8 years ago, WWE Superstars Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre were singing the blues
On June 12, 2014, WWE made some standard cuts to the roster when they released once-highly touted prospects Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal. Both were members of the semi-comedic trio Three Man Band with Heath Slater, and neither seemed to have a place within the promotion at the time.
So in essence, WWE stopped the music, and the band no longer played on. Their time with the company came to a rather uneventful end. It was time to turn off the lights and drop the curtain... the show was over.
That was eight years ago, and boy have things changed now. Not only in the world, but in World Wrestling Entertainment as well.
A well-polished McIntyre and a well-chiseled Mahal would both come back and rule the day. After their initial releases, they both took lemons and made lemonade. Not coincidentally, they would also go on to greater fortune and fame in sports entertainment than anyone ever thought they could back in 2014.
As duly noted by Bodyslam.net on Twitter, both men later returned to go on and capture the WWE Championship.
OTD in 2014:
WWE released 3MB members Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal.
Both superstars would reinvent themselves and return to the promotion to become WWE Champion. https://t.co/VWqeaV93tF
The encore performance for both men may have turned out to be a smashing success, but their individual journeys had a few twists and turns along the way.
Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre have followed somewhat parallel paths in their WWE careers.
Both performers always had tremendous upside, but hadn't really taken advantage of it yet upon their initial release.
Basically, these two former 'bandmates' needed just one big hit to make it up the charts. Unfortunately, they had run out of studio time and would have to come back and play their best tunes later.
For Jinder, it was a whole new physical makeover that changed his fate. He dedicated himself to getting in tremendous shape in hopes of being viewed as a potential main event player. He knew that one way to convince Vince McMahon that he was that guy was muscle. And lots of it.
Waking up in Jinder Mahal's America where I can rest easy knowing that Vinnie Mac is ALWAYS gonna be a body guy.
#WWEBacklash https://t.co/BEijI8j4ff
As he progressed physically, his confidence - and the confidence that McMahon would have in him - grew exponentially. Add to the equation that WWE is looking to market their product more to India due to its large viewing audience and burgeoning economy. It was a great move for the company from a business sense.
As for Jinder? Let's just say he wasn't necessarily the WWE Universe's first choice to wear the gold. He may not have even cracked the Top Ten. For the fans, it was like they requested the DJ to play some James Brown... but got Milli Vanilli instead.
Mahal may have been mocked a little bit for being unworthy of the championship. But overall, he was able to strike a chord with the fans as a heel, and he could always produce a symphony of boos to fill the arena.
For Drew, his sabbatical was more about finding himself professionally and as a character. Wrestling under his real name Drew Galloway, he went on to win the TNA World Championship and continued his amazing career overseas. When he was finally tuned up again, he was ready for a return to the WWE stage.
It goes to show you how any sad song in can be turned into a magical melody. Especially in sports entertainment.
The Ballad of Drew and Jinder is a tale of redemption and of perseverance. It's a tune about tenacity and a ditty about destiny.
And somewhere inside its harmony is a message: In the wonderful world of wrestling, the possibilities are always endless, and the song never really ends. And that's certainly a tune we can all whistle along to.