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Last night’s episode of NXT on USA saw the long-awaited debut of the Diamond Mine stable, which featured Tyler Rust, Hideki Suzuki, manager Malcolm Bivens, and former NXT North American champion Roderick Strong, who beat down current NXT Cruiserweight champion KUSHIDA in the program’s closing moments.
According to Fightful Select, the idea of the stable is to bring a heavier focus on the yellow-and-black brand’s cruiserweight division throughout the summer. Reports are that the group has been planned for months, even before Strong’s storyline with the Undisputed Era came to an end, but that delays did occur in order to ensure the debut could take center stage on an episode of television.
The publication adds that at no point was the Diamond Mine going to feature former IMPACT world champion Tessa Blanchard or new WWE recruit Parker Boudreaux, as that was purely fan speculation. However, there were other names floated for the group, but it is not known who or if there will be additions to the Diamond Mine somewhere down the line.
Aside from Strong and Bivens, who briefly managed the tag team Indus Sher in NXT, Suzuki and Rust are relative newcomers to the brand and will be looking to make a huge impact on the already stacked roster.