4 things you probably didn't know about Mansoor - Saudi Arabia's fastest rising WWE Superstar

WWE has become a true global company, and features Superstars who hail from different countries around the world. With the company increasing its presence in Saudi Arabia, they’ve recruited a number wrestlers from the country itself to help grow the product in the region.

One Superstar who has managed to become a breakout performer and become the first Saudi-born person to compete inside the WWE ring is Mansoor. Mansoor started off by trying out for the company and soon ended up becoming an NXT Superstar in a matter of months.

He followed it up with a successful showing at his first major pay-per-view appearance in Saudi Arabia, where he outlasted 50 other men in WWE’s largest-ever Battle Royal at Super ShowDown to emerge victorious in front of a huge home crowd.

The high-flyer is once again scheduled for a match during this month’s outing to Saudi Arabia, where this time he will battle Cesaro in a one-on-one match.

In this article, we're taking a look at four things you probably didn’t know about WWE’s fastest rising Middle Eastern Superstar, Mansoor.

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#4 His Independent wrestling career

He's a former EBPW Champion

Mansoor’s claim to fame came after he impressed at a WWE tryout in Jeddah last year, at a time when the company was trying to increase its presence in the Kingdom. The move allowed him a spot in the WWE ring during the Greatest Royal Rumble, where he got the chance to address the WWE Universe on the mic.

However, Mansoor was already performing some high flying moves in the ring before he joined NXT. He was a regular in promotions in California, including Hoodslam and APW. Mansoor trained under Dory Funk jr. and performed on the independent circuit under the ring name Manny Faberino and even won the East Bay Pro Wrestling Championship once.

The training and performances paid off as he came under WWE’s radar at the right time and managed to go on to make a huge impact at the WWE Super ShowDown.

#3 The match that changed his life

Lesnar and Angle's Iron Man match is considered one of the greatest matches in SmackDown history

Like most of us, even Mansoor’s life was completely changed after just watching a single wrestling match, which made him get much more interested in the sport.

During a Reddit AMA, Mansoor replied to a fan that it was in 2003, when he was just 8 years old, that he watched a wrestling match that turned his life upside down.

Mansoor’s father used to travel a lot for work, and he’d often had to travel with him. One day, he was at a tutor’s house and her son was watching an episode of SmackDown. It was no ordinary episode of SmackDown, however, as it featured the epic Iron Man Match between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. Mansoor was so captivated by the action that he insisted on staying and watching. That’s when he got infected by the wrestling bug.

Even though the bug wore off a bit around 2007 due to some tragedies, he got back into following sports entertainment around 2012 thanks to his elder brother. This led to him training to become a professional wrestler and he had his eyes fixated on wrestling for WWE one day, a dream which he's managed to achieve.

#2 His wrestling idols

Mansoor idolizes some top WWE Superstars

Picking up from the previous two points, there are several men who have inspired Mansoor to get to where he is today.

At 6 feet tall, weighing less than 200 lbs, Mansoor is heavily influenced by legends of the sport who were similar in size to him when they made a huge impact on the industry. He’s revealed that former WWE Superstars like Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and Christian are among the top men who he idolizes.

However, it’s Daniel Bryan who has had the biggest impact on the Saudi-born Superstar. Mansoor has stated that he wouldn’t have reached this far and become a WWE Superstar if it wasn’t for Bryan, and when he got back into wrestling at around 14 years of age, he didn’t really believe he had what it takes to become a top wrestler.

Mansoor’s revealed that he even though of interning at the WWE Headquarters, and becoming a production guy in the future. In 2013, Mansoor watched Daniel Bryan defy all odds to become a Champion at SummerSlam 2013, and that night he realized that he too could achieve his dreams if he worked hard enough for them.

#1 His views on women’s wrestling

Mansoor is all about having the right role models

Hailing from Saudi Arabia, Mansoor has had numerous fans and reporters ask him many different and tricky questions during his initial days. One of the questions that definitely comes with wrestling in Saudi Arabia is the one involving the women in the sport.

Mansoor has given some positive replies to the questions regarding women in wrestling, and women wrestling in Saudi Arabia at some point, especially in his Reddit AMA.

He believes that if the company had never set foot in the conservative country and never put on the Greatest Royal Rumble and the events that followed, then there would be zero chances of female wrestlers ever performing in Saudi Arabia. However, now that the country has managed to get a stronghold in the region, the next steps could come sooner than later.

He went on to comment the following:

I remember seeing my niece a day before the show, and hearing about how excited she was that John Cena was in Saudi Arabia. I saw Saudi girls and boys decked out in Cena gear all night, having the time of their lives. Of course, I understand the important of positive and powerful female role models. I have two little sisters who adored wrestling for a long time, and the women in WWE were very important to them.

Looks like Mansoor can truly prove to be a great ambassador of sports entertainment for the company in the Middle East region!