Jinder Mahal makes shocking first move outside of the WWE Universe
When Jinder Mahal, now known as the “Maharaja” Raj Dhesi, formally announced that his 90-day non-compete clause with WWE had officially expired on July 18th via his social media, it garnered plenty of positive interactions on social media.
Call it the meme-ification of his character, with his “Don’t Hinder Hinder” catchphrase taking the internet by storm, or that his social media feud with Tony Khan only further cemented his legacy, but after being handed his walking papers by WWE three months back, Mahal officially returned to the national stage in a major way, using an interview on Insight to effectively close the book on his old character and re-introduce the world to the new “Maharaja.”
And on Friday, July 19th, his 38th birthday, Mahal added even more fuel to his fire by making a surprise debut at GCW So High, attacking Effy after his match alongside Cole Radrick versus The Rejects, first dropping the “Daddy” while wearing a ski mask before removing his headgear to reveal himself to the audience in St. Louis as the crowd went wild.
What does this mean for Mahal? Well, GCW doesn’t have full-time wrestlers save Nick Gage, and they cycle through talent who also work outside of the promotion fairly freely depending on availability, so a full-time move to Game Changer land appears to be off the books, but after watching plenty of other WWE stars make waves for the promotion like Matt Cardona on the way to other opportunities, it’s safe to say fans will get at least one match between the “Maharaja” and Effy, with the potential for even more interesting activities to come at his forthcoming bookings at Black Label Pro and Lucha Libre AAA, where he will be working alongside Satnahm Singh and fellow GCW alumni Jeff Jarrett.
Now, if only Double J’s boss, Khan, can bury the hatchet with Mahal and bring him into AEW, then the people will really get what they want.
Jinder Mahal just made his GCW debut! pic.twitter.com/Y67BHa29QA
— Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) July 20, 2024
Jinder Mahal holds no ill will towards WWE for release
Though he didn’t spill the beans regarding a surprise return to the indies in GCW, as then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, Jinder Mahal did get himself back in the news the day before his big debut by having an interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight.
Discussing his entire professional wrestling career inside of WWE and out, Mahal was asked about his run in WWE and how it felt to be released for the second time by the world leader in sports entertainment. While Mahal’s run in WWE didn’t end the way he wanted it to, he’s proud of what he was able to accomplish and of his run with the company, holding no ill will towards how things shook out, as he’s proud of what he accomplished in The Fed.
“There is no hostility or negative feelings with WWE. Very grateful for them with all the years and the platform they provided me. It’s amazing. During WrestleMania week, myself and Indus Sher talked to [talent relations]. They were wanting to go back to India. A few months prior, Veer had a religious event that he holds. It was the one year anniversary of his father’s death. He got told we were needed for RAW and he couldn’t go back home. Sanga is also from India, he wants to go back home. They were told no, we were needed on RAW. Sure enough, that week we weren’t booked. We were sitting at home. They were quite frustrated. Also, myself,” the ex-Jinder Mahal told Insight via 411 Mania.
“Started off the year with The Rock, had the WWE Championship match. One week later, I’m not in the Royal Rumble, which I thought was very weird. We talked to TR and said, ‘Listen, if there’s nothing for us, we can go our separate ways.’ Sure enough, a few months later, we went our separate ways. We didn’t ask (for our releases). It was just, ‘Hey, if there are no plans, we can discuss going our separate ways.’ My contract, I signed for five years in April 2019. They added on 18 months for injury time. That was remaining on my contract. When I signed for the five years, I told myself, ‘After five years, I have to go do something else now.’ I had my mind made up that in 2024, I was going to, at least temporarily go away from WWE.”
Would Mahal have really left WWE on his own terms, as he suggested? It’s impossible to know, but considering he’s now free to do as he pleases, it’s safe to say Mahal will be in the headlines plenty under his new moniker, Raj Dhesi, as he bounces around the indie wrestling landscape, which, in the end, could ultimately lead him back to RAW or SmackDown at some point in the future.
The post Jinder Mahal makes shocking first move outside of the WWE Universe appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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