Former WWE star did not see Jinder Mahal as the face of the company initially [Exclusive]

Modified Aug 03, 2021 16:30 GMT

Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship win in 2017 undoubtedly surprised everyone. Now, former WWE star Ricardo Rodriguez, who notably served as Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer for a few years, has given his take on Mahal's unexpected rise to the top.

Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Rodriguez revealed that he was initially skeptical of The Modern Day Maharaja's main-event push. Check out their recent conversation in the video posted below:

While Jinder Mahal's background as a low-card talent prompted many others to be skeptical as well, the former WWE manager's doubts stemmed from an entirely different issue. At the time, it was quite rare for a person of color to be booked as the biggest champion in the company, which is why Ricardo Rodriguez did not see Mahal as the face of WWE initially.

However, witnessing the Canadian-born superstar's efforts eventually turned Rodriguez into a believer.

Here's what he had to say about whether or not he initially saw Jinder Mahal as a top champion:

"To be honest, at the time - No." Ricardo Rodriguez continued, "I don't want to say there was racism, but it's very rare when some [person] of color gets that far [in WWE]. But when you see how much effort Jinder put into his body and into his physique, you're like, 'This guy actually looks like a champion.'"

Ricardo Rodriguez recognizes India as a huge market for WWE

Sportskeeda Wrestling's @rdore2000 recently had a can't-miss interview with @RRWWE.https://t.co/94j3wQq7Y2
— Sportskeeda Wrestling (@SKWrestling_) July 31, 2021

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Before Jinder Mahal, The Great Khali was the most popular WWE star to represent the Indian demographic.

During the interview, Rodriguez noted how The Modern Day Maharaja's huge push fit into the grander scheme of things for the company.

"There's such a big market in India. There's such a huge market, that's why Khali was put into the position that he was." Rodriguez added, "To me, it was like, 'Why not put Jinder as a champion?' Because he has the ability. He is a good wrestler. He looks great. I think he represents a major, major market in India."

The reactions of the crowd when @JinderMahal won the WWE Championship are a work of art 😂😍#WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/Il8gQGotF2
— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) May 21, 2020