WWE Releases Mojo Rawley
Joining a substantial list of releases today
WWE announced Thursday evening the release of veteran talent Dean "Mojo Rawley" Muhtadi.
After a brief stint in the NFL as a defensive lineman, Muhtadi signed with WWE in August of 2012, and was assigned to the company's developmental group NXT.
As Mojo Rawley, Muhtadi made his TV debut for NXT in May of 2013. For much of the next two years, Rawley served NXT as a midcard babyface.
In 2015, Rawley was paired with Zack Ryder, becoming The Hype Bros. The two migrated to SmackDown a year later, and worked as a midcard duo. On the WrestleMania 33 pre-show, Rawley won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, with an assist from real life friend Rob Gronkowski.
In late 2017, Rawley turned on Ryder, going heel for the first time in his career. Since the turn, Rawley was sporadically pushed. For a time in early 2019, a more maniacal Rawley appeared in vignettes in which he was shown to be verbally disparaging himself while situated in front of a cracked mirror.
By early 2020, Rawley was a babyface once more. In the run-up to WrestleMania 36, Rawley mostly appeared with Gronkowski, the event's guest host.
Rawley's last WWE match took place on the June 19 edition of SmackDown, where he defeated Chad Gable.
During his time with WWE, Rawley held the 24/7 title on seven occasions.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.
