WWE News: Triple H speaks about WWE's Jinder Mahal push, wrestlers leaving and returning to WWE, and more
What’s the story?
In a recent conference call to promote NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III, Triple H alluded to the fact that the WWE had always seen a ton of potential in Jinder Mahal.
He explained that Mahal was almost NXT Champion, and had a great run in NXT, however, his momentum didn’t really carry over to the main roster.
Triple H asserted that in today’s professional wrestling industry -- just like Mahal -- several wrestlers benefit from leaving the WWE to briefly work for other promotions, and then come back to the company with a renewed passion as a character in the WWE.
In case you didn’t know…
Jinder Mahal, whose real name is Yuvraj Singh Dhesi, has performed for the WWE from 2011, stepping away from the company for a couple of years in between before returning last year.
Mahal is now the reigning WWE Champion -- an accolade he notched in a win over Randy Orton earlier this year that sent shockwaves throughout the pro-wrestling community.
The heart of the matter
Triple H spoke in detail about the reason behind the WWE’s push of Jinder Mahal, “He was one of the last two guys in the finals for me at the first, to determine the first NXT Champion. People forget that. I thought he had that ability.
“He came right up to main roster, things didn’t pan out the way we wanted them to pan out. You can talk to him about that, he’ll kind of give you his take on it too as well. Part of that’s him, part of that’s us, part of that being not ready for it.”
Furthermore, "The Game" elucidated that today’s pro-wrestling performers have the option of leaving the WWE and honing their skills in smaller organizations, following which they can return to the WWE with a greater level of experience and a renewed passion for the sport in their arsenal.
Additionally, he pointed out the fact that most performers who’ve seemingly hit a plateau as performers, needn’t necessarily leave the WWE, but can simply go down to NXT or the WWE’s UK circuit and improve their skills inside the WWE hemisphere.
What’s next?
NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19th.
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defends his strap against Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE’s SummerSlam PPV on August 20th.
Author’s take
I’ve got to agree with Haitch here, that Mahal has shown glimpses of becoming a potential star in his run as WWE Champion thus far.
He has excellent mat skills and if given a bit more time as a main event star, he’d shine on the mic too.