Roderick Strong vs. Ikemen Jiro set for WWE NXT
Roderick Strong has his opponent for this week’s NXT.
WWE has announced that Strong vs. Ikemen Jiro will take place on NXT this Tuesday night. The match was confirmed after Jiro accepted Strong’s open challenge over the weekend.
Strong was supposed to challenge for Kushida’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship two weeks ago, but it was announced that Kushida wasn’t cleared to compete and the match wouldn’t be taking place. Strong instead issued an open challenge and lost to Ilja Dragunov.
A promo from Malcolm Bivens aired on NXT last week. Bivens called Strong the uncrowned NXT Cruiserweight Champion and said Strong would issue another open challenge on this Tuesday’s NXT.
On Saturday, Jiro posted a video where he announced that he’ll be answering Strong’s open challenge. Jiro said Kushida is his idol, and Kushida will beat Strong once he’s healthy. Jiro said he wants to beat Strong too.
Jiro has been a regular on 205 Live since signing with WWE last December. He’s also had three matches on NXT, including losing to Duke Hudson in the first round of the NXT Breakout Tournament. Jiro lost to Ridge Holland on NXT four weeks ago.
This Tuesday’s NXT was taped at the WWE Performance Center last week. Here’s the updated lineup for the episode:
- Johnny Gargano vs. LA Knight
- Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ridge Holland
- Kyle O’Reilly vs. Duke Hudson
- NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov appears
- Roderick Strong vs. Ikemen Jiro