New faction Diamond Mine debuts on WWE NXT on Tuesday night
Diamond Mine made their bow on WWE NXT, as the return of Roderick Strong turned into reality as the new leader of the faction. Strong was accompanied by Tyler Rust, Malcolm Bivens, and new signing Hideki Suzuki.
In the main event of WWE NXT, Kushida battled Kyle O’ Reilly in one of the best fights this year.
O’ Reilly beat Kushida in a non-title match in a tiring and endless display from the two fighters. Kushida targeted O Reilly’s arms and shoulders, but it was a sudden counter pinfall to secure the win. The win will be a big boost before his clash with former teammate Adam Cole.
O’ Reilly then was part of another confrontation with Cole. The pair meet next month at the NXT American Bash.
The Diamond Mine faction was teased on the show for weeks, but their return was confirmed in the closing moments of the show. Bivens led a new look stable into the ring towards a defeated Kushida.
They picked up the NXT Cruiserweight title and Strong immediately set his eyes on it. Roderick Strong returns months after resigning and putting his papers to William Regal.
Roderick Strong made his NXT debut in 2016 and made himself one of the fan favourites on the roster as a babyface. Before leaving in April, Regal allowed Strong to return at any time he wished to. It seems the welcoming of the new faction is a breath of fresh air in Strong’s journey on WWE NXT.
He has also been one of the most dominant Superstars after he turned on his partner Pete Dunne in 2018. Strong joined The Undisputed Era and turned heel. Ever since then, he has gone on to win the NXT North American Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championship.
Despite not featuring on the main roster, Strong was part of the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018. He has a bright future ahead with the Diamond Mine set to elevate his performances to another level.
Rust has had a monumental six months since joining the WWE Performance Center in December 2020. After aligning with Malcolm Bivens, he has become one of the significantly improved wrestlers on NXT, starting out with a tough loss to Tommaso Ciampa, but fighting back with a debut win over Ariya Daivari.
Rust is relatively new to the gold and yellow brand, but that shouldn’t stop him as he now gets a chance to fulfill his potential with Diamond Mine. With Bivens by his side, the 34-year old is at the right place and can establish himself in the WWE.
Suzuki arrives as a veteran wrestling in different promotions around Japan including Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Inoki Genome Federation. His experience goes over a decade having been part of some big matches on the wrestling circuit. He is also a former BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion.
In April this year, the 41-year old joined as a coach at the WWE Performance Center. To everyone’s belief he was revealed as one of the members of Diamond Mine. It seems that there is still something left in the Japanese’s tank as he arrives on NXT.
Bivens arrived in 2019 as an experienced wrestling manager having worked at EVOLVE and Ring of Honour. Bivens has already managed a few NXT Superstars including Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar, before his move to managing Rust. Rust and Bivens have worked tremendously this year having achieved continued success.
Bringing his wealth of management knowledge to Diamond Mine could help them become one of the biggest factions ever seen. The quartet seems like a dominating threat to the entire WWE NXT roster.
The debut of the Diamond Mine is a wake up call to everyone in WWE and they have already set their eyes on winning the gold in WWE.
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