Tag: hideki suzuki

WWE NXT video highlights: Diamond Mine debuts

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

The Diamond Mine arrived in the show-closing angle of last night’s NXT.

The returning Roderick Strong was revealed as part of Diamond Mine as he attacked NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida at the end of last night’s show. Strong, Tyler Rust, and the debuting Hideki Suzuki appeared together and were wearing Diamond Mine tracksuits. They’re being managed by Malcolm Bivens.

Kushida lost a non-title match to Kyle O’Reilly in the main event of last night’s NXT. A brawl between O’Reilly and Adam Cole then broke out when Cole tried to attack O’Reilly after the match. With Kushida left alone in the ring, he was attacked by Strong. Bivens threw Kushida’s Cruiserweight title belt on top of him after the attack. Bivens declared that this is Diamond Mine.

Weeks of teaser videos had aired leading into the debut of Diamond Mine. They showed unidentified athletes working out at an MMA gym.

Before returning last night, Strong had resigned from NXT in an angle this April. His resignation came after the breakup of Undisputed Era.

Rust hadn’t appeared on NXT since March prior to last night.

Suzuki joined the WWE Performance Center in a coaching role earlier this year. WWE wrote about Suzuki when he signed with the company: “Hideki Suzuki joins the WWE PC’s coaching staff. The Hokkaido, Japan, native trained in catch-as-catch can wrestling at Japan’s Snake Pit under the legendary Billy Robinson before stepping into the ring for Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Wrestle-1 and Zero1, among others. In 2017, Suzuki was named the MVP of Japanese independent wrestling by Samurai TV.”

More coverage from last night —

WWE NXT video highlights —

Adam Cole vs. Carmelo Hayes

Robert Stone gets scared by Franky Monet’s dog Presley

LA Knight is the Million Dollar Megastar

Pete Dunne & Oney Lorcan interrupt Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory

Io Shirai & Zoey Stark vs. Aliyah & Jessi Kamea

Shirai & Stark, Gonzalez & Kai, and Blackheart & Moon brawl

Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory vs. Pete Dunne & Oney Lorcan

Karrion Kross goes face-to-face with Samoa Joe

Franky Monet vs. Elektra Lopez

Ever-Rise try to get payback on Hit Row before the show

Hit Row vs. Ever-Rise

Jake Atlas comes to Mercedes Martinez’s defense against Xia Li & Boa

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Kushida

Diamond Mine debuts

NXT fallout: Samoa Joe is taking chaos and making it order

NXT fallout: Io Shirai & Zoey Stark are livid after three-team brawl

NXT fallout: Carmelo Hayes is going to make the most of his loss to Adam Cole

Roderick Strong returns to WWE NXT as part of Diamond Mine

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Roderick Strong returned to NXT tonight as part of the brand’s newest faction.

After several weeks of teaser videos, it was revealed that the Diamond Mine would be opening on tonight’s NXT. The show ended with Strong, Tyler Rust, and Hideki Suzuki appearing in Diamond Mine tracksuits as Strong attacked Kushida. Malcolm Bivens appeared with Strong, Rust, and Suzuki as Diamond Mine’s manager.

Kushida lost to Kyle O’Reilly in the main event of tonight’s NXT. Adam Cole then tried to attack O’Reilly after the match. With the brawl between O’Reilly and Cole leaving Kushida alone in the ring, he was then attacked by Strong. Bivens threw Kushida’s NXT Cruiserweight Champion on top of him after the attack. Bivens declared that this is Diamond Mine.

Tonight was Strong’s first appearance on NXT since an angle where he resigned from the brand this April. Strong handed in his resignation following the implosion of Undisputed Era.

Suzuki is a former star for Big Japan Pro Wrestling. It was announced in April that he had joined the WWE Performance Center as a coach. Tonight was Suzuki’s NXT debut, but he wasn’t identified by name.

Rust’s appearance tonight was the first time he’s been on NXT since March.

The teaser videos leading into Diamond Mine’s debut showed unidentified athletes working out at an MMA gym with phrases like “Pressure Makes Diamonds” appearing on the screen.

Hideki Suzuki headed internationally with ‘one-way ticket’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Hideki Suzuki has left Japan, though it isn’t currently clear where his destination is.

Tokyo Sports reported this morning that the Big Japan Pro Wrestling star had left Japan with a one-way ticket, indicating he was leaving the country. The report was vague regarding where Suzuki would go other than he left via the international terminal. Suzuki previously guest trained at WWE’s Performance Center last year.

Training under Billy Robinson in the UWF Snake Pit dojo, Suzuki made his debut in 2008 for Antonio Inoki’s Inoki Genome Federation. He is best known for his run in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, winning their World Strong Heavyweight championship two times and winning the Strong Climb tournament in 2018. He has most recently started to appear for Pro Wrestling NOAH as part of Takashi Sugirua’s Sugiura-gun stable.

Two more recent signees to WWE include former Wrestle-1 star Jiro Kuroshio and Sareee, who has wrestled for both World Woman Pro Wrestling Diana and Seadlinnng.