During his time in WWE as Mojo Rawley, Mojo Muhtadi found some success, though he was never able to capture championship gold in the promotion.
Taking to social media over the weekend, Muhtadi revealed that he once made a pitch to WWE management that was rejected before he could even complete his sentence as management didn’t think the phrase “Raw Dawgs” was fitting for the company’s television presentation.
“When I was wrestling as Mojo Rawley, I made a pitch to name my following “Raw Dawgs.” I would come to the ring and say “Where my Raw Dawgs at?” The pitch was declined before I could even finish the sentence.”
When I was wrestling as Mojo Rawley, I made a pitch to name my following “Raw Dawgs.” I would come to the ring and say “Where my Raw Dawgs at?”
The pitch was declined before I could even finish the sentence.
— Dean “Mojo” Muhtadi (@MojoMuhtadi) April 8, 2023
During his time in the sports entertainment giant, Mojo Rawley became known for his “Stay Hyped” attitude, as well as his tag team with Zack Ryder, The Hype Bros. Rawley’s crowning achievement in WWE was undoubtedly when he won the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33 with more than a little help from long time friend and four-time Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski.
In 2019, Muhtadi debuted a new serious character that donned face paint as a way to show his inner turmoil, but the gimmick was quickly dropped after he had just one match with Apollo Crews. Rawley has since revealed that he was against the gimmick.
He was released from WWE in April of 2021 amidst budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mojo Rawley’s Last WWE Match Was In June Of 2020
Muhtadi’s last match to date took place back in 2020 on the June 15th episode of SmackDown. On that occasion, he lost a singles match to Chad Gable, who was wrestling as Shorty G at the time.
In a February 2022 Instagram video, Muhtadi revealed that he contracted a serious bout of COVID-19 shortly thereafter, and the virus nearly cost him his life.
“I’ve been asked a ton about when I’m coming back to wrestling or if I’m officially retired, so let me go ahead and answer that now.
“About 19 months ago, I got COVID extremely badly. I had to go to the hospital, I almost died, and my lungs were just in really bad shape — so much so that in the beginning I couldn’t have any extra pressure on my lungs or else it would suffocate me. I couldn’t even speak for days on end because I couldn’t get enough air in to talk. Maybe the scariest part of the whole thing was the fact that the doctors had no idea what to say because it was so new.”