WWE News: Jinder Mahal almost made a drastic career change after his first WWE release
What’s the story?
Until recently, current WWE Champion Jinder Mahal’s wrestling career wasn’t exactly one to write home about. After floundering in the lower and mid-card for a while, WWE released the Canadian-born Indian Superstar – leading to an uncertain future.
Mahal never intended to give up pro wrestling, but also felt he had to find a new way to pay the bills, and he revealed this to the Mirror recently.
In case you didn’t know...
Mahal’s original run in WWE feels like a lot of wasted potential considering where he is now. Originally brought in as part of a program with The Great Khali, Mahal never really found himself anywhere near the main event scene.
In NXT’s early days as a developmental territory, Mahal took part in the tournament to crown a new NXT champion, making it to the finals before losing to Seth Rollins. He would eventually be put into a fairly entertaining faction with Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre before being let go.
The heart of the matter
According to a discussion with the Mirror, Mahal planned to split his time between wrestling... and making sandwiches.
“I wasn't going to quit wrestling, I would never quit wrestling as long as I can wrestle, but I wasn't going to pursue it as my main career. I was exploring other options, other businesses, I was in fact going to open up a Subway franchise,”
Eventually, Mahal decided to focus his energy on getting back into the wrestling business full time, and it seems to have worked out for him.
What’s next?
After a successful title defence at Money In The Bank, Mahal seems to be doing pretty well for himself as WWE Champion.
Author’s take
I like Jinder Mahal. I like that he’s good in the ring. I like that he’s a really good heel champion. I like that he seems like a genuinely nice guy outside of the ring. I like that my Indian friends and co-workers have a legit WWE Champion they can get excited about.
I’m also glad that he never opened his Subway restaurant because I’m the kind of weirdo who would drive cross country to visit the “Subway owned by former WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal.”
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