A WWE star recently shared how Jinder Mahal’s initial working style left him with a bruised face.
Jinder Mahal (aka Raj Dhesi) was known for many things. However, it wasn’t widely known that at the beginning of his wrestling career, Mahal’s in-ring work was a little stiff. Recently, Ricky Saints (fka Ricky Starks) opened up about his experience of working with the former WWE Champion in 2012, back when he was working as an enhancement talent.
Ricky Saints Recounts Stiff WWE Match Against Jinder Mahal, Cody Rhodes Responds
Speaking on the latest episode of What Do You Want To Talk About? With Cody Rhodes, Saints shared that while the match was good, the former US Champion’s stiff in-ring style led to him getting bruises on his face.
Saints also defended Mahal, adding that the Modern Day Maharaja was new to the business as well and had not yet found his style of working. Responding to this, The American Nightmare recalled a moment in an AEW match where he and Saints butted heads. He admitted that he did like people who went hard in the ring, drawing a parallel to the intense, old-school brawling style of Steve Austin.
Their conversation went as follows:
[Rhodes] I feel like you’ve told me the story before, but I’ve never asked how that match was.
[Saints] My God. Well, I remember coming to the back, and this whole side of my face was bruised up. Gosh, I love Jinder [Mahal]. He’s awesome. But he was young too.
[Rhodes] Heavy-handed.
[Saints] Yes, very.
[Rhodes] Also, I’m a big believer, and you know this. We butted heads. Literally, I mean, we butted heads. I’m a big believer in you, like the old school Steve Austin, how they hit the rope.
[Saints] Yeah!
[Rhodes] I like somebody swinging in there. Yeah, I don’t want some. We’re not dancing. This ain’t a dance. You know what I’m saying? Let’s, let’s get down to it.
[Saints] The headbutt was memorable, too.
[Rhodes] Yeah, well, that was. Honestly, we’re more than able to talk about it here.”
You can watch their related conversation in the video below from the 11:15 mark:
Elsewhere in the episode, Ricky Saints also expressed his admiration for Cody Rhodes, stating he had a deep love for The American Nightmare and that he wouldn’t let anyone weaponize their friendship.