WWE Champion Jinder Mahal has undergone an incredible physical transformation over the past year. In our exclusive interview with Mahal at during SummerSlam weekend, he said one of the biggest factors behind his eye-popping physique an success in WWE is belief in himself and his mentality and literally writing down his goals on paper.
Back when he was starting out in the business, Jinder Mahal trained at the Martial Arts Fitness Center in Calgary, Alberta under Rick “Titan” Bognar. Yes, that Rick Titan – the man who portrayed the WWF’s “Fake” Razor Ramon in the late 90’s.
During a recent interview with the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Titan spoke about Mahal’s success in the gym.
“I didn’t say this to him and I saw him a couple of weeks ago but maybe I would have liked to have said it but it kind of popped into my head afterwards but with the abs, the serratus the thick wide shoulders, the v-shape he’s got and the legs that are just sticking out from that tiny waist of his, I’d say he’s in better shape than I was in at my best shape.”
“I think there was one point when I was in FMW and when I was really ripped and had a tiny waist and was squatting quite a few hundred pounds that I was really at my physical peak. He is in absolutely ripped, massive, phenomenal shape and you are right it is mind blowing because he looked like sort of the average kind of steady guy in a gym that had been going for a few years and who had big arms and he was pretty thick with not a lot of definition but the next thing I know I see this and he looks like a ripped body builder and shaved off all his chest hair and has abs poking out like little bricks and I was like holy crap what a transformation.”
It’s no secret that a great physique is one of the things WWE Chairman Vince McMahon looks for when considering which performers have “the look” to main event WWE shows. Titan compared Jinder Mahal’s body to The Ultimate Warrior’s and how being a ‘body guy’ impacts the success of today’s performers, especially when you factor in the success of guys like CM Punk and even Daniel Bryan.
“I have to say just vision wise that Jinder looks not too far off the Ultimate Warrior, he’s in peak peak shape but for awhile with all of the drug issues and all of the guys dropping like flies and I could probably tell you twenty names of guys that are all dead now. With all of the drug testing that the WWE is doing that I think that wave has kind of passed and they are probably not looking at the court injunctions and the trouble and the people making judgements that: ‘That guy is on steroids.’
“That wave has passed and I think now and I have to say even ten years ago watching a lot of these guys and no offense to him but CM Punk and people are paying $200 to watch him go to the ring and there are guys my size and I’m only about 230 (pounds) right now and I watch a guy like that go to the ring that are becoming really good talkers but I don’t think are strong and legit tough and I’m saying that well I can take that guy than where is the value in that $200. Now you are going back to a guy like Jinder who (HOLY CRAP) I wouldn’t want to meet him dark alley. So that is kind of the direction I think.”
As a former WWE Superstar, Titan knows the feeling of being released by WWE and reached out to Jinder Mahal (and his father) after Mahal was released following his first run with the company. Â He’s proud to see how far Jinder Mahal has come.
“I think I tried to reach out once or twice and he didn’t get back to me and there is a lot of focus and a lot of determination that goes into that and if you are starting to slip and where I knew I was with the Razor Ramon character and I knew when my contract was going to be up after that year that they were probably not going to renew and I wasn’t in a real happy place and I thought well what am I going to do now? If I had a trainer that I could have talked to at that time I wouldn’t have reached out and say I think my career is just about over and I don’t know what to do.”
“I talked to his Dad briefly and his Dad is about 15-20 years older than me and somehow we just kept in touch and he said that Raj (Jinder) isn’t really happy right now and doesn’t know what to do. I said to call me anytime because I had been through it and I think their should be some kind of coaching or some kind of psychologist or someone for the guys to reach out to in any sport to where when you are done with that business you whole life is caving in. Not to mention you are making a lot of money and when you are not making any money any more that is tough. Regardless to say, we didn’t keep in touch but it was really great to see him and the upside as World Champion at his brother’s wedding and we chatted a bit. There is also a tough as nails edge you have to be with being one of the top guys and to be World Champion and you don’t go around expressing your feelings a lot. Him and I had some nice little chats but it was nothing really deep going on.”
