8 Things You Didn't Know About WWE's Mansoor

8. His Independent Career

Mansoor was one of eight lucky participants who impressed WWE scouts during a tryout in Jeddah ahead of last April's Greatest Royal Rumble, to the extent that he was offered additional training with the Performance Center's squadron of crack coaches.

Truth is, the company already had their eye on the towering six-footer billed from Riyadh, the perfect totem for their expansion into the Middle East - and a positive bit of PR to offset the propaganda. But Mansoor is no local lad done good; he enjoyed a four year run on the indies under the name Manny Faberino, having first trained under the legendary Dory Funk.

Before joining NXT, Mansoor was a regular in promotions in his native California, including APW and Hoodslam. Perhaps his most notable opponent prior to his Full Sail enrollment was Flip Gordon, who he lost to at APW's Bay Area Bash last June.