Mahal is the second wrestler of Indian descent to win a WWE world championship
Indo-Canadian wrestler Jinder Mahal on Sunday defeated 13-time champion Randy Orton to win the WWE championship at SmackDown’s exclusive, pay-per-view Backlash event in Chicago.
Mahal is the second wrestler of Indian descent, after the Great Khali, to win a world championship in the WWE. Khali had won the World Heavyweight Championship in 2007.
The new Champion addressed “his people” in a post-match interview saying he will be defending his title in his “own country”.
“This title win puts India on the map of WWE in a major way. It proves to the world we have world class athletes. It lets the world know of the talent India possesses. India has very motivated and talented people and given the right opportunity we always rise to the top,” Mahal told the indianexpress.com.
Mahal thanked his uncle Gadowar Singh Sahota, who was also a wrestler in 1980s under the name Gama Singh.
“He taught me a lot with all his experience. A lot of other guys helped me along the way; Vince McMahon has helped me along my journey. I want to repay their faith and hopefully, this is first of the many WWE titles to come,” Indianexpress.com quoted Mahal.
The official WWE website said, “The Indian Superstar is the very definition of a self-made man, having battled his way to the WWE Championship despite suffering trials and tribulations that would have sent a lesser person running for the hills.”
“Mahal made it his business to target the biggest dog in the yard from his first days in WWE, when he confronted the towering Great Khali. And even when Mahal found himself set back by his own ambitions, The Maharaja continued to press for the peak, forming unusual alliances and adopting new styles to improve his game and approach the mountaintop from a different path,” it added.
However, Mahal’s victory that crowned him the new WWE title, surprised many leading to social media users trolling the ‘Maharaja’ on social media.
Mahal is the nephew of Indian professional wrestler Gama Singh and holds a business degree in communications and culture from University of Calgary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMdt-KqhT2A
Tweets
Chakde phattey sheraaaa!! So so so proud and happy about this @JinderMahal. 🙏🏽❤ pic.twitter.com/dIElc2mTx3
— Lilly (@Lilly) May 24, 2017
Maharaja Era Begins #Repost @wwe (get_repost)
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And the NEW #WWE Champion… @jindermahal!… https://t.co/7OKxGzYND6— The Maharaja (@JinderMahal) May 22, 2017