Triple H Says Jinder Mahal Has “Earned My Respect”
In an interview with News 18 in India, Triple H was asked about Jinder Mahal’s current reign with the WWE Championship. Triple H said that Jinder has “earned his respect” but “the jury is out.” The COO of WWE had this to say:
I think you know there’s different ways to look at it. If I’m going to answer that from a wrestler’s point or a WWE superstar standpoint, sometimes people are looking at Jinder and saying maybe he doesn’t deserve the championship, it’s too early for him. They fail to see that Jinder was here before and yes he did not succeed the first time he was here and he went away and he left but they don’t see the hard work they don’t see the dedication he’s put in he has worked really hard and if I can say one thing from my point of view, Jinder has earned my respect. As not only a WWE superstar but as a champion I think the jury is out. I think it takes time to establish yourself as a champion you know superstars like Stone Cold Steve Austin or Myself or The Rock or John Cena weren’t built overnight. They take time. It takes time to earn the respect of a fan base and I think that’s what Jinder will do if he continues to put on the performance he does. He will continue to earn their respect over time. If he doesn’t then he clearly won’t be champion for long.
Triple H also talked about the impact of Mae Young Classic participant Kavita Devi:
I was very excited to see how well Kavita Devi did. In the Mae Young classic, I was excited as a, you know, putting that show on. Trying to find talent from all over the world. It was wonderful to be able to come here to India and find an athlete with the caliber of Kavita and being able to invite her into being in the Mae Young Classic. I thought she did exceptionally well. Given the experience level she has, I think she did exceptionally well. It created a lot of buzz here in India and that is a good thing. And Kavita is signed with the WWE and we will be starting with the performances very soon.
Triple H also mentioned that WWE hopes to have 11 Indian superstars in the Performance Center by the end of the year:
Hopefully we will be finding some of the best athletes in the world here whether that be from Kabaddi, or Kushti or various other sports. There are some amazing athletes here and probably by the end of the year, we will probably have 11 with us at the Performance Centre in Orlando. But in the long term, I would love to be recruiting from India more and being on the ground here, in India on a recruiting level. Whether that is building a performance center here in India, whether that is creating another brand, here in India that can tour on a country wide level here.
He goes on to discuss WWE’s relationship with Indian fans, and the growth of NXT as a brand. The full interview can be found HERE.
