Jinder Mahal: 4 things you may not know about WWE's '171 million man'
What a whirlwind couple of weeks it has been for WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal. After spending much of 2023 managing the sporadically used Indus Sher, The Modern Day Maharaja began 2024 in a much higher gear. First, he was part of a much talked about segment with The Rock on WWE RAW: Day One which garnered an eye-watering 171 million views on social media.
Then, he followed that up by earning himself a World Heavyweight championship match against Seth Rollins. As if that wasn't enough, he inadvertently found himself in the eye of a social media storm brewed by the actions of AEW owner Tony Khan. As The Modern Day Maharaja prepares to take on The Visionary on Monday night, fans might want to be reminded of some interesting tidbits about his career.
Here are four facts you may not know about WWE's '171 million man,' Jinder Mahal
#4: He's a 20-year veteran of the business
It seems to fly under the radar because of his stop-start booking and radical transformation from goofy 3MB member to menacing heel champion, but Jinder Mahal has been around for a while. The Modern Day Maharaja, real name Yuvraj Singh Dhesi, debuted on the independent scene in 2004. He competed in various promotions as a singles and tag team competitor before landing in WWE.
During his early days, he competed against future superstars like Viktor of The Ascension, Natalya, Tyson Kidd and Samoa Joe. Having been trained by his uncle, former WWE star Gama Singh, and Rick Bognar of the 'Fake Razor Ramon' notoriety, Mahal was always destined for the big time.
A section of fans may have felt that he was a token champion because of his heritage, but The Maharaja has definitely paid his dues.
#3: Jinder Mahal has extensive championship match pedigree in WWE
Tony Khan pointed out on X that Jinder Mahal has not won a WWE match in almost a year. As a result, many questioned his credentials for challenging the World Heavyweight Champion, arguing that there were other competitors more deserving of the shot. However, apart from the fact that it's clearly a filler feud on the road to Royal Rumble 2024, Mahal boasts an impressive title match resume.
Be it facing Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship or Ricochet for the Intercontinental Title, The Maharaja has been in some big title matches over his career. That's without mentioning all his title defences as WWE and United States champion against the likes of Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Mahal even survived John Cena and a Baron Corbin Money in the Bank cash-in on the same night! Many may not like it, but The Maharaja is very qualified for that spot.
#2: Jinder Mahal was WWE's "Iron Man" in 2017
Jinder Mahal may appear sporadically of late due to a combination of injuries and lack of creative direction, but he was once the backbone of WWE programming. In fact, nobody competed in more matches across the entire company in 2017 than The Modern Day Maharaja, who enjoyed a 170-day reign as the 50th WWE Champion.
Seth Rollins takes great pride in being a workhorse champion, so giving a title shot to the man who was a similar constant for the company in 2017 is a nice way to honor that philosophy. Could Mahal pull off an upset and become the company's top workhorse champion again in 2024?
#1: Jinder Mahal and Seth Rollins have a 12-year title match history in WWE
Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal may be at very different levels of the card right now, but they are hardly strangers to each other. Rollins won his very first singles title in WWE against Mahal, defeating the latter to become the inaugural NXT Champion in 2012. The duo crossed swords again in 2018 for the Intercontinental Title, with Rollins retaining despite interference from The Singh Brothers.
Will the third time be the charm for The Modern Day Maharaja? Will he finally conquer the man who always seems to be a step ahead of him on the biggest stage? Will Veer and Sanga come into play to help him win, or perhaps former 3MB teammate Drew McIntyre? What about Rollins' mortal enemy CM Punk and Señor Money In The Bank Damian priest?
What seems like a straightforward filler match could end up changing the company's direction for a long time.