Raj Dhesi, who most of you will know best as former WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal, is now a free agent and weighing up his options. One big win for him is the fact he can call still himself The Maharaja, a surprise given how quick WWE typically is to trademark that sort of thing.
Mahal recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho and talked about how that came to be and what it means to him before he hits the road as an independent star.
"It was actually my plan while I was in WWE. I said it in all the promos and I noticed the WWE didn’t trademark it," Mahal explained. "I actually used it before WWE. I said it before WWE when I was released the last time, so I wanted to brand it."
"Going forward, I can do anything. I can have merchandise or any product or any line. I can do Maharaja branding. I think it is kind of synonymous with myself now," he added.
Looking back on his final stint in WWE, Mahal confirmed that he was essentially "retired" after being told he was no longer a full-time wrestler. That must have come as a blow to the former WWE Champion but it sounds like he made peace with it.
"So the last two years, I wasn’t doing much," he started. "I was managing Indus Sher. In a way, they had retired me. They told me I wasn’t an active wrestler anymore, which was kind of weird. I think maybe they just wanted the focus to be on Indus Sher. I don’t know, something fresh, something new which I get because I had become very stale."
"Creative-wise, I wasn’t doing much, which is, okay, I get it. I get it," Mahal continued. "Things change. That’s how my career has always been."
On that final note, The Maharaja is the latest former WWE Superstar to suggest he was much happier in the company when Vince McMahon was in charge. Why? Because he was getting more television time.
"Relationship-wise, confidence-wise, trust-wise, trust is a big thing with Vince," Mahal admitted. "He really trusted me a lot after that (being WWE Champion) in any situation, not just like main events, but also in anything he would put me in, like some comedy skits, you know, the 24/7 championship with R-Truth."
"I won the United States Championship at WrestleMania 34. That was a cool moment. With Vince, I was always on the show. I might not be in a top spot, I might be putting someone over, but I was always on all the time. I was on Live Events year round. I was booked a lot when Vince was in charge," he concluded.
Mahal was released on Triple H's watch so it's no wonder he feels this way. What do you think about his comments? As always, let us know in the usual place.