The modern-day “Maharaja” & current WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal recently talked with SLAM! Sports via telephone about growing up a wrestling fan in Canada. Mahal also discussed WWE’s grueling work schedule, Bret Hart & much more.
Here are the highlights: (if you are going to use any of the quotes above, please give credit to SLAM! Sports with an H/T to eWrestlingNews for the transcriptions)
Mahal On Bret Hart:
“I was born in Calgary, big-time wrestling town, you’ve got the Harts, home of Stampede Wrestling. Wrestling when I was growing up was very, very popular, obviously, Bret Hart was every child’s hero. I grew up with Bret as my hero. I think everyone could relate to him because he was a great underdog, he was a great role model, even in the city.”
Growing Up In Canada As A Wrestling Fan:
“Even as a child, I still knew it was hard. I still knew that Bret had worked his whole life for this and I knew that he had come from a wrestling family and this was his entire life’s work. But his character, I think that’s what drew people to him; he made it seem like dreams can come true because he was a smaller guy, wrestling Yokozuna or Sid Vicious and as a smaller guy, he would become champion. Bret did make it seem attainable but he didn’t make it seem easy.”
“My uncle is from Calgary, he wrestled for Stampede, so when I was old enough, when I was in high school, he guided me in the right direction where I could find proper training and actually get into the business the correct way.”
WWE’s Schedule:
“Right now in my career in WWE, our schedule is so grueling, wrestling night after night, plus travelling … (paying my dues) prepared me for that and in a way, paying your dues does give you respect for the business because that’s important. I think some people come into this business from other avenues of life and think that it’s going to be easy. ‘Oh, I’ll just become rich and famous and it’ll be a cake walk’, it’s far from it.”
Mahal’s First WWE Tryout:
“The first tryout I got was actually in Calgary, I was extra talent and we had a chance to get into the ring there. Jamie Noble was watching, some of the other producers were there ringside, Johnny Ace (and others). I was just too nervous and I couldn’t perform, I actually got really, really tired because I was very nervous. When you’re nervous, I was very stiff and they kept me in there for like three matches in a row and I was completely out of breath, it wasn’t good.”
If you want to read the rest of SLAM! Sports great interview with Jinder Mahal, click here:
