Highlights
- Jinder Mahal was released by WWE after being a fan favorite during a feud with Rollins, receiving support from the WWE Universe.
- Mahal had a memorable moment working with The Rock on Raw, receiving praise from the People’s Champion himself.
- Despite the attention received, Mahal hopes for another chance in wrestling, potentially in AEW to start a feud with Tony Khan or Hook.
Jinder Mahl has been making wrestling headlines this past week for an unfortunate reason, as the former WWE Champion was released by the company after two long stints with the company, the first beginning all the way back in 2010. Mahal is one of WWE’s most underrated stars, but twice this year he received massive attention, most recently in the social media insults from AEW’s Tony Khan after Mahal received a World Heavyweight Championship match with Seth Rollins on Raw, despite not having wrestled on TV in months. Before that was an ever bigger moment, when Mahal got to share the ring with The Rock in a long segment on the Day 1 episode of Raw.
In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, filmed over WrestleMania 40 weekend, when Jinder Mahal was still employed by WWE, he spoke about how he found out that he’d get to work with one of the most famous people in the world. Mahal said that he received a text from the Travel Department wanting him to report to Raw alone, an odd message since he rarely worked TV and did so as part of a faction. He then saw an announcement on Twitter about how a former WWE Champion was going to be appearing on Day 1. He knew it couldn’t be about him but thought he might be included somehow. Mahal said:
“So I’m like, ‘okay, good chance. I think it’s me.’ And actually it was Christmas week. I was with my family in Calgary. I flew back I think on the 30th. Yeah, I was flying back on the 30th. When I was in my flight, I got a text from one of the writers ‘Hey, can you talk on the phone?’
“I said ‘I’m in the plane for a few more hours when it lands I’ll call you.’ When I landed just one of the writers he said ‘Yeah, so we got you in a segment….with the Rock.’ They’re like ‘Kayfabe.’ I said ‘Yes. Yes. 100%. Looking forward to it.’ So that’s how I found out. I found out two days before.” (h/t
SEScoops
)
Mahal spoke about being shocked that he was allowed to be given a full promo first and such a long time to work with The Rock. He also spoke about the People’s Champion texting him days later thanking him for the moment.
What’s Next For Jinder Mahal In Wrestling?
Jinder Mahal suddenly became a fan favorite for a week during his short feud with Rollins, as the WWE Universe stood up for him after the Tony Khan comments. Alas, it didn’t lead to a push for Mahal, who disappeared from TV again. Mahal talked to Chris Van Vliet about Khan’s posts, saying:
“Drew had texted me. I got a bunch of texts in a row – I was like, ‘What? I’ve gotta see this’. And then I open up Twitter and that’s what I saw. Thank you Tony! You made that match with Seth more interesting. People actually thought I was gonna win it just to spite Tony (laughs). I was surprised, everybody stuck up for me, that’s never happened before.” (h/t
Wrestletalk
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Hopefully, Jinder Mahal gets another chance in wrestling soon, perhaps even in AEW, where he could start a feud with Tony Khan or Hook.
