Back in 2017, the wrestling world was shocked when Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship was booked for that years installment of Backlash. Jinder Mahal up to that point was purely an undercard wrestler, and was suddenly rocketed to the top of the card as WWE Champion. What followed was a largely hated 170 Days reign that would end when AJ Styles defeated him for the belt on an episode of Smackdown ahead of that years Survivor Series. After losing the title, Mahal fell back down the card and is currently off TV with a patellar tendon rupture, and he’s hoping to return in time for the 2020 Royal Rumble.
Jinder Mahal On His Rise
In an interview with Wrestling Inc, Mahal spoke about his WWE Championship run and how he rose up the card so quickly.
“It was big for me. I wasn’t expecting to become WWE Champion so soon. All I knew was I was working hard, just giving it 100% because as you know I got released in 2014 and I was away from WWE for two years. I had a lot of regrets in that time that during my first run I didn’t apply myself fully, and I always said that if I got a second chance in WWE I was going to leave nothing in my tank. When you give 100% to anything that you do in life, you’re gonna reach the highest level. It goes to show that WWE is a place that rewards hard work, and it’s possible for anybody to go from the undercard to the main event.”
Jinder Mahal is proof that hard work and dedication pays off huge, and having an impressive physique certainly doesn’t hurt when Vince McMahon is your boss. I’m a rare fan who enjoyed Jinders time at the top of the card. He was put in above his head but did not sink, he quickly adapted and did the absolute best he could with what he was given. Many will argue he only garnered heat from crowds because they didn’t want to see him as champion, but he did a fantastic job having crowds behind his opponents. His in ring ability improved, his matches with AJ Styles being the best matches of his career.
What Is Next For The Modern Day Maharaja
“I look forward to capturing more championships when I get back from this knee surgery in a couple of months, ‘The recovery’s going well – I just started squatting a couple of weeks ago. It’s an improvement, it is a bit of a slow recovery – a tendon heals really slow just because there’s not much blood flow going to it. Overall, rehab is going well and I look forward to coming back to WWE.”
His championship aspirations will begin with an attempt at winning the Royal Rumble, as Mahal despite having won the United States Championship at Wrestlemania, feels he hasn’t had his ‘Wrestlemania Moment’ yet in his career. With Wrestlemania coming from the town Mahal has called home for 10 years, Tampa, Florida; he’s extra motivated to make this his year.
