During a recent appearance on the TMZ Inside The Ring podcast, former WWE Champion Raj Dhesi (fka Jinder Mahal) gave his unfiltered thoughts on AEW, Tony Khan’s infamous tweet, and which stars he’d like to face in the future.
The situation dates back to January 2024. AEW President Tony Khan had been criticized for booking Hook—who had a limited win-loss record on major AEW shows—into a World Championship match against Samoa Joe.
Shortly after, WWE booked Dhesi, who similarly had not won a televised match in some time, against Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship on Monday Night Raw.
Khan posted on X (formerly Twitter) highlighting what he perceived as a double standard. He pointed out that critics slammed AEW’s booking of Hook but were largely silent on WWE’s booking of Dhesi.
When asked if there was “bad blood” with Khan, Dhesi dismissed the idea, saying the move ultimately helped everyone involved: “No, no, it was good… it was good for me, it was good for WWE. It was good for my title match with Seth, and it was good for AEW, and good for Hook’s match with Samoa Joe. He was getting a title shot against Samoa Joe. It just created more buzz.”
Dhesi revealed that his only personal interaction with Khan was a positive one and left the door open for a potential AEW run under the right circumstances: “I would have to see if the business makes sense. What’s the storyline? Is there a plan for me, or am I just coming to do nothing? I’m past that point in my life, past that point in my career. Whatever I do, I want to do something next level… I don’t want to just coast anymore.”
The former WWE Champion also credited AEW—alongside WWE and TNA—for the overall health of the wrestling business today, noting the impact trickles down to the independent scene: “The style has definitely changed there. So, you know, it trickles down to the independents.”
Though he admitted he doesn’t watch full episodes of AEW weekly, Dhesi made it clear he keeps track of the product through social media. When it comes to potential dream matches, he wasted no time naming names: “Strickland, Swerve Strickland I’d like to face. MJF… Penta is not a new guy or a young guy by any means… Penta is awesome.”
You can check out the complete interview below:
