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WWE champ Jinder Mahal about to compete in 'most dangerous match' in WWE history

Posted: Jul 22nd 2017 By: USAToday.com

Jinder Mahal arrived at the arena Tuesday for SmackDown Live earlier than usual. He knew the WWE had constructed the “Punjabi Prison” in which Mahal and Randy Orton will battle
Sunday at WWE Battleground.

Because the last Punjabi Prison match was 10 years ago – this is only the third ever – Mahal had never seen the structure — two steel cages covered in bamboo.

To win, a competitor must climb through the door of the first cage and into the second and then scale that cage, go over the top and reach the ground.

Mahal, the WWE champion, walked around the cages and then climbed to the top. His first thought, “Man, this thing is high.”

“I would say it’s the most dangerous match in the history of WWE,” Mahal told For The Win . I’ve seen Hell in a Cell; I’ve seen the Elimination Chamber. This trumps them all.

“This match is made for beasts and that is exactly what Randy and I have to become. I’m sure we won’t disappoint. We’re going to steal the show. … The risk is high and so is the reward, because the reward is the WWE championship.”

Mahal opened SmackDown Live by coming to the ring; the cages descended around him as he stood with the Singh Brothers. Asked his thought as the cage came down he said, “When it’s
lowering, I’m thinking this is my home and I embraced my home. That’s the mindset I have to be in.

“When I’m out there, I’m in a different state of mind. I truly become the Modern Day Maharaja. This is my match, this is my structure, this is my stipulation, this is my turf.”

Mahal, who turned 31 this week, has had a meteoric and unexpected rise in the last few months. He is just 10 months removed from coming back to the company after being fired four years earlier. He was tackled by Rob Gronkowski at WrestleMania last spring and he was seemingly stuck in a
mid-card position on SmackDown Live after the Superstar Shakeup.

He became the WWE champion at Backlash by beating Orton to the shock of many in the crowd, successfully defended against Orton at Money in the Bank and this figures to be the final bout between them.

Days after winning the title, Mahal told For The Win, “This is just the beginning. The hard work only begins here now that I’m the champion.”

Now three months into his title run, he said being the champion has been what he expected.

“I knew what being the champion means,” he said. “When you’re WWE champion, you’re on 24/7. You have to do media, you have to do appearances. You’re recognized everywhere you go. On a nightly basis, you have to perform on a main event level.

“That’s what it takes to be WWE champion and that’s what it takes to stay WWE champion. I want to do all these things because I want to be the face of the company. I want to the man, the man that people pay to see, the man that main events pay-per-views. I want to open up RAW and SmackDown. This is my goal and I’m making it happen by working harder and harder to stay in this position.”

He says he wants to prove he is a bona fide WWE main eventer and worthy of multiple championship reigns. His new goal: Becoming a WWE Hall of Famer.

Interestingly, that could take WWE to a situation that Mahal says would solidify him as champion – potentially beating 16-time world champion John Cena at SummerSlam.

Mahal says he doesn’t have an opponent in mind for SummerSlam, the WWE’s second-biggest show of the year scheduled for Aug. 20. He mentioned A.J. Styles, Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn as worthy No. 1 contenders, but clearly recognizes the impact of a victory against Cena.

“He is this generation’s greatest. I am the future,” Mahal said. “I don’t think I’ve hit my prime. I need to establish myself. Beating someone of the caliber of John Cena at an event like SummerSlam would be awesome.”

When Mahal was released, he was a member of a group called 3MB. Drew McIntyre was also in that group and also released. Now SummerSlam weekend is likely to feature McIntyre challenging Bobby Roode for the NXT title at NXT TakeOver on Saturday and Mahal defending the WWE title at SummerSlam on Sunday. Heath Slater, the third member of 3MB, remains on the RAW roster.

McIntyre, who worked for Impact Wrestling and other promotions around the world while away from WWE, re-signed with the company at WrestleMania weekend.

“I know that Drew is very motivated; he’s driven and focused,” Mahal said. “He took it quite personally when he was released by WWE. He set out on a mission to prove he is the best in the world and I truly believe he is one of the best performers in the world. He is just an animal. He for
sure will be NXT champion and I know for sure he is a future champion, whether it’s the Universal championship or my championship. …

“Somewhere down the line – it might not be for a while – but there will be a 3MB reunion. I had a lot of fun with 3MB. I learned a lot of things. That’s one of the things with WWE – to stay relevant, you have to constantly evolve. All three of us have evolved and now I’m WWE champion.”

Around the ring

The cancellation of Talking Smack — the 20-minute WWE Network show that aired Tuesdays — continues to reverberate. The show no longer airs weekly, but will remain after pay- per-views. Its first airing since the cancellation will be Sunday after Battleground. We will see whether — or if —
host Renee Young will address the topic. Jerry Lawler will co-host the post-Battleground edition rather than Daniel Bryan.

WWE and Mattel have launched a new product line that will feature the first-ever fashion dolls for feature the first- ever fashion dolls of Nikki and Brie Bella, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Alicia Fox and Eva Marie. In a news release, WWE said the new dolls “leverage
the popularity of WWE’s female Superstars and give its sizable girl fan base a new way to connect with their favorite brands.