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What's the story?
Jinder Mahal claimed in an interview with India Today that he has creative control over his character in the WWE and that Vince McMahon only gives suggestions from time to time. He also mentioned that Vince trusts him on the mic and with his matches.
In case you didn't know...
Jinder Mahal will be facing Randy Orton with his WWE World Championship on the line at Battleground in the third ever Punjabi Prison match. The last match of this sort took place 10 years ago at No Mercy 2007, between another WWE Champion of Indian origin, The Great Khali and Batista.
The heart of the matter
In an interview with India Today, Jinder Mahal noted that he has creative control over where WWE proceeds with his character. He said:
"I do have creative control but also Vince [McMahon] gives advice and ideas and I take them," Mahal revealed. "Vince has experience and he has made the biggest sports entertainment in the history. He has made WWE into a global phenomenon. I have a good relation with Vince, he trusts me on the microphone, with my matches, which will only increase with time. I personally want to seek Vince's advice."
Jinder also mentioned during the interview that he wants to watch WWE's fan base in India grow to epic proportions since he believes that the Indian fans are very passionate about WWE.
What's next?
Jinder Mahal's Championship run was unexpected but turned out to be the best thing to have happened on SmackDown for a while. This Sunday's Battleground will tell if Jinder manages to retain his title against The Viper, Randy Orton.
Author's take
Jinder Mahal's sudden push has been really well received by the Indian audience, and to an extent, Jinder is right to think that the Indian fans are passionate about the product, especially now that we have a Champion who is the closest to being of Indian origin since The Great Khali.
