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Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Roderick Strong. He is a member of the Undisputed Kingdom stable and is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign.

He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand. He is also known for his 13-year tenure with Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former one-time ROH World Champion, a two-time ROH World Television Champion, and a one-time ROH World Tag Team Champion with Austin Aries, which made him the second-ever ROH Triple Crown Champion (after Eddie Edwards).

He initially debuted as The Jester on the Floridian independent circuit, before quickly changing his name to Roderick Strong. He worked for IPW Hardcore and NWA Florida, before debuting for ROH in September 2003. In mid-2004, Strong joined forces with Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, and Jack Evans, collectively known as Generation Next. As part of Generation Next, Strong won the ROH World Tag Team Championship with Aries. Strong later turned on Aries, forming a new faction, the No Remorse Corps with Davey Richards and Rocky Romero. During this time, he was also competing for ROH's sister promotion, FIP, and debuted for PWG. Strong has also toured Japan with Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Noah and had a brief stint in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2005.

After signing with WWE in 2016, Strong debuted in NXT as a fan-favorite before turning into a villain and joining The Undisputed Era, where he became a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion (both with Kyle O'Reilly) and a one-time NXT North American Champion. As the leader of The Diamond Mine, he became NXT Cruiserweight Champion once. After his WWE contract expired, Strong signed with AEW in April 2023.

Early life[]

Lindsey was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, but relocated to Florida at a young age. Following a troubled childhood, Lindsey graduated from Riverview High School, where he played American football. He went on to attend the University of South Florida on an academic scholarship. Lindsey majored in Business for two years before dropping out.

Professional wrestling career[]

Early Career[]

In the autumn of 1994, Lindsey's father, a former collegiate wrestler, began training as a wrestler under Jim Neidhart. After Lindsey attended several training sessions and met Harry Smith, a third generation wrestler, he decided to become a wrestler. Lindsey was trained by his father, Neidhart and a number of other wrestlers in Tampa, Florida and debuted in 2000 as The Jester on the Floridian independent circuit for the RWA.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2014-2016)[]

Along with the rest of the ROH roster, Roderick Strong was involved with the Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling collaborated events War of the Worlds, held on May 12 and 13; and Global Wars held on May 15 and 16. At the first War of the Worlds event, Strong won his match with NJPW wrestler KUSHIDA, but lost his match at the second event to NJPW mainstay Hiroshi Tanahashi, considered one of the top three stars of New Japan. He appeared at both Global Wars events; on the first night, he teamed with The Briscoe Brothers and War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) to defeat Bullet Club (AJ Styles (then IWGP Heavyweight Champion), Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, and The Young Bucks). On the second night, he lost to Shinsuke Nakamura, another one of the top three stars of NJPW. After the ROH/NJPW events, Strong garnered high praise from wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, reporting that both Tanahashi and Nakamura were giving him "rave reviews".

Following the ROH/NJPW events, Strong set his sights on the ROH World Championship. At Best in the World, Strong defeated Michael Elgin and Moose in a three-way match to become the number one contender to the ROH World Championship. Strong received his title match at Death Before Dishonor XIII, challenging Jay Lethal (also the ROH World Television Champion), but was unsuccessful as the match went to a 60-minute time-limit draw. After failing to capture the title, Roderick Strong began campaigning for a match against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, the only one of the top three NJPW talents (alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura) he had yet to wrestle. Okada accepted the challenge, setting the two up for a match at Field of Honor, where Okada was victorious. Strong finally received a rematch with Lethal for the ROH World Championship on the August 21 episode of ROH Wrestling, but was defeated. Strong continued to be unsuccessful in his endevaours, as he lost a number one contenders match at All Star Extravaganza VII, losing to AJ Styles in a four-way match (along with Adam Cole and Michael Elgin). Despite his recent misfortunes, Strong continued to feud with Jay Lethal, where he was announced as being the partner of A. J. Styles and ACH in a "Champions vs. All-Stars" elimination match at Glory By Honor XIV against Lethal and ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett). In the lead-up to the match, Strong earned a match for Jay Lethal's ROH World Television Championship on the first night of Glory By Honor XIV on October 23. Strong was successful in the match, capturing the TV title for the second time. Being a champion, Strong was placed on the Champions team with Lethal and the Kingdom against the new All-Stars team (after Styles and ACH had both been injured the previous night), turning the six-man tag team match into an eight-man tag team match. Strong's team was victorious, with Strong and Lethal being the only two remaining in the match. After the match, Strong had a stare-down with both Styles and Lethal.

