Jinder Mahal Gives Honest Thoughts On Tony Khan’s Outburst

Jinder Mahal has reflected on Tony Khan using him as an example when attacking criticism of AEW.

On the January 8th edition of WWE Raw, Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal got into a heated exchange, with the end result being that Mahal was given a shot at Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship. The move came as a surprise as it has been over six years since The Modern Day Maharajah had held a World Title and he was rarely seen in action during 2023.

Tony Khan used the decision in a social media post taking aim at people criticising AEW for having Hook challenge Samoa Joe for the company’s own World Championship. Khan said there was a double standard in the criticism as Hook had only been defeated once in his career at that point, while there was no “rage” when Mahal got a title shot despite losing every match over the preceding year.

“I Should Be Number One Contender Anytime I Want” – Jinder Mahal

During an appearance on Gorilla Position, Mahal addressed Khan’s outburst, saying that the AEW President was forgetting one important fact, that he was both the Modern Day Maharajah and a former WWE Champion, meaning he can get a title shot whenever he wants.

“I think Tony Khan is forgetting I’m the Modern Day Maharaja, former WWE Champion, and being a former WWE Champion, I should be number one contender anytime I want.

“The Royal Rumble happened a week after that. If you notice, I wasn’t in it because I didn’t feel there was a need. The Modern Day Maharaja wants a title match, he can just get one. It’s okay.

For Mahal, things worked out well as Khan brought a lot of buzz his way. The star also noted that he appreciates the competition AEW provides as it “makes everybody better.”

“Overall, it’s great. It caused a lot of buzz, and I appreciate the competition because it makes everybody better.”

Following his unsuccessful title challenge against Seth Rollins, Jinder Mahal next competed on the February 19th edition of Main Event, where he defeated Apollo Crews to earn his first victory since January 10th, 2023 when he won against Julius Creed at NXT New Year’s Evil.

H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.