WWE Early years in NXT (2012–2015) Muhtadi spent 18 months rehabilitating from the injury he sustained with the Arizona Cardinals. During his recovery, he received offers to return to the NFL and to work in
financial services, but instead opted to become a professional wrestler with
WWE by August 2012. He joined WWE's
developmental territory WWE NXT and he adopted the ring name "Mojo Rawley". Rawley made his television debut on the May 29, 2013, episode of
NXT, competing in a
battle royal that was won by
Bo Dallas. On the October 9 episode of
NXT, Rawley adopted a high-energy character based on the concept of "staying hyped"; Rawley explained that if getting hyped allowed superhuman achievements, he would take it one level higher by staying hyped. Rawley defeated
CJ Parker at
NXT Arrival and then went on an unbeaten streak, defeating CJ Parker,
Sylvester Lefort and
Oliver Grey, among others. He also took part in a battle royal to determine the new number one contender where he made it to the final seven before being eliminated by
Jason Jordan. On May 29, 2014, at
NXT TakeOver event,
Rusev beat down Rawley. Rawley then formed a team with
Bull Dempsey, but they lost in the 1st round of the number one contenders tournament for the tag titles, causing Dempsey to turn on Rawley. The two faced off at
NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way with Rawley losing, he also lost a rematch a few weeks later. In October, Rawley suffered a shoulder injury that would take him out of action for four to six months.
The Hype Bros (2015–2017) In June 2015,
Zack Ryder debuted in NXT, and returning Rawley formed an alliance with him, dubbing themselves as
The Hype Bros. On the June 10 episode of
NXT, The Hype Bros went on to defeat
Elias Samson and
Mike Rallis. On August 22 at
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, The Hype Bros teamed up with
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady to defeat Jason Jordan,
Chad Gable and
The Mechanics (
Dash Wilder and
Scott Dawson) in an 8-man tag team match. On the October 16 episode of
NXT, The Hype Bros competed in a match for the
NXT Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. On the October 22 episode of
NXT, Rawley competed in a 26-man battle royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship, he was unsuccessful, although he was among the last few competitors in the match. On the November 11 episode of
NXT, The Hype Bros teamed up with
Bayley during an
intergender tag team match against
Blake and Murphy and
Alexa Bliss, where they emerged victorious. On the February 10, 2016, episode of
NXT, The Hype Bros defeated Corey Hollis and John Skyler in a
tag team match. in December 2016 On July 19, Rawley was called up to the main roster as a supplemental pick in the
2016 WWE draft, being selected in the 11th round by
SmackDown, the brand in which his partner Zack Ryder wrestled. He made his main roster debut at
Battleground, helping Ryder against being assaulted post-match by Rusev. On the
SummerSlam pre-show, The Hype Bros teamed with
American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) and
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) to face
The Vaudevillains (
Aiden English and
Simon Gotch), Breezango (
Tyler Breeze and
Fandango), and
The Ascension (
Konnor and
Viktor) in a 12-man tag team match, where The Hype Bros' team was victorious. On the August 30 episode of
SmackDown, they defeated The Vaudevillains to advance in the
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament. The Hype Bros were later eliminated by
Heath Slater and
Rhyno in semifinals. The Hype Bros would later get a second chance to face Heath Slater and Rhyno in the final at
Backlash after American Alpha were injured by The Usos, in a losing effort. On the October 25 episode of
SmackDown, The Hype Bros defeated The Ascension to qualify as part of Team SmackDown for the
10–on–10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match at
Survivor Series. On the December 13 episode of
SmackDown, The Hype Bros won a multi-team battle royal for a chance to take on
The Wyatt Family for the titles, but Ryder sustained a knee injury, cancelling their #1 contender status. After Ryder's injury was determined, the following week on
SmackDown, Rawley defeated
Curt Hawkins. On the January 24, 2017, episode of
SmackDown, Rawley won a battle royal to earn a spot in the
2017 Royal Rumble match. At the event, Rawley entered at number four and was eliminated by
Braun Strowman. He then defeated Hawkins on the
Elimination Chamber pre-show the following month. Rawley's biggest career win would come on the
WrestleMania 33 kickoff show when with the help of then NFL's
Rob Gronkowski, he won the fourth annual
André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal with the last elimination of
Jinder Mahal. After six months of inactivity, Ryder returned on the June 13 episode of
SmackDown, reuniting with Rawley. On June 18, at the
Money in the Bank pre-show, The Hype Bros faced
The Colóns (
Primo and
Epico Colón) in a winning effort. Two days later on
SmackDown, Shane McMahon announced that The Hype Bros would have an opportunity to become number one contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team championship at the June 27 episode of
SmackDown in a match against tag team champions
The Usos, in which they were defeated. After several weeks of losing matches causing dissension between the team, both Rawley and Ryder began to claim that a change was needed. On the November 28 episode of
SmackDown Live, after losing to
The Bludgeon Brothers (
Harper and
Rowan), Rawley attacked Ryder, turning
heel for the first time in his career. Rawley appeared on the December 5 episode of
SmackDown Live, claiming Ryder was dead weight. Rawley and Ryder had a match scheduled at
Clash of Champions, which Rawley won.
