During an interview with MuscleMan Malcolm, former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal looked back on his matches against John Cena, revealing interesting details about Cena’s in-ring style and an unexpected test of strength moment.
Mahal praised Cena’s ability to call matches on the fly, noting that he doesn’t plan too much beforehand and instead listens to the crowd in real-time:
“Yeah! It was so much fun. And with John, he doesn’t call a whole lot before. He just listens to the crowd and calls it in the ring. Obviously, the finish being Baron Corbin cash-in etc. We all knew that was going to happen.”
Mahal also shared a funny story about an in-match moment he had always been warned against—a test of strength spot, which he had heard Vince McMahon hated:
“I’ve always heard from producers etc. like, ‘Never do a test of strength.’ Vince hates it. He hates test of strength, he thinks it’s stupid. So, I’m in the match and I said right in the beginning and Cena calls test of strength. And usually, when you do the test of strength you kick him in the gut or whatever. So, I lock up with Cena. He doesn’t call anything and we just go into the test of strength. And he goes all the way down and then comes up. And then I think finally said, ‘Kick me.’ I think. But to do a test of strength… If you noticed… Like in the last decade how many test of strengths have you seen in WWE?”
Mahal reflected on how rare it is to see a test of strength spot in modern WWE, unless it involves powerhouses like Bobby Lashley or Braun Strowman. However, despite concerns, the match was well received, and Vince McMahon gave it the thumbs up:
“So, when we came back, obviously, no one said anything. We got the thumbs up from Vince and yeah… So… Yeah, he mostly called it on the fly. It was so much fun. And he’s retiring soon. So, I’m glad I got to work him. We had some few more matches on Live Events. Some tag matches, some dark matches. So, always a huge honor to be in there with John Cena.”
With Cena’s retirement drawing closer, Mahal expressed gratitude for getting the chance to work with him, calling it an honor to share the ring with one of WWE’s biggest stars.
