Jinder Mahal has exceeded expectations since becoming WWE Champion and the Modern Day Maharaja has risen to the top of the SmackDown Live roster as a result. In a new interview, Mahal was asked to address a number of topics and things inevitably kicked off with a discussion about Baron Corbin's recent failed attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase.
As you might imagine, it's left Mahal feeling a lot more confident about walking out the Brooklyn with the WWE Championship in hand after facing Shinsuke Nakamura.
"Yeah there's the Money in the Bank at play while Baron Corbin was holding the contract. It was a constant threat to me. I always had to watch my back. I won't have to be thinking about, you know, any opportunity where Baron Corbin could cash in and take advantage of the opportunity. So, now that I've beaten Baron Corbin and he's lost his Money in the Bank contract, you know, that's a huge weight off my back, that would take a huge bull's eye right off my back. So, now I can come into SummerSlam just focused on Shinsuke Nakamura.
"You know a lot of people on Twitter, on social media were saying that Baron Corbin's going to cash in at SummerSlam. So obviously, I was aware of this and it was in the back of my mind. Obviously I am very relieved and it's a huge weight off my shoulders that Baron Corbin does not have the threat against me anymore. So maybe someday in the future, he will get a shot at my WWE Championship, but I will know when the match will be. It's not going to come out of nowhere when I'm down when Baron Corbin can take advantage of the opportunity."
With a cash in attempt now off the table, it remains to be seen what surprises Mahal might have in store for us this Sunday. It was at Battleground that he brought in The Great Khali to help him take down Randy Orton, so what are the chances that he could return again either at the Barclays Center or somewhere further down the line?
"I would definitely hope so, but for the mean time, we don't have anything planned. No appearances. It was just for one night for the Punjabi Prison. I'm sure The Great Khali, we haven't seen the last of him or us together. When it's going to happen again, that's going to be a surprise. Whenever it is, I'm looking forward to it."
It will definitely be interesting to when and if we see The Great Khali again, especially as many fans have been wondering what a match between him and Mahal would look like! Time will tell on that front but Mahal vs. Nakamura promises to be an exciting match and one which will either strengthen the Modern Day Maharaja's title run or bring it to a grinding halt. We'll see!