On a recent edition of the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, former WWE Champion Raj Dhesi (Jinder Mahal) discussed his departure from WWE and his excitement for touring the independent circuit this year.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On being allowed to call himself The Maharaja outside of WWE: “It was actually my plan while I was in WWE. I said it in all the promos and I noticed the WWE didn’t trademark it. I actually used it before WWE. I said it before WWE when I was released the last time, so I wanted to brand it. Going forward, I can do anything. I can have merchandise or any product or any line. I can do Maharaja brandin.I think it is kind of synonymous with myself now.”
On his last couple years in WWE: “So the last two years, I wasn’t doing much. I was managing Indus Sher. In a way, they had retired me. They told me I wasn’t an active wrestler anymore, which was kind of weird. I think maybe they just wanted the focus to be on Indus Sher. I don’t know, something fresh, something new which I get because I had become very stale. Creative wise, I wasn’t doing much, which is, okay, I get it. I get it. Things change. That’s how my career has always been.”
On his relationship with Vince McMahon: “Relationship-wise, confidence-wise, trust-wise, trust is a big thing with Vince. He really trusted me a lot after that (being WWE Champion) in any situation, not just like main events, but also in anything he would put me in, like some comedy skits, you know, the 24/7 championship with R-Truth. I won the United States Championship at WrestleMania 34. That was a cool moment. With Vince, I was always on the show. I might not be in a top spot, I might be putting someone over, but I was always on all the time. I was on Live Events year round. I was booked a lot when Vince was in charge.”
On Satnam Singh: “I knew him before he got into the business. He had a few tryouts and we were in touch. He always kind of wanted to get into the business, and he would reach out for some advice. At that time, he was playing basketball. He had a trial several years ago, and he had a tryout again during COVID. For some reason, they (WWE) didn’t sign him. It was right around the time they did the Superstar Spectacle during COVID for the India show. At that time, the priority was to sign more Indian talent, but they didn’t sign him. Then he somehow got hooked up with AEW and got trained at the Nightmare Factory. He moved to Atlanta. He’s doing good, so I’m looking forward to tagging with him.”
