What’s the story?
Current #1 contender for the WWE Championship, Jinder Mahal, was a guest on Chris Jericho’s podcast Talk Is Jericho where he revealed several details about his journey to WWE. During the interview, Mahal revealed that the original plan for his character was much different from the current anti-American gimmick.
Also Read: 5 talking points from Jinder Mahal's interview on 'Talk is Jericho'
Jinder stated that the original promo after winning the six-pack challenge was:
‘I tried being peaceful but nobody was listening but now I have all you guys’ attention, I just beat five of SmackDown’s very best and I did it all alone.’
Vince McMahon would change it last-minute to include anti-American sentiment using phrases such as “you Americans”.
In case you didn’t know...
Jinder Mahal had a major push in the early days of NXT in its current format and was in the finals to crown the first ever NXT Champion, but came up short to Seth Rollins.
The heart of the matter
Jinder was initially a little disappointed that McMahon changed his promo. After he cut the promo and heard the crowd reaction to the re-write, his immediate reaction was that McMahon was a genius.
He went over the time allotted for the segment which he said was his biggest worry when he met with Vince after. The WWE boss reassured Jinder by saying, “forget about the time, let them boo before you even start talking.”
What’s next?
Jinder has the biggest match of his career this Sunday at WWE Backlash when he faces Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. There is no word if this match will main event the pay-per-view or if it will be the United States Championship between Kevin Owens and AJ Styles.
Author’s Take
For as much as I get on Vince for being out of touch, he is still a genius when it comes to professional wrestling. Ever since the initial shock of Jinder becoming #1 contender wore off, I have been pleasantly pleased with how he has performed with the spotlight on him.
Part of me would like to see Jinder win the title at Backlash this Sunday to really shake things up. I doubt that it will happen, but stranger things have happened.