24/7 Champion (2018–2021) Rawley then competed in a
United States Championship tournament, where he defeated Zack Ryder in the first round, but lost to
Bobby Roode in the semi-finals. At
Royal Rumble on January 28, 2018, Rawley answered Bobby Roode's open challenge for the United States Championship, but was unsuccessful in winning the title. As part of the
Superstar Shake-up, Rawley was drafted to
Raw brand. On April 27, Rawley participated in the
Greatest Royal Rumble, entering at number 29, but was eliminated by
Randy Orton. On the June 18 episode of
Raw, after defeating
No Way Jose, Rawley claimed that he was no longer hyped and simply focused. Over the following weeks on
Raw, Rawley defeated No Way Jose, and
Tyler Breeze several times. Following a brief feud with Bobby Roode, Rawley found himself off Raw for an extended amount of time. On the January 28, 2019, episode of Raw, Rawley began to appear in pre-recorded segments talking to an off-screen person, blaming them for his lack of success, before being revealed that he was talking to a mirror. On the May 13 episode of
Raw, he debuted with a new look, quickly defeating
Apollo Crews. However, the gimmick was quietly dropped. On December 31, Rawley won the
WWE 24/7 Championship from
R-Truth, his first championship in WWE; however, he would lose it back to Truth moments later. Rawley won the title again on the January 13, 2020, episode of
Raw, pinning R-Truth on the entrance ramp. During three
house shows from January 17 to 19, Rawley lost the title to Truth, but quickly regained it moments later. On the January 27 episode of
Raw, Rawley lost the title to Truth, but he would quickly regain it back by pinning Truth, who was distracted by Rawley's new bodyguard
Riddick Moss whom Rawley dubbed his '
offensive lineman', becoming a six-time champion. On the February 10 episode of
Raw, Rawley lost the title to Moss after Moss turned on him during a tag team match, ending their alliance. On the March 13 episode of
SmackDown, as a
face with his old "Hype" gimmick, Rawley was moved to the SmackDown brand and announced that
Rob Gronkowski would be appearing on
SmackDown the next week. This move has been seen by critics as a lifeline to Rawley's stagnant career as Gronkowski is more widely known to the general public and is one football's most popular stars before joining WWE. At
WrestleMania 36, with no crowd in attendance, Rawley won the 24/7 championship from R-Truth on the first day of the two-day event, marking his 7th title win. The following day, Gronkowski pinned Rawley to win the title. On the June 5 episode of
SmackDown, Rawley reverted to being a heel by mocking
Shorty G and later joining
Shinsuke Nakamura and
Cesaro in attacking him. Two weeks later on the June 19 episode of
SmackDown, Rawley was defeated by Shorty G in what would be his final WWE match. On April 15, 2021, after ten months of inactivity caused by
long-haul COVID, Rawley was released from his WWE contract. == Other ventures ==