To kind of be on the forefront of things here in NXT is definitely a big feather in my cap.
I was fortunate that I was born in an era where comic books kind of grew up with me.
It's funny how many people that I've come across in my time that have gone on to achieve great success.
In the U.S., I've had the opportunity to grow up around a lot of Arab families, and the one thing that always stood out to me is the incredible hospitality; it's out of this world.
I had the greatest deal in the history of professional wrestling. I could work for WWE, anybody else that I wanted to, and collect income from every one of those companies, including merchandise. It was a really good deal.
I think part of my journeys here and the places I was able to be at and the styles of wrestling I was able to experience and the friendships and just the world experience that I garnered before I came here to WWE helped me tremendously when I got here.
My experience at NXT was quite stellar.
Intimidation is an unusual animal: it's a lot about body language and understanding the human psyche. Knowing that usually a direct stare will crush most human souls, and that's just the basic gist of it... The soul-crushing stare, the fatherly disappointment, mixed with a little bit of hate and rage - you're on your way.
In WWE, they're real big on letting you sink or swim, and they let you go out there, and they're going to give you the stick and a live mic in front of a packed house and millions watching at home, and if you're not prepared for that moment, you're going to go down in flames.
It's a surreal experience when you're working with guys like Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, and Sting. They were guys that I grew up watching, and I saw the heights that they achieved.
When guys are in NXT - not me, but the guys who are signed to developmental deals that are there - they're setting up the ring. They're tearing it down. They're working every day at the PC. And it's arduous training, man. Those guys go through a lot.
Backstage, I do my own thing and have my own spots in the locker room, so environmentally, it's not very different for me. But the backstage environments are vastly different, but that is mainly because of the personalities.
I think martial arts, in general, shaped my wrestling style. I think I grew up as a martial artist as a kid.
There is a good chance that, at 60, I will be in a wheelchair, but hey, I signed up for that. I know that.
I had always been involved in athletics throughout my life.
I know what I do well, and I know what I can do with other people.
My first remit when I came to WWE was to help build up NXT as a global brand. It was a mission that I took on fully and was more than willing to attack, and lo and behold, here we are.
Seeing myself as a champion in WWE is something I've seen from the first day I stepped into the Universe and the realm of the company.
It's all about starting momentum, hitting the ground running, and starting out hot.
When it came to eliciting a reaction from an audience, especially at the time, I think Ric Flair is the guy who is constantly up there. Especially when you talk about speaking with passion and being able to convey a ton of emotion with his words and his body language.
