Roderick Strong Defeats Joe Gacy, Retains Cruiserweight Title at NXT WarGames 2021

Roderick Strong beat Joe Gacy at NXT WarGames on Sunday night to retain the Cruiserweight Championship.

Strong landed End of Heartache on Gacy for the victory.

Gacy first put himself on Diamond Mine's radar on the Nov. 16 edition of NXT when he praised the group for coming together to accomplish a common goal and inquired about potentially joining the stable.

Malcolm Bivens told Gacy he could pay to try out for Diamond Mine, but he was unwilling to allow him to be part of the stable otherwise.

The following week, the group interrupted a Gacy promo after a scheduled match between Gacy and Grayson Waller didn't happen because of the latter getting attacked by LA Knight.

Gacy took issue with Strong and expressed his belief that the cruiserweight division was divisive and non-inclusive since it didn't allow Superstars over 205 pounds to compete for the title.

Strong responded by saying he would defend the Cruiserweight Championship against anyone and called for Bivens to get the weight limit waived so he could face Gacy at WarGames.

There was nearly a showdown after that interaction, with Bivens calling for The Creed Brothers to attack his rival, but they backed off when Harland showed up to protect Gacy.

The possibility of interference added some intrigue to Strong vs. Gacy since the former Undisputed Era man had all of Diamond Mine supporting him, while the monstrous Harland loomed large in favor of Gacy.

Strong had the advantage Sunday in terms of his experience and high level of performance as an in-ring worker, but the NXT decision-makers have clearly been behind Gacy as a big part of the brand and a developing character.

The decision was made to stick with the veteran as champion, although there is little doubt NXT will continue to feature Gacy heavily moving forward.

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