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What's the story?
Jinder Mahal was recently on Lilian Garcia's Podcast, 'Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia' (H/T Wrestling Inc for the quotes). During his appearance, he made several comments about his career in WWE.
In particular, he focused on the moment that he came to know that he was to receive the push that would send him from the level of 'Enhancement Talent' to the Main Event.
Jinder revealed how he felt about the push when he first heard about it and talked about the changes he had to make to his style.
You can listen to the entire podcast here:
In case you didn't know...
Jinder Mahal was a talent on the Enhancement level for a long time in WWE. In his original run, he ended up as part of 3MB, a group of enhancement talent, before he was released from the company.
When he came back to the company not long ago and after a few weeks in the lower card, he was given a push after he won a Six Pack Challenge and became the Number One Contender to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.
He won the title and went on to hold on to it for most of 2017 before he lost it to AJ Styles on an episode of SmackDown Live.
The heart of the matter
On the podcast, Jinder Mahal talked about the moment that he came to know he would be receiving a push. During WrestleMania week, he met Road Dogg in the hallways of the hotel, who told him that things were going to improve for him post-WrestleMania. Jinder thought that they were going to 'elevate' him slightly and give him a run for a mid-card title such as the Intercontinental Championship or the United States Championship.
Jinder confessed that he had wanted to get drafted to SmackDown Live as it was the 'Land of Opportunity' and he hoped that there he could be part of the program and get some television time.
He was at a Live Event on Monday Night, when the Six Pack Challenge for the Number One Contender's spot was announced. Jinder asked Luke Harper about who was going to go on and face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. Luke informed him that it would be Jinder himself. Mahal confessed to being taken aback when he heard this news and said that later that night he talked to Orton about the news.
"I remember getting my wrists taped and I asked who was going to face Randy Orton. I think Luke Harper was in there. He said to me, 'it's you.' I was taken aback. What? I'm going to work with Randy Orton [for the WWE World Championship]? Five minutes later I saw Randy, and told him that we were going to work together."
Jinder praised Orton, calling him 'flawless' and said that he had a great relationship with the Viper.
What's next?
Jinder Mahal is once again set to be involved in a program with Randy Orton. This time it is Jinder who will defend his United States Title against the number one contender, the Viper.
Author's take
Jinder Mahal's push was unexpected to both him and the fans. Everyone was taken aback by the amount that he was pushed and also by the suddenness of it.
While many fans did not take his title reign well, Jinder went on to hold the title for the better part of the year before finally losing it to AJ Styles.
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