Roderick Strong On If He Prepares For WWE TV Differently Than ROH or PWG

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Roderick Strong spoke about if he prepares for episodes of NXT differently than he did ROH or PWG. Here are highlights:

On if NXT preparation is different from ROH or PWG: “Honestly, not at all. For the longest time, I had to figure out what worked for me, and that’s exactly what I’ve done. I’ve found a formula that keeps me prepared, no matter the situation or whatever arises. That’s one of the things I pride myself on—I figured out what works for me and prepared for any opportunity that comes my way, no matter how big or small the match may be.”

On what excites him about working with Keith Lee: “Keith is definitely a super heavyweight, he is just such a special athlete and he knows that about himself. This is one of those matchups that mean the world to me. He is a unique athlete, and I feel like I am a unique athlete. There is no one else with my style—that is as aggressive or persistent and won’t stay down. There are a ton of good wrestlers out there, but no one just like me, and Keith understands that. My question is, how will Keith last the longer the match goes? Does he have the gas tank? We don’t really know. He hasn’t been in a lot of matches that have taken him to the limit. I’m eager to get out there and show the world what I can do against someone as special as Keith Lee.”

On his thoughts on Survivor Series: “That was a great opportunity to give the WWE universe just a taste, but not everything. Those are two guys that I have the utmost respect for, and obviously I’ve wrestled AJ quite a few times before and Nakamura quite a few times prior to coming to WWE. It was very, very special for me. After the match, I was celebrating on the ground, and I got emotional. I take a lot of pride in what I do, and that was a big moment. I was very, very happy that I had the chance to do that with guys that I have so much respect for, and ones I feel that have the same respect for me. I’m just excited to continue, until the day I stop doing this, to show the world how good I am at this job.”