Jinder Mahal looks back on sharing the ring with The Rock.
Jinder Mahal returned to WWE programming on the January 1 episode of WWE Raw, as he was initially revealed as the returning WWE Champion that had been teased. Mahal was interrupted by The Rock, who cut a promo on him and ultimately left him laid out.
Speaking on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Jinder Mahal discussed his segment with The Rock.
“So I kind of pieced it together. So I got a text from creative, 'Hey, you guys have nothing this week.' Then actually travel says, 'Hey, you guys are not flying out.' I’m in a group chat with Indus Sher and our travel department. 20 minutes later, I get a separate text saying, 'Actually, you are going.' I thought it was a little weird that it was just me and not Indus Sher. But I don’t think anything of it. Then like a few hours later, I saw the announcement on Twitter, former WWE Champion returns. I knew it wasn’t going to be me, but I figured I’m going to be a part of it. I texted Indus Sher, 'Hey, are you guys going to Raw?' They said no, [so] it’s just me going. So I’m like, okay, good chance I think it’s me. Actually, it was Christmas week. I was with my family in Calgary. I was flying back on the 30th and when I was on my flight, I got a text from one of the writers, 'Hey, can you talk on the phone?' I said 'I’m on the plane for a few more hours I’ll call you when I land.' One of the writers said, 'Yeah, so we got you in the segment with the Rock. Yes 100%.' [I said] 'Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.' So that’s how I found out one or two days before," Jinder Mahal said.
Mahal went on to note that The Rock sent him a message after the segment. He stated that The Rock thanked him and hinted that he would be seeing more of him. Mahal then admitted that he did not realize what The Rock meant, but it later clicked, as The Rock joined the TKO Board of Directors.
"Yes, he actually kind of left a little bit of an Easter egg. He sent me a voice note like, 'Thank you, appreciate working with you, and I’ll be seeing a lot more of you around now that I’m doing things all across the board with WWE' and it didn’t click in. After a few days later it did. I was like, oh, that’s what he meant by doing things all across the board," Mahal said.
During the interview, Jinder Mahal also discussed Tony Khan's tweet about him. Check out his comments here.
Jinder Mahal was released in a wave of cuts on April 19. Fightful Select reported more information about the releases.
Thanks to Chris Van Vliet for sharing the quotes in this article.
