Jinder Mahal reveals which Shield member almost became a part of 3MB
Former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal shared an interesting insight about the formation of 3MB recently. Mahal revealed that a member of the Shield almost became a part of their stable a month before The Hounds of Justice's debut at Survivor Series 2012.
In an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, The Modern Day Maharaja discussed the formation of 3MB with Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre. Before Mahal and McIntyre joined Slater, there was reportedly a shortlist of names who could be part of the group that included Dean Ambrose, now known as AEW's Jon Moxley.
"Some names were being thrown around. Johnny Curtis, Fandango. At that time, Dean Ambrose was doing some dark matches, maybe Dean Ambrose. Luckily, that didn't happen for him but yeah we were just, oh maybe Curt Hawkins, just like throw the usual names," Mahal said. [30:03 - 30:23]
In the end, 3MB ended up having Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre. Dean Ambrose, fortunately, became a member of the Shield a month after 3MB was formed. Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have changed the landscape of WWE as part of the Shield and as individual superstars since.
On the other hand, 3MB was never taken seriously, with Mahal and McIntyre getting released in 2014. They did get signed by WWE again and both ended up becoming WWE Champions, while Slater was eventually let go during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jinder Mahal released by WWE
WWE began releasing talents last week and one of the names let go was Jinder Mahal. There was some confusion at first but it was then confirmed that the Modern Day Maharaja was no longer part of the company, along with other stars such as Veer Mahaan, Sanga, Cameron Grimes, Xia Li, Xyon Quinn and Von Wagner.
It's the second time in his career that Mahal was released by WWE. He was originally signed in 2010 and made his main roster debut a year later. He became part of 3MB and his contract was terminated in 2014. He spent a few years on the independent circuit before getting re-signed by WWE in 2017.
Mahal had a new look during his second run with the company. He looked more muscular and ripped, and his hard work was eventually rewarded with a WWE Championship run and a United States Championship win.