(Exclusive) The Mocha Skin Manimal Rohit Raju Interview
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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Myself and Steve from Wrestlebuddy had the privilege of sitting down with Rohit Raju from Impact late last week. We got to ask him about how he molded himself as a professional wrestler and what his influences were. He took a moment to tell us about some matches he would like to walk through the forbidden door and have matches with as well as his dream opponent in Impact. He even took a few shots at Matt Cardona before their match on Impact from the September 2nd episode of Impact. We’ll touch the bullet points here:
What got him in to wrestling:
The big time personalities are what caught his eye and drew him in to professional wrestling. Names like The Road Warriors, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage to name a few. The over the top characters reminded him of the comic book characters that would pop off the page.
The early years of the X-Division and wrestlers like AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, Christopher Daniels, Amazing Red and Low Ki are also things he credited to making him a fan of professional wrestling and influencing him.
What influenced his wrestling style:
He never wanted to be an ordinary, run of the mill wrestler. Credits Dusty Rhodes as the only guy who has ever been truly able to pull off “ordinary.” Also believes that professional wrestling should not have ordinary characters.
As he got older/more experienced, he started to look more at what guys were making the most money and the most over people on the shows and tried to emulate that with his own touch. He states that Macho Man Randy Savage is the embodiment of what a real professional wrestler is. He had the ability to draw a crowd with what he did in the ring, the way he talked and carried himself. When you saw Macho Man, you knew he was a star and those were the characteristics that he looked to focus on.
His big break:
There were a few people who knew how good he was on the microphone but once he was given the opportunity, a lot of people took notice and thinks that helped catapult him in to positions needed to succeed. And when he was finally able to win the X-Division title from Chris Bey during a triple threat match, he knew that this was his chance to really distance himself from the rest. He wanted to present himself differently from the rest of the field. The mentality that he had was that he was going to show up and show out. He wanted all the smoke from the crowd and his tactics that he used to win matches was done in a way that was going to garner him more heat while still presenting himself as a credible champion.
X-Division Title:
With the X-Division title being something that was an influence on him when he was younger, we asked what it felt like to join the ranks with some of the great X-Division champions of all time. Names like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle.
He said that it did hit him at first and his only thought when he first won the title was how he could make this run the best it could possibly be. It wasn’t until a month or so later when his friends started bringing it up to him that he finally realized the ranks he had joined being the title holder. It is a great honor and surreal to him.
On dream opponent in Impact:
Rich Swann was his definitive answer. He said that he and and Rich have talked about it and both are wanting to do it. He then cut a promo on Scott D’Amore and Rich Swann claiming Rich can’t beat him, and then pleaded the case for Rich to ask Scott nicely for it to happen stating he wasn’t going to be able to get the match unless Rich asked nicely. #MakeThatMatch
Forbidden Door:
When asked about who he would like to step through the forbidden door to have a match/program list, he rattled off a few names. Santana & Ortiz, Sonny Kiss, anyone from NWA and Ishimori from NJPW are all people he would like to wrestle. He also said he would love to go back and forth with a verbal spar against Chris Jericho and Ethan Page.
He hopes that the lower card/mid card guys get a chance to step through that door soon. He understands why the main event guys get that chance, but thinks that allowing the other talents would be very helpful in elevating them to a higher status and can really tear the house down and show people what they are made of.
Below is a link to the interview. I highly recommend checking it out. Rohit was a great talk and really enjoyed taking the questions and running with them. His promos are entertaining and you get to hear what he had to say about Matt Cardona being a big moron. Along with the interview, you can check out what Rohit wanted to promote as well.
Nashville, TN at the Skyway Studio – September 17th, 18th & 19th. 3 o’clock and 7 o’clock shows. Tickets still available as well as VIP’s.
Bound for Glory on October 23rd in Las Vegas, NV.
shopIMPACT.com where you can find Rohit Raju merchandise. He has a new design dropping soon, so make sure you check it out and grab that to show your support.
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