Beginning of the Roderick Strong Era?

It was TakeOver: New Orleans, The Undisputed Era was defending its NXT Tag Titles against the Authors Of Pain and the unlikely (but effective) duo of Roderick Strong and UK Champion Pete Dunne in the final of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

As was expected, the match was progressing intensely in the favour of AOP, when, suddenly, Dunne took the centre-stage and looked to pry the titles away from The Undisputed Era before he was shockingly betrayed by Strong who helped Adam Cole and Kyle O' Reilly retain while also joining their stable in the process.

This scenario would seem like the recipe for a classic heel turn on any regular day but when a natural babyface like Strong is involved, you have to feel utterly astonished at such sequence of actions.

Playing true to his moniker 'The Messiah Of The Backbreaker', he delivered a metamorphical backstabber to Dunne, which was as unpredictable as they come.

Strong being offered the armband of The Undisputed Era. At that time, he rejected the offer

Ironically, Strong once rejected the same stable he has now done so much to become a part of.

Understandably, it wouldn't have been the perfect time for him to join a heel stable then than it is right now when his NXT career is in dire need of a revamp, after having unsuccessfully competed for every championship available in NXT.

He has wrestled in multiple NXT Championship matches, fought Dunne for the UK Title, and even went to 205 Live temporarily to compete in the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament.

All of those ventures failed and it became clear that the choices of WWE's Creative Team had left his career in a rut.

Strong participated in the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, earlier this year, in a losing effort

The recent heel turn could be a blessing in disguise for Strong as it has made him the subject of extensive debate within the WWE Universe, due to his unprecedented villainous display.

This provides a much-needed dose of heat to a talented wrestler who looked destined to be forever tied to the NXT mid-card and occasionally jobbing to the main event wrestlers.

Strong can now act as a substitute for the injured Bobby Fish and become one-half of the NXT Tag Champions with O' Reilly. The presence of a charismatic heel like Cole alongside him, is another helping factor.

The possibilities don't end there, now that there are four members in The Undisputed Era they can go for every title NXT has to offer (NXT Title, North American Title, and NXT Tag Team Titles) and become an all-champion team like Evolution was back in the day; a feat that very few teams have managed to achieve.

Strong can go a long way in the WWE

Strong has abundant talent and is absolutely worthy of whatever good comes his way from hereon. With the in-ring talent and years of invaluable experience he possesses, there is no bar on how far he can go from here.

It is just a matter of good booking and character development before his career propels him to the pinnacle of NXT and, eventually, to the main roster.