Mojo Rawley Discusses WWE Release, Says The Door Is Open To Return

Mojo Rawley is excited about what the future holds.

After signing with WWE in 2012, Mojo (real name Dean Muhtadi) was released by the company on April 15, 2021. Speaking with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, Rawley commented on his exit from the company and said that for the last couple of years he started to feel like they didn’t know what to do with him.

“Yeah, man. There was a lot that was going on at that time. But, ultimately when I got the news—there’s always some mixed emotions—but, I don’t know, the way I looked at it was, for the last couple years I was starting to get to the point where I feel like they don’t know how to use me here. I feel like I have all this talent that no one’s seen. I literally was never in a legitimate program or storyline with anybody,” Rawley explained.

Mojo continued on to say that he never understood how you could judge someone when you don’t know what they’re entirely capable of. A December 2017 selfie promo was the extent of his opportunity in WWE and all that earned him was a pre-show match against Zack Ryder at Clash of Champions 2017.

“So, I always felt funny when I would be judged online or by the locker room, because how can you judge a guy when you don’t know what he can do,” he began by saying. “Like, these cold matches or these dark matches or filler matches. You can’t get a feel for what someone’s got to offer until they can be on a program, until you give them that mic, they can have a few guys with the same talent, they can go after each other and you can really start to paint that picture. I mean, that cell phone promo was kind of the extent of that opportunity that I got in my career and that was a two minute promo on my phone in my garage.”

Reaching the point where he was going to be typecast in a mid-card role, Rawley knew it was time for a change. He added the following: 

“So, I was starting to get to the point where it was like, ‘I’m not a quitter. I don’t quit. I know that you have to weather the storm, but at the same time, too, if this isn’t really gonna go anywhere, I don’t really want to be a career midcarder or a guy that’s being used to do behind the scenes stuff only or whatever it might be. So, it was almost like pulling the plug on something that needed a change. I mean, guys leave all the time. They become more successful and they either come back with a bigger name or they continue to do their stuff outside the business or the company and it’s better off for them.”

Now free of WWE’s policies, Mojo says he is busier than ever and is excited for all the things he hasn’t been able to do for the past nine years.

“So, I felt like I was approaching that time. So, I was kinda glad, man. Now, it’s like, I’m re-learning what freedom smells and tastes like and I can do anything I want,” he said. “I don’t have to ask permission. I can start a Twitch account. I can go to a restaurant for a nice meal and tag the restaurant on my personal social media. So, there’s a lot, man. I’m hustling. I’m busier now than I’ve ever been, which has been nuts. It just shows it was time. It’s a win-win.”

As for whether or not an eventual return to WWE is a possibility, Rawley says that he was told that the door is open.

“More or less. There was a lot that went into that. Maybe we’ll touch on that later. But, yeah, more or less it was like, ‘Hey, man. Door’s open. Good luck,” Mojo said.

You can view the full list of released WWE stars on April 15 by clicking here.

Rawley recently said that he does plan on returning to the squared circle, but that it wouldn’t be happening immediately. He promises that when he does come back, it’ll be hyped up. You can find his full comments here.