Jinder Mahal recently appeared as a guest on the Gorilla Position podcast for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.
During the discussion, “The Modern Day Maharaja” spoke about when he found out that he would be working an in-ring segment with The Rock on WWE programming at the special WWE Day 1 edition of Monday Night Raw.
“I didn’t pitch it,” he said. “I went home for Christmas. When I landed back in Tampa, I got a call from one of the writers, ‘I think you’ve probably seen on social media, we announced a WWE Champion will return.’ Yeah, it’s me, but….I knew a big kicker was coming. ‘There’s going to be a big switch, you’re actually with The Rock. Don’t tell anybody.’ I found out a few days earlier. What an awesome moment. I was super excited. The Rock is one of the most amazing performers of all time. Super giving. Super easy. That was the most relaxed I’ve been in a promo. He’s an absolute pro. In the meantime, I’ve been working with an acting coach. That was a different side of me I got to show and I got a lot of positive comments and a very positive response overall in my performance. Followed it up with a promo against Seth Rollins. Had a title match. All in all, was a great start to the year. I wasn’t planning on it, but luckily, I stay ready year-round. That’s WWE, anything can happen at anytime. Just like when I became WWE Champion out of nowhere.”
Mahal would then talk about how it was an “incredible process” to work with “The Great One.”
“Unbelievable,” he said. “Obviously, he’s now a board member, so he brings a different side of entertainment to WWE. I believe it’s only going to make us bigger. Coincides with Raw moving to Netflix next year. It’s an amazing time. An amazing time for the company. We’re exploring uncharted territory in terms of growth. All of us performers in the locker room are super excited. Dwayne is a very giving performer. Based off my experience, he’s always been super helpful. Anytime he’s there on Raw or SmackDown, he hangs out after. He’s super approachable, he gets along with everybody. Overall, it’s a positive thing.”
Check out the complete interview at Apple.com. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.
