Jinder Mahal Talks His Road To The World Championship, Says He Almost Signed With A Rival Promotion Instead


When Jinder Mahal won the WWE World Championship last night at Backlash, it shocked the professional wrestling world. While many fans took to social media in anger, many in the WWE were overjoyed to see Jinder Mahal achieve the dream of becoming a world champion. In an appearance on Talk Is Jericho, Mahal said that he had reached a level in his career that he felt completely lost but worked hard to get his career back and make it to this point.

Jinder Mahal said that he was at his lowest point in his professional career while part of the faction 3MB with Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre. While Jinder Mahal said that the angle was supposed to have a payoff with them all lip-synching like Milli Vanilli, it never paid off and they just drifted along as jobbers until the WWE released both Mahal and Drew McIntyre.

[Image by WWE]

According to Jinder Mahal, he would have released himself as well because he was completely unmotivated and was giving up on his career. Unlike Drew McIntyre, who changed his name to Drew Galloway and set the indie world on fire after that, Mahal just wrestled in smaller promotions and kept quiet.

“Getting released was the best thing that ever happened to me because: a) I got into real estate; b) I kicked myself out and got remotivated… There’s no way I could do that, be that miserable, be living like that for that long.”

However, in 2016, Jinder Mahal made some major life changes. He quit drinking for one thing, and he has been sober since that time. With the alcohol out of his life, Mahal then began to work out hard and changed his diet. What resulted is the ripped physique that he returned to the WWE with.

Interestingly, his return to the WWE almost didn’t happen. Just when Jinder Mahal was turning his life around and getting in the best shape of his life, Impact Wrestling called and said that they offered him a contract. Drew McIntyre was also there at the time and was a main event star for the company.

Just when Jinder Mahal was ready to head over to talk to Impact Wrestling, Mark Carrano called and said the WWE wanted him back as well. Jinder Mahal said that he wanted to keep his meeting with Impact Wrestling to hear them out but then decided he wanted to return to the WWE and had Carrano send the contracts over to sign.

[Image by WWE]

It was the perfect decision. In 2016, Heath Slater had already started to climb out of the hole he was in since 3MB and actually held the SmackDown Live world tag team titles with Rhyno. Drew McIntrye has also returned to the WWE and is with NXT, and he is seen as a huge star there after his stint in the indies.

Now, Jinder Mahal is the WWE World Champion, beating Randy Orton for the title last night. Karl Anderson, who shares a vehicle on road trips with Luke Gallows and Jinder Mahal, said they he is happy for Mahal. Former WWE tag team champion Bully Ray Dudley said it was “good business.” Sheamus let the fans know that Jinder Mahal worked his “a**” off to achieve this dream.

As for Jinder Mahal, he spoke to Sportskeeda about his win and called the moment the “best day of my life.” He said that he is proud to be representing India and wants to defend the title and make everyone proud of him.

“I want to represent you guys (fans) in a good way and put on good matches. I just defeated Randy Orton, who is legendary in the business, so I want to beat guys like John Cena, more and more legends, and establish my name as one of the top names of all time in wrestling.”

Jinder Mahal said that the WWE releasing him was the best thing that happened to him. Since that time, he has worked hard to redefine his career, and he finally reached the top last night at Backlash.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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