After being injured during the Survival of the Fittest tournament, Strong issued an open challenge for the upcoming Final Battle pay-per-view event, which was accepted by Bobby Fish, who had defeated him in a match on September 12. On December 18, the first night of the event, Strong retained the title against Fish. During the match Strong submitted to Fish, but the referee did not see, and the match continued. Strong once more turned heel after hitting Fish with a Sick Kick to win. The following night, Strong solidified his heel turn by defeating ECW alumni Stevie Richards.

Heading into 2016, Roderick Strong continued to feud with Bobby Fish, where the two were scheduled for a rematch for Strong's TV Championship at ROH's 14th Anniversary event on February 26. However Strong lost the ROH World Television Championship to New Japan Pro Wrestling's Tomohiro Ishii at the ROH/NJPW co-produced Honor Rising: Japan 2016 event in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall. He then went on to be pinned by Ishii in a three-way match at ROH 14th Anniversary, which also involved Fish. Strong was then defeated May 8 by Dalton Castle who became the new number-one contender to the TV title.

On June 22, 2016, ROH announced that Strong would be leaving the promotion following the June 25 television tapings. June 24 at Best in the World '16 Roderick Strong lost to Mark Briscoe after a pair of fisherman suplex drivers/brainbusters. The following day, June 25, his last day at ROH, Strong was defeated again by Dalton Castle, who had just lost his TV title challenge against Bobby Fish at Best in the World. Although taped in June it did not air until July 15th.

Dragon Gate (2005–2009)[]

Strong has made several tours of Japan, starting in December 2005 with Dragon Gate.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2009–2013)[]

Since 2009 he has worked for Pro Wrestling Noah, where, in July 2013, he and Slex entered in the NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League for the vacant GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. However, the team won only two points and failed to advance in the tournament.

Personal life[]

In December 2015, Lindsey got engaged to mixed martial artist and fellow wrestler Marina Shafir. In 2017, they welcomed their first child, a boy named Troy Veniamin Lindsey. Lindsey and Shafir were married on November 7, 2018.

Lindsey is also good friends with Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Jasmine Duke, whom also are Shafir's best friends.

In wrestling[]

  • Finishing moves
    • CX '02 (Crucifix cutter) - rarely used
    • CX '03 (Straight jacket Gory neckbreaker) - Innovated; rarely used
    • Death by Roderick (Fireman's carry double knee gutbuster)
    • End of Heartache (Vertical suplex lifted and dropped into a double knee backbreaker)
    • Gibson Driver (Kneeling double underhook powerbomb) – adopted from James Gibson
    • Inverted cloverleaf, sometimes with bodyscissors - rarely used
    • Jumping high knee
    • Sick Kick (Running single leg dropkick)
    • Strong Hold (Elevated Boston crab while kneeling on the opponent's back or a straight jacket)
  • Signature moves
    • Backhand chop
    • Cloud 9 (Belly-to-back facebuster)
    • Discus elbow smash
    • Lariat takedown
    • Multiple backbreaker variations
      • Argentine, sometimes while dropping to a kneeling position
      • Canadian, sometimes while dropping to a seated position
      • Capture suplex onto the knee
      • Double underhook
      • Half nelson
      • Pendulum, sometimes onto the top turnbuckle
      • Power-Breaker (Powerbomb onto the knee)
    • Multiple kick variations
      • Calf
      • Drop
      • Rope-aided enzuigiri
      • Slingshot baseball slide
    • Multiple suplex variations
      • Belly-to-back, sometimes onto the ring apron
      • Crash Landing (Standing rolling release)
      • Double underhook
      • Super
    • Multiple rib breakers
    • Olympic slam
  • Nicknames
    • "The Messiah of the Backbreaker"
    • "Mr. Ring of Honor/ROH"
    • "Neck Strong"
  • Entrance themes
    • "The End of Heartache" by Killswitch Engage

Championships and accomplishments[]

  • All Elite Wrestling
    • AEW International Championship (1 time, current)
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • PWI ranked him #13 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011 and 2016
  • Ring of Honor
    • ROH World Championship (1 time)
    • ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Austin Aries
    • ROH World Television Championship (2 times)
    • Survival of the Fittest (2005)
    • Honor Gauntlet (2010)
    • Toronto Gauntlet (2010)
    • Second Triple Crown Champion
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter
    • Most Improved Wrestler (2005)