Top Rope News
AEW AEW star Roderick Strong says he wanted to win the AEW International Championship before even signing with the company.
At AEW Revolution 2024, Roderick Strong defeated Orange Cassidy to win the AEW International Championship.
Since then, Strong has cemented himself as champion through matches against the likes of Kyle O’Reilly and Rocky Romero.
On the latest episode of AEW Unrestricted, Roderick Strong admitted that he wanted to win the AEW International Championship before he had even signed with the company. He said:
“I want to say it’s an honor, but obviously, that seems strange to say, but it honestly is.”
“This is the title that, immediately when it came about, that was something I’ve had my eye on, even when I wasn’t with the company.”
“So to have the opportunity to face someone like Orange Cassidy, as talented as he is, kind of surreal at the moment.”
“People were talking to me about that, just how amazing that pay-per-view was overall and just the fact that it was a spotlight opportunity, and I took advantage of it, so it was awesome.”
On what it means to be a champion in All Elite Wrestling, Strong said:
“It’s meant the world to me, and something that was important to me after I won it, or before I won it, when I knew I was gonna win it, was the fact that I was gonna make people earn their opportunities to face me.”
“I appreciate what Orange did for a lot of people, but like everything in my career, I had to take the long path. So I’m gonna make people take the long path.”
“You see how often people quit, and they’re not willing to really sacrifice. They say they will, but when they’re in that situation, they won’t. So to me, this means. next to my wife and my son, it means everything.”
Roderick Strong will defend the AEW International Championship against Will Ospreay this Sunday, May 26 at AEW Double Or Nothing 2024. For the full lineup for the event, click here.
Transcription via Fightful
Want a career in the professional wrestling industry but don’t know where to start? Enrolment is now open for the first-of-its-kind Wrestling Masterclass – click here for details!
Trending
JOIN THE 
mailing list
