Jinder Mahal feels he has been discredited.
Mahal is currently involved in a feud with his friend and former 3MB teammate, Drew McIntyre. The two will collide this Saturday night (Aug. 21) at WWE SummerSlam. It’s Mahal’s highest-profile rivalry since he lost the WWE Championship back in 2017.
During an interview with GiveMeSport, Jinder Mahal expressed his belief that his detractors have downplayed the hard work he put in to become WWE Champion.
“So this is just people downplaying my accomplishments. WWE Universe in India, their TV deals everything, were just as much in play when I was in 3MB and while I was released I do believe WWE Raw was the live on Sony. When I was brought back who still write live on Sony. I wasn’t brought back to become WWE Champion, at that time they separated the rosters again, Raw and SmackDown, and they just needed some people who were TV-ready essentially to throw on and maybe highlight some of the newer talent, but somewhere along the line I knew ‘Hey this is my way in. This is my foot in the door. I’m going to knock the whole door down and I’m going to become WWE Champion.’
“So that’s like me saying ‘Hey Drew, you were WWE Champion because WWE wanted to expand into the UK’. Why is that? Why are people not saying that? Right now Drew is celebrated, I’m the one who was this experimental champion, which is untrue. I’ve worked hard for and I’ve earned every opportunity that I’ve ever been given, every championship that I’ve had I’ve worked very very hard for.”
Many have criticized Mahal’s 2017 run as WWE Champion. The general consensus is that the title change felt rushed and that Mahal’s character wasn’t built up before the title victory to look credible as champion. Even McIntyre shared that belief in an interview.
Following Monday Night Raw, a stipulation has been added to the SummerSlam match between Mahal and McIntyre. Mahal’s cronies, Shanky and Veer, won’t be allowed at ringside. Furthermore, McIntyre is allowed to bring his sword.
Were you a fan of Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title reign?
