Former WWE Champion didn't know fans disliked his match with Randy Orton until he checked his phone
Randy Orton is widely viewed as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of his generation. Jinder Mahal, The Viper's former WWE Championship rival, recently reflected on their Punjabi Prison Match at Battleground 2017.
Mahal received help from The Great Khali and The Singh Brothers to escape the Punjabi Prison and win the match. Due to the design of the two-cage structure, many fans in the arena struggled to see parts of the 27-minute main event.
In a YouTube video with former WWE star Maven Huffman, Mahal revealed he had no idea fans disliked the match until he read comments online:
"He suplexes me kinda into the cage and you can hear me say, 'Do it again.' Because the crowd can't really see what's going on, they're not that loud, which was kinda disappointing at that time, and this match was like universally cra**ed on, which is never a good feeling! But I didn't know that until I turned on my phone after." [10:46 – 11:08]
The finish saw the returning Great Khali walk down the ramp and choke Orton. Mahal then escaped the second Punjabi Prison cage to retain the WWE Championship.
Jinder Mahal on Randy Orton's Punjabi Prison Match reaction
After the event, Jinder Mahal felt "disrespected" after finding out that then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had already left the backstage area.
Mahal added that he and Randy Orton were pleased with the match despite fans' complaints on social media:
"We were both happy with it when we came back. I don't think he [Randy Orton] really gives a s**t that people didn't like it. There's people that liked it, too, that just didn't go on Twitter and f***ing say they loved it!" [23:07 – 23:17]
Mahal also revealed why he dreaded facing Orton in non-televised Last Man Standing matches during their 2017 rivalry.
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Please credit Maven Huffman and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.