Jinder Mahal has explained why fans haven’t been seeing as much of him on the independent wrestling scene lately.
During an appearance on Busted Open, the former WWE Champion revealed that he stopped accepting bookings several months ago. While Mahal stressed that he still loves professional wrestling and enjoys being around younger talent, he has become increasingly selective about the appearances he accepts.
“I’ve been gone for over two years now [from WWE], and as of a couple months ago, I stopped taking bookings. And I’m very conflicted about this. I love wrestling. I love the business. I love seeing the young talent in the locker room, but it’s just not a good look for me.”
Mahal indicated that his motivation for continuing to wrestle outside WWE was primarily to enjoy himself rather than out of necessity. When that experience stopped being enjoyable, he began reconsidering the bookings he was taking.
“The only reason I’m there is for fun, and it’s not fun.”
The size of the promotion or crowd isn’t necessarily the determining factor for Mahal. Instead, he said the presentation and level of professionalism surrounding an event are important considerations.
“It has to be professional. It doesn’t necessarily need to be the biggest crowd or anything.”
Mahal’s comments suggest he isn’t closing the door on wrestling altogether. Rather, the former WWE Champion is being more selective about where he appears and wants any future bookings to meet the professional standards he expects.
After years of working WWE’s schedule, Mahal now appears content to wrestle when the circumstances are right instead of accepting independent dates simply for the sake of staying active.
