRINCE in May. Roddy got on the mic and before he even spoke, the boos that rang through the legion hall were echoing. It was like nothing had changed and although rumors had began that Roddy's time in PWG was nearing an end, I held out hope that this run wouldn't end any time soon.

To my chagrin, it would come to an end at the next PWG event which, as mentioned before, took place this weekend. If you don't want to read spoilers, I suggest exiting out of this pot now because I'm going to go through the series of events which took place despite the DVD/MP4 not being available yet because it's simply the perfect end to this story.

This fairytale story of good and evil began with four men. Roderick Strong, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, & Zack Sabre Jr. Through all the twists and turns of the past two years including two of the aforementioned taking sabbaticals from the company, the story unironically ended with these same four men.

Following a reported MOTY caliber contest between Zack Sabre Jr and Kyle O'Reilly in which Sabre was able to retain his World Championship, Roderick Strong made his way to the ring and demanded his rematch against ZSJ. The bell rang and the two men went to battle in a No Disqualifications contest for the PWG World Title. The match featured an array of interference including Roddy's stablemate Adam Cole trying to help him out, but in the end Sabre would retain his championship and a moment for the ages would took place.

Photo cred: @SilentAssasin on Twitter
 

An unusual smile graced the face of the most villainous man in PWG for the past two years as Zack asks "Are we done?" and Roddy responds "For now."

Mount Rushmore comes out followed by the locker room and the entire PWG family says goodbye to the face of the company and one of the all time greats, not just in PWG, but in independent wrestling as a whole.

Roderick Strong's time in PWG, especially these past two years, will go down as one of my favorite runs in wrestling ever. It was brilliant all the way through for all the reasons I detailed above. So many memories and such a special feel from start to finish. I am already finding myself re-watching moments from it just to relive the nostalgia. Thank you, Roddy, for 11 years of showing us why you are an elite athlete. Thank you for always being around when people left for other things, no showed flights, or any other various reason. You're the most consistent wrestler I can remember watching and I think all fans will agree that PWG won't be the same without you. Go kill it in WW-- I mean, good luck at the orphanage with Generico & Steen, you deserve it!