Roderick Strong Says It Was Tough For Him To Coach Wife Marina Shafir At First

Roderick Strong is widely regarded as one of the best and most consistent workers of his generation. The current NXT North American Champion has been active for nearly two decades and has wrestled all over the world.

Strong’s wife Marina Shafir has only been wrestling for less than two years and was a professional MMA fighter before making the transition. Learning from Strong would seem to be a blessing for Shafir, but as Strong tells it, being a coach for his wife wasn’t easy at first.

“When originally, the opportunity came about, it was something I wanted to truly avoid,” admitted Strong on After The Bell. “I know how critical I am of myself and how hard I am on myself. I never wanted to put that on her. She’s just as equally as hard on herself when it comes to her fight career and training. At first, it was very rough because I was trying too hard to be helpful. She was very resistant because I wasn’t coming at her in the nicest of ways. She’s really starting to find her groove. It’s been amazing to watch because she’s super creative. She wasn’t a wrestling fan. She watched it when she was younger but she wasn’t a big-time fan. She’s learning all this. The actual creative process for her has been fun to watch.”

Shafir has made multiple appearances on NXT alongside Shayna Baszler. She is also a regular on the NXT Florida live event tours. Strong is thriving as a member of the Undisputed Era.

If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.