Jinder Mahal has told the story behind one of the more hilarious moments in one of his matches.
While many will remember The Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018 as the night that Titus O’Neil fell under the ring while making his entrance, another unplanned moment took place earlier in the night. At the show, Mahal was the challenger for United States Champion Jeff Hardy and faced off against The Charismatic Enigma in Saudi Arabia.
During the match, Hardy jumped off the top rope to hit the Whisper in the Wind on Mahal. Despite missing the move, Mahal still took a bump as he assumed that it actually connected. Addressing what happened that night, Mahal claims he is not entirely to blame.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet about the match, the former WWE Champion stated that he was normally given a warning about top rope manoeuvres but his timing was off:
“I gotta clear the air about the botch that’s super viral with Jeff Hardy hitting the Whisper in the Wind, it doesn’t touch me and I take a bump, which I get a lot of flak for online. It was actually The Singh Bros’ fault. It was Sunil Singh’s fault because when we do anything from the top rope he tells me, ‘I’m selling.’ He would say, ‘Not now, not now, not now, not now. Okay, now.’ So he’s telling me, ‘Not now, not now, not now, not now’ and then I feel something touch my back, I don’t know. It was just like an instant reaction.
I took a bump, but what I felt was actually just wind, that’s how he gets the name Whisper in the Wind. I felt the Whisper in the Wind, took a big bump. When we came back, I thought Vince was gonna be pissed and I was like, ‘Oh Vince, sorry about the thing.’ At first, he’s like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I’m like, ‘The thing that I missed.’ He’s like, ‘Ah!’ And he starts laughing. Luckily, he wasn’t mad, he just had a big laugh. I felt something, it was like a little touch, I took the big bump, but it was Sunil Singh’s fault. It’s all good.”
Jinder Mahal Addresses Previous Rumour
Reigning as WWE Champion in 2017, Mahal seemed set for a champion vs. champion match against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. However, due to a last-minute title switch, Lesnar’s opponent that night was AJ Styles and not Mahal. During the same interview, Jinder Mahal addressed the rumours regarding his heat with Brock Lesnar and the scrapped match.
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