I told everyone through high school and junior High I guarantee by time 24, I'll be signed with WWE, and that's exactly what happened. I didn't go on to main even WrestleMania obviously, but the whole WWE accomplishment was checked off, and I got to experience that and it's cool.
People dream to be in the WWE, but my dream is to be the best in the WWE. They can have the money and fame. My dream is to become known as the greatest wrestler of all time.
Obviously, I was fortunate enough in my first WWE experience was to be at WrestleMania in Dallas. That itself was pretty incredible, just to meet everybody and to get familiar with the NXT guys.
WWE was great to me. I felt like I gave the company everything I had. And they allowed me to live my dream, which was wrestle in WWE.
My dad's father would take me to WWE shows when I was younger, and my other grandfather, my mom's dad, would watch wrestling with me at the house. They just really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, they both passed away before I signed with WWE.
About a year into my training, I got a call from WWE, and they signed me. I got signed right away to FCW, so my whole career has been pretty much in FCW and NXT.
A big reason why I signed with WWE in the first place was because my son wanted to see me wrestle in WWE, and he wanted to see me wrestle John Cena.
Two months before I re-signed with WWE, I decided just out of nowhere that I will start dieting, to work on my body and train harder. I started focusing more. Two months later, WWE called me back to re-sign. That was not a coincidence but the universe telling me that I am ready.
It's definitely a sensitive topic to discuss, but I have felt, since I signed with the WWE, I was in a unique position to reestablish how Arabs were perceived in the WWE and western media.
WWE, in the back of my mind, was always the dream job, and most people don't get their dream jobs.
From the moment I became a free agent, the WWE opportunity was the one I wanted. Obviously, there were strong plays made by some other companies, but in the end, when WWE offered me an opportunity, I could not turn it down.
When I signed with WWE and moved to Orlando, my wife and my two kids came with me.
After my WWE tryout in 2014, I thought for sure that I was going to get signed and that it is finally happening and that I was going to finally be there. Then, when it didn't happen I was heartbroken. I always think it is because God had a plan for me.
As a father and an ex-wrestler, it's a dream come true. To be able to come back and be included in 'WWE 2K17,' it's a huge honor.
When I signed with WWE, a lot of people, even close friends, told me that this place was going to chew me up and spit me out, just because of the way my personality is. It's been an adjustment for me as a human being.
The AAF offered me a commentating spot for their league, and it was literally the day after I signed my deal with the WWE.