A Liverpool pro-wrestler who made it big as one of the up-and-coming new stars of last year's WWE line-up has no time to rest on his laurels as he aims to boost his career to even greater heights.
Tony Gill, who performs under his stage name Rohan Raja, joined WWE in January 2021 and made his TV debut on NXT UK in November.
After nine months of weekly smackdowns filmed at the BT Sport studios in London, he now plans to jet off on an international wrestling tour while NXT UK finalises its merger with NXT Europe ahead of its next season in March next year.
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Tony, 30, who lives in Everton, said: "Just knowing that I signed with WWE was a kind of affirmation that the sky's the limit to me. I want to get to the poont where I'm on Smackdown, holding the main title, doing interviews, and topping all the big spots.
"Now I have got my foot in the door. When I sit back and think about it, I think yeah, I've made it - but I've still got a long way to go."
A lifelong wrestling fan, Tony started training under wrestling legend Lance Storm in Canada in 2015 after finding his footing at the Fighting Spirit Pro Wrestling Gym in Maghull.
He made his pro debut that same year, and went on train and perform in shows all over the world before returning to the UK in 2019.
He said: "My grandad was a big wrestling fan, and he and my dad watched wrestling a lot. My family was all very into wrestling when I was growing up. As the years went by, me and my brother would watch it religiously, and we would never miss a week of WWE TV.
"When I was a kid, I was mesmerised by the characters, and I looked at these guys as heroes. As I got older, I started to fall in love with the ring-based style of wrestling.
"I fell in love with how every fight tells a story. You tell a story every time you step into the ring, and dictate how the crowd is going to react.
"The older I got the more I wanted to do it. Usually when people have a crazy childhood dream they grow out of it, but I never did. I stuck to my guns and carried on."
Tony will return to TV screens next year - but not before embarking on a series of wrestling tours.
In November, he will jet off to participate in battles in Canada and America. In December and January he will perform in the UK, and in February he will perform in South Africa, before returning to native soil for the filming of new episodes of NXT.
He said: "I was a huge WWE fan before I got there, and have been all my life. It's quite a nerve-racking feeling when all the people who are your bosses are the same people who were your idols growing up!"
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