Shido Ash, the boyfriend of Tiffany Stratton, has opened up about his journey to WWE retiring from Judo as the number one ranked Judoka in the world.
Ash, real name Shady Elnahas, officially joined WWE in May 2025, and has regularly appeared as one of the background security guards on NXT TV, recently making his official debut on Evolve.
Ash was the latest subject of the ‘TKO Spotlight’ social media series, which has showcased the likes of Triple H, Sol Ruca and the WWE talent relations team recently, as well as other names from around TKO including UFC.
In his TKO Spotlight video, Ash said:
“The whole reason I did Judo, the whole reason I got tattooed is because of WWE. I watched WWE my whole life, so the second they called it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass because who doesn’t want to live their childhood dreams.
“In Judo I’m one of the only tatted guys who paints his nails and goes to fight other people, so everyone looked at me weird. In WWE I can actually be myself and people love it and I can show myself to my full potential.
“The biggest difference in the crowd is in the Olympics there’s so many athletes and so many fights that you’re going to get attention for one minute, whereas in WWE all eyes are on you, so you’ve got to perform, and I kind of like the pressure of it.
“I retired from Judo as the number one ranked in the world, here I have to earn my stripes, so it’s unfamiliar territory, but I enjoy the challenge, I enjoy starting from the ground up, something new.
“In Egypt we didn’t have wrestling schools, so I decided to do Judo instead. Preparing me for WWE was more my training as an Olympic athlete. The workload here is so tedious that I’m glad I was prepared for it.
“I think WWE made me the Judoka I am in some sort of way because I was more outgoing and didn’t look like the typical fighter, so it’s sort of a full circle moment for me to be here, and I’ve been preparing for this moment my whole life.”
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