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AEW President Tony Khan once called out WWE for granting a former champion a World Title shot despite his television absence and win/loss record at the time. The latter, Jinder Mahal, is no longer with the sports entertainment juggernaut, and could potentially initiate a feud with TK in his company if The Modern Day Maharaja is ever signed by the latter.
In early 2024, in response to USA Network seemingly taking a shot at his promotion, Tony Khan blasted WWE for booking Mahal to face Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship on Monday Night RAW despite the former supposedly not having won a match in quite some time. This was contrasted against All Elite Wrestling booking HOOK to challenge Samoa Joe for the AEW World Title on Dynamite, with reference to the budding star's superior win/loss record.
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At the time, Mahal had seemingly poked fun at Khan by implying he did not know of The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil in a since-deleted tweet. He had also justified his claim to a World Title opportunity on the grounds of being a former WWE Champion himself in later interviews. Unfortunately, Mahal did not win his title bout against Seth Rollins and was released by WWE in April 2024. In an interview days after his exit, the former 3MB member thanked TK for inadvertently elevating the hype surrounding his match with The Visionary.
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Mahal is now back wrestling in the indies, where he wrestles as Raj Dhesi. The star has made it clear over the past year that he is open to working in AEW, although he recently claimed that the company had not reached out to him officially yet. If the promotion does decide to sign The Maharaja, he could make his debut as a top acquisition with a bone to pick with Tony Khan. Dhesi could, in storyline, look to make a major impact in his new workplace by personally going after the All Elite CEO.
Such an angle could then lead to Khan appointing a representative of his own to take on Dhesi. Perhaps he could send HOOK, to finally book the much-anticipated singles match between Dhesi and the former FTW Champion, and bring the story full circle.
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Following his WWE departure, Raj Dhesi has been competing prominently on the independent circuit. He has wrestled across promotions including Black Label Pro, AAA, Dungeon Wrestling, and GCW. Currently, he is also the holder of the AAA World Tag Team Championship alongside AEW's Satnam Singh, the Stu Hart Heritage Championship, and the BLP Heavyweight Championship.
It remains to be seen whether an AEW tenure is in the cards for Dhesi.
