The story of Mojo Rawley's wrestling journey is not altogether unfamiliar that of a football hopeful forced to consider a different path after a career-threatening injury.
Speaking on "Conversations with Brisco & Bradshaw,"the former "Hype Bro" admitted that football was always his first love, but he always enjoyed watching wrestling.
"WhenI started playing football, any [wrestler] that kinda did both was right up my alley,"Rawley said. "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."
After spending 18 months recovering from a gruesome calf injury sustained during the Arizona Cardinals training camp, Rawley said he had to choose between seeking another NFL contract which was far from guaranteed or trying his hand at wrestling. He revealed that it was the patriarch of the Gronkowski family who helped open the door for him.
"I was talking to the Jets and Raiders, actually, and I was thinking I was gonna go to one of them, whenI had this opportunity to meet withWWE,"Rawley said. "It turns out, [Gordon Gronkowski] was college roommates with Mike Rotunda [aka IRS] at Syracuse. So 'BigG' called over to Mike [and] they had a conversation."
This connection led to an invitation for Rawley to attend his first live WWE live event. Taking in the action from the front row, Rawley was blown away by the spectacle and knew it was something he wanted to try. Further talks with WWE earned him an invitation to train at Florida Championship Wrestling in 2012. He made his "WWE NXT" debut on May 29, 2013,receiving his main roster call-up in 2016.
