Dean Muhtadi, formerly Mojo Rawley in WWE, recalled some advice that Fandango gave him about achieving longevity in the Fed.
Muhtadi was with WWE from 2013 to 2021. He debuted in NXT, won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33, and held the 24/7 Championship seven times. He did not wrestle for the company for nearly a year prior to his release.
Johnny Curtis, formerly Fandango in WWE, had an even longer run with the company. Curtis signed a developmental deal in 2006 and spent several years in NXT before debuting on the main roster in 2013. Fandango famously defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 29. He was also part of a memorable tag team with Tyler Breeze until he was also released in 2021.
Speaking on The Undisputed Podcast with Bobby Fish, Muhtadi recalled the advice that Curtis gave him about achieving longevity in the business. He said that the trick was not winning the most titles or being on-screen the most, but by simply hanging on and surviving. Even “jobbers” will get noticed by the office, and eventually fans will grow to respect someone who hangs in for a long time.
Muhtadi said, “Fandango actually gave me some of the best advice I have ever gotten in the business. He was just saying, ‘it’s not about who wins the most titles and who has the best runs, it’s about who can last the longest. How long can you survive?’ You might be a jobber in the most embarrassing way for two, three, five, six years, but eventually fans are going to notice that, respect the fact that you hung in. The office is going to see that, they’re going to appreciate it and know they have a soldier on their hands, and you will eventually get your run. If you look at all the guys that were fired and came back, and their first run was a joke, for lack of a better term, and their second run was everything that you could have possibly dreamed of. It’s a testament to that of just rolling with it. We’re getting paid to travel the world with our buddies and joke around and pretend to fight in our underwear. Even if you’re a job guy, this is still a great gig.”
On the same podcast, Muhtadi talked about the mental toll of working in WWE, which you can read here.
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