Jinder Mahal is back in the limelight, both in the squared circle and on social media. The former WWE Champion recently broke his silence regarding trending online after AEW CEO Tony Khan’s criticism of his booking.
Tony Khan defended AEW’s booking of their 28-1 wrestler Hook on Twitter, criticising WWE for matching Jinder Mahal against Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Mahal replies to Khan in a since-deleted tweet, asking, “Who is Hook?”
Addressing the buzz surrounding his WWE return at the “Day 1” edition of Raw, Mahal spoke candidly on the January 10 episode of WWE’s The Bump, stating:
“It was nothing new to me. The WWE Universe has always reacted to me in such fashion. There’s a famous shot when I became WWE Champion, the pan into the crowd and everybody’s jaw is hitting the floor. I don’t understand why the WWE Universe is surprised when the Modern Day Maharaja returns or becomes champion.”
He continued: “But nonetheless, this past week, was in the ring with Seth Rollins, told him exactly how I feel, and now I’m number one contender to the world heavyweight champion. I was trending on Twitter all day yesterday [laughs], and somehow, again, the Modern Day Maharaja is the talk of the town.”
Mahal’s sights are now firmly set on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, currently held by Seth Rollins. The two will clash in a highly anticipated title match on the January 15th edition of Monday Night Raw.
Eric Bischoff fires back at Tony Khan following Jinder Mahal’s criticism
After Tony Khan criticized how Jinder Mahal was booked in WWE, many wrestlers and fans defended Mahal. One notable supporter was WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff.
However, when a fan raised the point that Abadon had recently received a TBS title shot despite the wrestler’s limited presence on AEW television, Bischoff tagged Khan, seeking clarification on whether this information was accurate or possibly originating from a bot. Khan swiftly responded.
Bischoff didn’t give up and asked again, saying he could read well and even pointing out that Dave Meltzer had used a similar response before.
Despite the online exchange, wrestling fans remain divided on the issues raised by AEW President Tony Khan.
