Rohit Raju On Moose Saying Tessa Blanchard Is Not Believable As World Champion

Rohit Raju has had more singles matches as of late and with a bigger spotlight, he's made sure to look his best. He's transformed his physique over recent months and he talked more about how he got it when he joined The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast.

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"Well my cardio sucks because I feel like when I do heavy, heavy cardio, I shred it really easily. So I just eat a lot of food and lift heavier weights. Plus my metabolism is slowing down from when I was a younger lad," said Raju.

"It's taken me years to realize how to eat right and how to lift for my body. I'm still tweaking and finding new things to help my body grow into something that looks like a well-oiled wrestling machine. From where I was years ago at 155 pounds, now I'm 175-180 tops.

"I've always tried to be a body guy. I mean, it's pro wrestling so you should either look like a hoss or if you're a scumbag, your gimmick should fit your body. My favorite guys were the guys who were always jacked and in shape, so that's what I'm trying to do."

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It's a weird time for everyone right now but especially so for wrestlers who are performing in front of no fans. Raju was asked what it's like to do these no-crowd shows.

"At first it was weird. You don't have any adrenaline by being in front of the crowd and hearing the roar and the boos. It gets you going and you're excited. When you first get hit or get slammed, you're like, 'Oh my God' and your body is like, 'What is this?' But after a while you start cooking and then it's just like riding a bike. You're putting in work and doing business," stated Raju.

"Then instead of pointing to the crowd, you find those cameras and make sure all of the people watching at home are invested. You make sure they know who you are and you make sure they know what you're about. Afterwards, it's just business as usual. To me, it adds that you wanna work a little bit harder because you wanna show out and prove to the world that yes, we're wrestling in front of no crowd, but we're still kicking ass and taking names. So, it adds that fire under your butt once you realize that."

Fellow Impact star Moose recently said he doesn't see Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard as competition and Raju weighed in on those comments.

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"That's Moose being Moose; nobody should be surprised [laughs]. Moose lives in his own world and his own bubble and that's just Moose. I met him years ago and gave him his first singles match in ROH and he was like that back then," stated Raju. "Moose lives for Moose and Moose is about Moose. So, that shouldn't surprise anybody."

While Moose doesn't think much of Blanchard as Impact World Champion, he has claimed himself as the new TNA World Champion. He's walking around with the old TNA championship belt and Raju discussed that.

"I thought it was sweet. That belt looks sweet. I love the Impact World Title but that TNA World Title looks awesome too," said Raju. "Who knows what will happen with it? It could be disregarded and deemed not official or it could be put into the title mix. It could be another belt to go after and that would be cool as well.

"The more titles in the mix, the more opportunities for me hopefully."

Some think that a woman holding the Impact World Title creates fewer opportunities for men and Raju was asked if he agreed with that sentiment.

"No, Tessa is legit and believable. She goes in there and ? man, woman or child ? she wrestles like a wrestler. She's believable in every aspect in every way," stated Raju. "I understand why some people don't like it but I don't think it creates any less opportunity for anybody. I think it's a change in the game a little bit and it adds a little something different to the title mix. I took no offense to people being disgruntled about it. I understand their complaints but I didn't think anything of it."

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Raju says he wants to be a top guy which means going after the World Title. But he wouldn't bypass a shot at the X-Division Title and he was asked if he would fit into the X-Division.

"Of course, it's like Macho Man winning the Intercontinental Title. Then all of a sudden he blows up ? you give the man the ball and he runs with it? Who wouldn't want the X-Division Title? That is a huge staple in Impact history. So yeah, it's definitely something I want. The main goal for me is to get some wins under my belt and get the stank off me of being a bottom guy. I want a seat at the main table and I want my name to mean something to Impact Wrestling," said Raju.

"I want people to go,'Rohit Raju? Yes, we know who that is. He is a main player.' That's what I wanna be. I don't wanna be just some guy and an Indian talent. I don't wanna be, 'Oh, we need a good match. Let's just put him on there.' No, I want to be a guy getting merchandise, on posters and in vignettes. That's what I want to be and I'm working very hard to get that."

Raju says that over the past two weeks he's gotten a lot more eyeballs on him. But he also admits that some writers don't get him and he sees what they say about him.

"Some people just don't like me like Don's comment," Raju said of Don Callis saying he's not over. "He wasn't behind me at all. But that's good because I take that and I use it as ammunition and fuel to prove all of these people wrong. I'm getting my shot and all I wanna do is be somebody in this company. I'm not okay with being in an entry-level position and I'm working my ass off to being a top guy."

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Rohit Raju can be seen every Tuesday night, 8/7c, as part of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV. For more information please visit www.ImpactWrestling.com. Rohit's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.

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