“He was money”- Jinder Mahal looked like a million bucks as WWE Champion, says wrestling veteran (Exclusive)

Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal drew a lot of flak as the company's world champion during his 170-day reign, but has recently been supported by wrestling veteran Vince Russo. Mahal was seen as a lower mid-carder when he was released in 2014 before returning two years later.

One of the best moments of his career came at Backlash 2017 when he defeated fan-favourite Randy Orton to win his first and only world title with the company. His win was met with a lot of boos from the fans as Jinder Mahal was never accepted by the WWE Universe.

While speaking on the Writing with Russo podcast on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Russo came to the defense of the former WWE Champion. Russo was critical of WWE when it came to booking Jinder Mahal's title run and claims that the company "dropped the ball" with him.

"I don't care what anybody says, and I will say this till the end of time, Jinder was money. And when they put that belt on him, he did everything they told him to do. He was money, he's a smart dude. He looked like a million bucks. They dropped the ball miserably on that," said Russo.

The show's host, Dr. Chris Featherstone, agreed with Russo's sentiments, as even he agreed that Jinder Mahal's run felt real. He praised Mahal's work ethic and business sense when it came to the character.

"It goes back to... it felt real, right? He's Canadian, I believe, but he has Indian roots. So he has those types of roots that come with that. And calling himself the Modern Day Maharaja, growing his hair out, looking like a king. He looked like royalty. He was built like royalty. He got in the best shape of his life to that point, and he really committed to the spot before the spot even occurred. That's just good work ethic. That's a good business sense, man," he said.

Jinder Mahal's post-WWE career

While Jinder's run wasn't as well-received by the fans, he did have a lot of admirers behind the scenes. The former WWE Champion continues to do well on the independent circuit, once again leaving room for another potential run with WWE.

Going by Raj Dhesi, he returned to the independent circuit in 2024 following his release from WWE. Since then, he has turned out for various promotions like Black Label Pro, Game Changer Wrestling, and has even been signed on for India's Wrestling Xtreme Mania.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Arsh Das