Kushida vs. Roderick Strong Title Match on NXT 2.0 Should’ve Been Great

Professional wrestling is an awesome art thanks in large part to both its variety and unpredictability. When you get a powerhouse wrestler going up against a high flyer, you could be in store for a clash of styles that turns out to be a real treat. Sometimes you’ll get an unforgettable match on pay-per-view, while other times a TV match will be an instant classic. Similarly, there are times when you get 30-minute epics, and other times when two wrestlers put on a fun show in under 10 minutes.

Of course, even shorter matches need the right ingredients to be great. Sometimes it’s the story leading up to the match. Other times it’s the buzz. And there are times when it’s just a right place/right time scenario that propels a match into “fight forever” territory.

Kushida vs. Roderick Strong for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship on the second episode of NXT 2.0 should’ve been great, but sadly, it missed the mark. At around eight minutes long, it definitely seemed short for a title match. But even then, I’ve praised shorter matches in the past when they’re done right. Kushida vs. Strong, however, wasn’t done right, and I don’t blame either wrestler, but rather the NXT 2.0 product.

This is a match that had been building for quite some time. Kushida and Roddy were teasing their inevitable championship battle for weeks. And with Strong getting a nice, gradual push as part of the Diamond Mine stable, it was almost academic that he’d win the Cruiserweight Championship. The predictability isn’t what hurt this match. And for what it’s worth, both wrestlers put in as much as they could into it with the time they were given. But this really should’ve been a main event with at least 15 minutes to let the wrestlers truly shine.

There was a little bit of a buildup during the match, with Kushida working Strong’s arm and going for submissions throughout. Both men put in some decent offense, and there were some back-and-forth scenarios, too. But the match ended just as it felt like it was barely starting. Kushida and Roderick Strong worked hard to build up a climax, but then the match just sort of ended.

Again, neither man is to blame here. The problem is that in an episode of NXT 2.0 where there was just so much bloat in the form of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it squash matches meant to introduce newer talent, veterans Kushida and Roderick Strong weren’t allowed to show what they’re truly capable of… and it was kind of a bummer.

I hope we get to see Kushida vs. Roderick Strong again someday, whether it’s in a WWE ring or elsewhere, because the Cruiserweight Championship match we got in NXT 2.0 was largely disappointing.