How did WWE quietly cut ties with Roderick Strong despite denying multiple release requests?

Roderick Strong made his AEW debut on April 26th, 2023, helping to save Adam Cole from the Jericho Appreciation Society. Of course, this was a huge hit among pro-wrestling fans considering Cole and Strong reuniting at AEW has everyone giddy with excitement.

Coming to Roderick Strong’s WWE exit, it wasn’t as smooth as he would have wanted it to be. As per Fightful, the former WWE Superstar had asked for his release but the company denied it. Some believed his deal was supposed to run through the following year.

However, WWE had already quietly set the wheels in motion to cut off ties with Roderick Strong. 2K was told to exclude the former NXT North American Champion from the most recent game.

According to Fightful:

"In 2022, Roderick Strong asked for his WWE release, which we're told was initially rejected. However, those that we spoke to in WWE say that they believed his deal was to run into next year, though that's hardly confirmed.

"Recently, 2K was told to exclude Roderick Strong from the game. WWE talent that we spoke to had not been given an update by WWE about his status or lack thereof with the company, and we'd simply been told he'd not been at the WWE Performance Center in quite some time. About the only update we had from those close to him of late was that he was doing well physically and cleared to wrestle."

For those who aren’t aware, Adam Cole and Roderick Strong worked closely with WWE NXT as a part of The Disputed Era. It was a dominating faction, and all of them pulled their weight. But the faction started dismantling as pro-wrestlers left WWE.

Strong did leave the company for some time back in 2021 but he later joined as a part of a different faction.

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When and why did Roderick Strong leave WWE?

Back in February 2021, Strong had quit WWE. He handed in his resignation to William Regal before returning in June as part of The Diamond Mine.

During an interview with Sean Ross Sapp, he revealed that he was done with WWE and wanted to distance himself to understand what he truly wanted.

"It's one of those situations where the highlight was on Kyle and Adam, but the competitor in me wants to be a part of that, but there wasn't an opportunity at that time. For me, this gave me a chance to distance myself, decompress and really think about what I wanted to do. I've been in a wrestling ring for 25 years... I told my mom I quit, my dad, my family. I was like, 'We'll see what happens down the road.'"

It’s unknown how Strong’s storylines will progress in AEW, but if he’s working with Adam Cole, some undoubtedly exciting times are coming up for AEW fans!