WWE star Jinder Mahal is the guest on the latest “After The Bell with Corey Graves.” Jinder recently returned to the Raw roster after a brief return to NXT.
Mahal talked about being released by WWE in 2014 and coming back a year later and winning the WWE Championship:
“Ten months before I became WWE Champion, I was an independent wrestler. I got released from WWE in 2014. I wasn’t even with WWE. I had came back during the brand split. They had reintroduced the separate rosters for Raw And SmackDown, and actually, I had just come back to kind of fill a roster space. I was ready for television. I was a guy that I can throw on and make the other guys look good. But just knowing what I had gone through with being released and having all those regrets and knowing that if I ever had another opportunity, I was gonna knock it out of the ballpark. I was gonna give it my all. I wasn’t gonna compromise with myself, with my training, with my discipline, with my self belief, so I just gave it my all and became WWE Champion 10 months later. I don’t think that’s ever happened before where someone was released and came back and within that short of a timespan, completely changed and reinvented myself. Just the confidence, the swagger, the Singh Brothers, the entire package, the presentation, yeah, I really transformed myself into a champion and that’s what you have to do. You have to become the champion before you become the champion.”
“A lot of it was just working on the mental aspects of the game. I never had done this before where I read motivation books and listened to podcasts on YouTube. When I trained, I would have CT Fletcher in my headphones. I just really worked on my mental space. It’s not mentioned enough. You know, a lot of people think like, ‘WWE, I’m just gonna work really hard.’ When things aren’t going your way, unless you really work on your mental headspace, you’re going to get down, and when you’re down, you become unmotivated. I just learned that no one stays down forever. You work hard and you believe in yourself, and that’s the main thing. If you believe in yourself, anything is possible. Unless you believe in yourself and you see yourself as a champion, you’re not going to become a champion in WWE. People can see right through it. You want to have that confidence. That’s the major part of the game. I think what’s neglected is the mental training.”
On the meaning behind Indus Sher:
“It’s an ancient civilization. It’s one of the earliest civilizations ever in the Indus Valley. That’s where the word India comes from, from Indus. It’s an ancient civilization of warriors, slowly transforming into what is modern day India. Modern day India is so diverse and just rich in culture, but also at the same time, it’s very modern. It’s an incredible place. Sher means lions, so lions of Indus, and Indus itself, India itself represents many different cultures, many different people, different religions, and it’s an incredible honor.”
On Veer Mahaan and Sanga’s background:
“Veer the first ever Indian to be drafted in the MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s an incredible athlete and world class athlete. He was a javelin thrower prior to MLB. He was a national level javelin thrower. Sanga is a kickboxing champion and an actor.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit After The Bell with Corey Graves with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
