Everyone is talking about Jinder Mahal.
Jinder Mahal has been the talk of the town for the majority of 2024. He returned to WWE Raw on the "Day One" special episode, where he was interrupted by The Rock. The Rock laid the verbal SmackDown on Mahal, but he appeared again the following week. After Mahal confronted World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, WWE announced that Jinder would challenge for the title on January 15.
AEW CEO Tony Khan took to social media and criticized the booking of putting Mahal in a title match, as he had lost every televised match he had in the last year. In a since-deleted tweet, Mahal questioned who HOOK was, as Khan used the FTW Champion as a comparison. The situation made Mahal go viral, as he trended on Twitter/X.
Speaking on the January 10 episode of WWE's The Bump, Jinder Mahal commented on the reaction to his return at WWE Raw: Day One. He went on to note that he shared the ring with Seth Rollins and trended on Twitter all day on Tuesday.
“It was nothing new to me. The WWE Universe has always reacted to me in such fashion. There’s a famous shot when I became WWE Champion, the pan into the crowd and everybody’s jaw is hitting the floor. I don’t understand why the WWE Universe is surprised when the Modern Day Maharaja returns or becomes champion. Let’s face it, I am the prototype of what every superstar should be, the prototype of what every champion should be. I look the part, I speak the part, I speak with intelligence, I speak the truth. I bring it in the ring, I have been in there with possibly the greatest competitors of all time in our business, the likes of Randy Orton, John Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, so again, I’m insulted by the reactions but it was a great start to the new year until I was interrupted by The Rock. But nonetheless, this past week, was in the ring with Seth Rollins, told him exactly how I feel, and now I’m number one contender to the world heavyweight champion. I was trending on Twitter all day yesterday [laughs], and somehow, again, the Modern Day Maharaja is the talk of the town," Mahal said.
Mahal recently stated that he wants to regain respect and championship gold. Check out his comments here.
Fightful will have live coverage of WWE Raw as it airs on January 15.
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