Jim Ross Recalls Backstage Rivalry Between Chris Jericho And Triple H
During a recent appearance on the "Stories With Brisco And Bradshaw" podcast, Dean Muhtadi (formerly Mojo Rawley) recalled his wrestling origins. He said,
"When I started playing football, any [wrestler] that kinda did both was right up my alley. When I was super young, Ultimate Warrior was my guy. Just the energy and the colors. Goldberg was another big one with the spear. I just liked those really intense guys, physical, brawling brutes."
Muhtadi's football career was derailed after suffering a calf injury during the Arizona Cardinals training camp, which made him consider a future in wrestling. He said,
"I was talking to the Jets and Raiders, actually, and I was thinking I was gonna go to one of them, when I had this opportunity to meet with WWE. It turns out, [Gordon Gronkowski] was college roommates with Mike Rotunda [aka IRS] at Syracuse. So 'Big G' called over to Mike [and] they had a conversation."
That talk led to Muhtadi attending his first WWE live event, a show that the future Superstar would enjoy from the front row.
Muhtadi was able to train in FCW in 2012, and after debuting in WWE NXT in 2013, would arrive on the main roster as part of SmackDown three years later.
Muhtadi also spoke about his time in FCW, working with William Regal and his Andre the Giant Battle Royal win. Click here to find out more.