Former WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley Details Lung Injury, Hospitalization After COVID-19

Former WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley divulged Monday that he dealt with several health problems as a result of a COVID-19 diagnosis in 2020.

During an appearance on FS1's TMZ Sports show, Rawley described what COVID-19 put his body through:

"I've been struggling with a 19-month fight with COVID, actually. I got it last June 2020, far back as that. Really had a rough go. Had to go the hospital, I had a fever of 104 for quite some time and I developed a really bad lung injury out of it somehow.

"I guess that's just kinda the nature of COVID. My lungs are just in bad shape. I couldn't lay on my back or my side for a long time because it was suffocating me. Tight shirts were challenging and there were just days I couldn't speak. I couldn't get in enough air to talk, couldn't leave the house. Kinda had to shut down everything and just focus on literally every single solitary breath at a time to try and make it through the day. It was a really challenging thing."

Rawley, who is now going by the name Mojo Muhtadi, tested positive for COVID-19 while still under a WWE contract.

His last match was on the June 15, 2020, episode of SmackDown against Chad Gable, and he was part of a large group of releases by the company in April 2021 after he wasn't used for 10 months.

Rawley said Monday that he grew so frustrated by what he was going through with COVID that he had to stop watching wrestling because it made him "jealous."

Now, the seven-time WWE 24/7 champion and 2017 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner is preparing for his in-ring return.

Regarding his progress, Rawley said: "I'm feeling better. I'm definitely not out of it yet. I'm still having some issues. I even had some yesterday, but we're feeling good enough to start training again and start lining up some matches to start really test this thing out."

The 35-year-old Rawley, who is close friends with Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski, did not reveal when he plans to return or what wrestling promotion he is hoping to work for.

While Rawley perhaps some deficiencies from an in-ring work rate perspective, his energy and excitement level are undeniable, so he figures to land on his feet when the time to return to professional wrestling finally comes.