Mojo Rawley Didn't Expect This Part Of Pro Wrestling To Be So Severe

If seven-time WWE 24/7 Champion Mojo Rawley could turn back time, he would relive his recalibrate his transition from professional football to professional wrestling by placing a greater emphasis on the emotional aspects of being in the ring.

In an interview on "The Unexpected Podcast with Bobby Fish," Rawley admitted that the switch in careers "wasn't at all what I was expecting," with the WWE focus being radically different from what he experienced in the NFL.

"I didn't expect the mental game to be so severe," he said. "I mean, if there was probably one thing I could have gone back and changed about my career, I would have spent a little less time trying to be in the best cardio shape humanly possible and be as strong as I was."

Rawley explained that when he became a wrestler his strength was not an issue "because physically, I always felt like I was good to go, I had my competitive advantage. But mentally, I needed to do more there to keep up with guys that have been doing this for so much longer. That would have been the big change if I would have made."

Rawley added that in football, the emphasis was on the players to work their hardest to succeed on the field, noting that it did not matter "if the head coach thinks you are the biggest scumbag on the planet." In wrestling, however, success and failure are not left to chance.

"If they don't want you to succeed or at least give you a small opportunity to succeed, you're just not going to," he said.

Rawley was released by WWE in April 2021 after nearly 10 years with the company. He has not wrestled since then but has focused on running the Paragon Talent Group, which helps secure brand ambassador deals for former WWE stars and some current AEW wrestlers.