4-time WWE champion gives honest opinion on his current AEW run

A former WWE superstar and champion has been signed with AEW for over three years now. The star in question, Roderick Strong, opened up on his tenure so far in the Tony Khan-led promotion while appearing in an interview recently.

The Messiah of The Backbreaker made his All Elite Wrestling debut on the April 26, 2023 edition of Wednesday Night Dynamite, saving his long-time ally and stable-mate Adam Cole from a beatdown at the hands of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Since his arrival in AEW, Strong has been closely tied to The Panama City Playboy, not to mention his other allies, such as Kyle O’Reilly, and formerly The Kingdom’s Mike Bennett and Matt Taven. He has also faced off against Chris Jericho, Samoa Joe, Will Ospreay, MJF, Swerve Strickland and other top stars.

Some time after Adam Cole stepped away from the squared circle at All In: Texas last year, Strong began begrudgingly associating and teaming with The Conglomeration, a group his Paragon teammate Kyle O’Reilly had joined. He helped the faction fight The Death Riders, and took part in the 2025 Continental Classic, ending his Blue League campaign with only 3 points. Earlier this past February, Roddy finally joined the Conglomeration in an official capacity, saving his former rival Orange Cassidy from The Dogs.

Strong, along with OC and O’Reilly, captured the AEW World Trios Championships from The Dogs at Dynasty 2026, and have held on to the belts for over eighty days now. He and his teammates also took part in a massive Steel Cage match last Sunday at Forbidden Door 2026. The 42-year-old veteran has become a regular staple of All Elite Wrestling TV, and while speaking on the What Happened When podcast recently, he talked about his time so far in the Jacksonville-based company quite positively, stating:

“I feel great. I absolutely love my time in AEW. I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of things I never thought I would. The roster is awesome, I love it. We are all making each other better.” [H/T- @TheDrainmaker on X]

Roderick Strong was in action at AEW Forbidden Door

Last Sunday at Forbidden Door 2026, Roderick Strong joined his Conglomeration teammates Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly and Mark Briscoe, and their allies, former World Champion Darby Allin and reigning International Champion Konosuke Takeshita, to triumph over the reigning World Champion MJF and his teammates, the Don Callis Family’s Jake Doyle, Kevin Knight, Andrade El Idolo, Kazuchika Okada and Kyle Fletcher, in a vicious Steel Cage match.

The babyface crew’s victory earned Briscoe a shot at Friedman’s AEW World Championship for the following episode of Dynamite. Unfortunately, The Sussex County Chicken was unable to dethrone Big Hebrew on the show.

It remains to be seen what lies next for Strong, Cassidy and KOR, who last defended their trios titles against The Opps this past June.