Mojo Rawley recently spilled the beans on how he got his in-ring name, during his latest interview with Chris Van Vliet.
Rawley, real name Dean Muhtadi, was recently released by WWE after a nine-year stint with the promotion. He was mostly used as a lower-card act during his WWE run but there were moments when it seemed like he would be getting a push.
Mojo Rawley spoke in detail about how he got his unique in-ring moniker while in the company:
"Rob Naylor was a creative assistant at the time. He was like Dusty’s right-hand man. He came up with the name and I think he came up with it after a week of knowing me. He said ‘You should be Mojo.’ And I’m like ‘No. Who is going to take a guy named Mojo seriously? That is ridiculous.’ I could not have been more against it. But he explained it to me, told me to take some time and think about it."
"So I did and I started chopping it up from a marketing perspective. All the crafty marketing too. You meet Mojo one time; you are going to remember it. You know what, let's run with it but tag a real-life name on the end. The thought was originally to be just Mojo. I wanted to do ‘Monday Night Rawley’ which of course 30,000 people have already done. The funny thing is we never used Monday Night Rawley. But even after not being with the company, Mojo has still stuck with me," said Mojo Rawley.
Mojo Rawley is ready to start afresh following his release
Mojo Rawley also spoke about wanting to "do everything" following his WWE release. He did fine for himself in Vince McMahon's promotion but he could have become a much bigger name if handled properly. His "Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal" win at WrestleMania 33 received a big pop from the 72,000 fans in attendance.
He also enjoyed a run with Zack Ryder, with the duo calling themselves "The Hype Bros". Rawley and Ryder never won the Tag Team titles though. He did succeed in winning the 24/7 title on seven occasions.
What was your opinion of Mojo Rawley during his WWE run? Do you think WWE could have done more with his character?