Mojo Rawley discusses putting together the upcoming BLP wrestler's combine and picking the competitors.
Mojo Rawley (Dean Muhtadi) recently announced that Black Label Pro Wrestling and Paragon Talent Agency, in partnership with DraftKings, will host a wrestler's combine on September 4. The combine will be part of the BLP Crowning Glory event and occur prior to the actual wrestling. He will also be hosting the event. Now, a little over a week before the event, Mojo sat down to discuss his excitement for the upcoming combine in an interview with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp.
Mojo explained that this idea came together through BLP's partnership with DraftKings and the Veritone One advertising agency. Mojo also revealed that it's an idea that they've had for a while and considered doing in 2023, but the event needed to be pushed to 2024.
"Man, this is something we're really excited about," he began. "I'm glad to be talking about it with you because I feel like the fans don't quite grasp what the event is. There's so much information. So it's easy to think that this is just going to be another wrestling show. Look, we got pro wrestling and we know who the best wrestlers are and who has the titles and all that stuff. But people always wonder who's the strongest, who's the fastest on a shoot? Like, if we put everybody together in a series of sports-specific drills, who would actually win outside of just your average bench press or squat that might favor the shorter, stockier guys? Or the sprints that favor the smaller guys?
"So, we came up with this idea through our partnership with DraftKings," he continued. "So the wrestling world has probably seen a ton of our wrestlers over at Paragon Talent Group do these DraftKings sponsorships. Were talking with them and Veritone One, and trying to find a way to think outside the box. ‘Cause it’s about to be NFL week one, right? So we came up with this idea to do the wrestler’s version of the NFL combine. It's kind of been an idea in our pocket for a while. We wanted to do it last year. It just got so crazy, and we had to push it to this year instead. But, brother, we are going to be stoked about it. I don't think we've talked about any of the events just yet so we can absolutely dive in that with you."
When it came to discussing the talent picked for the event, Mojo wanted well-known talent to ensure that they could hold their own in a highly competitive environment. Mojo touted names like Jordynne Grace, Ash By Elegance (Dana Brooke), Mandy Sacs (Mandy Rose), and Xia Li as athletes with a legitimate background outside of wrestling. The same was said of male wrestlers like Moose, Riddick Moss, and Parker Boudreaux.
"We were really careful with putting together our list. It was a collaborative project between us, Veritone One and DraftKings, and we're stoked at the roster," said Mojo. "So, on the girl's side, I mean, Jordynne Grace, the juggernaut herself, no explanation needed there. I mean, Mandy Sacs, Dana Brooke, and Xia Li. I mean, those are four women that know their way around a weight room with legitimate sports backgrounds prior to pro wrestling. Then on the guy's side, Parker Boudreau, who is a monster; Moose, who is a seven-year NFL veteran that was a starter at offensive lines, tossing people around was his job prior to everything he's done in wrestling and obviously you can see how athletic he is there.
"Riddick Moss/Mike Rallis, who, when he was there, he had all the strength records over at the Performance Center," Mojo continued. "Another football background, his brother's the D-Coordinator for the Cardinals. Lastly, Jack Swagger/Jake Hager is an undefeated MMA fighter, college wrestling, and all-American. These are four dudes that are just massive human beings. So, getting them in the same place to compete on a shoot, this is gonna be awesome. Oh, and they’re all wrestling afterwards."
When discussing pitching the idea of the combine to talent, Mojo told Sean Ross Sapp that the idea was generally well received. Mojo also explained that along with the excitement came the tension and anxious sense of anticipation associated with legitimate competition, especially when some talents know that their wrestling gimmick depends on their believability in traditional athletic situations.
"Everyone that we talked to was really excited about this event, but it also came with a real level of nerves as well," he said. "A lot of these people like their, their gimmick is that they're the strongest or the toughest or the most resilient. Now you're entering into a competition where it's kind of challenging that persona, your identity. So there's a lot of nerves amongst the competitors, no question about it, especially given the roster that they're going up against. Even if you get last place in this thing, you're still a legit badass because the three people that you lost to are among the strongest, toughest, best in shape on the entire planet. Maybe just the events that we're doing didn't match up to your particular set of strengths. Not all of them are strength-related. We have some that are speed and endurance-related as well. I know everybody's nervous, but at the same time, they're extremely excited, and everybody's training their asses off for this."
Fans can learn more about the combine here. Fightful will be on the scene to cover the event.
Check out the full interview with Mojo Rawley embedded at the top of this page.
