Jinder Mahal has had an interesting run with the sports entertainment company.
If you recall, in April of 2011, Mahal made his main roster debut and would eventually find himself as a member of the Three Man Band (3MB) trio alongside McIntyre and Heath Slater. In 2014, however, his run with the WWE came to an end when he was released from his deal.
After he was released from WWE, he returned to the independent circuit for two years where he would reinvent himself creatively and physically before being brought back to WWE around the time of the Superstar Shake-Up. After some time on RAW upon his return, the shake-up moved him over to Tuesday nights on SmackDown Live.
Mahal would win a Six-Pack Challenge match that earned him the status as No. 1-contender for the WWE Championship, which was then-held by Randy Orton who defeated Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 for the strap.
Mahal would later beat Orton for the title and held it for several months before losing it to AJ Styles on an episode of WWE SmackDown Live on the USA Network.
Stephanie McMahon recently spoke with the Times of India, and during the interview, she was asked if Mahal’s run as WWE Champion last year was a success. This is what she had to say:
“I think his Championship run was incredibly interesting and successful to our global audience and not just to India. If he became a bit of a hero in India as a result, well that is awesome too… Jinder of course is playing the antagonist here in the States.
I think he was received as a homecoming hero when he performed live in India and whenever there is a local star there is significance to the audience there. Our audience is so much bigger, it is global, so we have to entertain everyone.”
