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Diamond Mine has finally arrived on NXT. Near the end of the show, following a stellar match between Kyle O'Reilly and the NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida, the latter was attacked by the group.
In no time, fans realized one of the hooded men was none other than Roderick Strong. But who were the men joining Strong in matching tracksuits?
Folks, it's time to read up on the players of Diamond Mine.
#3 NXT Superstar Tyler Rust
Six months ago, in December, WWE revealed that Rust Taylor, who'd recently debuted in Ring of Honor, had been brought into the Performance Center. On the same day, he made his NXT debut alongside Timothy Thatcher in a Thatch-as-Thatch-Can segment. Malcolm Bivens soon saw the potential in Rust, who ended up taking former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa to his limit in a spectacular debut match.
At 34 years of age, Rust already has seventeen years of experience under his belt, having wrestled his first match in 2004. He was trained by Jesse Hernandez, owner of the Empire Wrestling Federation, and spent nearly his entire career there, capturing the cruiserweight and heavyweight titles twice. Rust debuted for Ring of Honor in October 2020 in the ROH Pure Tournament, where he lost to runner-up Tracy Williams. Soon after that, WWE snagged him up.
#2 NXT and WWE Coach Hideki Suzuki
In April of this year, WWE signed Hideki Suzuki as a coach for the Performance Center. He made his professional wrestling debut in the Inoki Genome Federation before appearing in All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Zero1, DDT Pro-Wrestling, along with other promotions.
Those unfamiliar with Suzuki should check out his work against the likes of Daisuke Sekimoto, Go Shiozaki, and even NXT's own Timothy Thatcher. A catch-style wrestler, Suzuki's an elite on the mat, which just might be the reason he's been placed in Diamond Mine.
Check out the video above to get an idea of what Suzuki can bring to the table. If not, you can see what you can find regarding the 41-year old veteran or just wait for him to tear through NXT's entire roster.
#1 Former NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong
If you're watching NXT and you don't know what to expect from Roderick Strong, then I have no idea how you got on the computer without your parents' permission. It's probably late, you should be getting to bed.
Prior to joining NXT, The Messiah of the Backbreaker was a major star in Ring of Honor, having held their world, TV, and tag team titles as well as becoming their second-ever ROH Triple Crown Champion, just behind IMPACT Wrestling's Eddie Edwards. A 21-year veteran, Strong already came to NXT a wildly accomplished competitor.
Prior to joining the Undisputed Era, he'd competed in the 205 Live Cruiserweight Championship Tournament in 2018. He beat NJPW's KENTA and Kalisto before falling to eventual winner Cedric Alexander. As a member of UE, he's held the NXT Tag Team Titles twice and the NXT North American Championship once.
Tonight, it looked as if he was coming back for the title that eluded him back in 2018. Strong laid out Kushida after his match with Kyle O'Reilly as the rest of Diamond Mine stood over the champion's body. Led by the great mind of Malcolm Bivens, NXT just picked up a major problem in this group.
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