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The recent WWE push of Jinder Mahal has led to varying degrees of feedback from fans and pro wrestlers. One top AEW star is now endorsing Mahal's return to the spotlight.
The Modern Day Maharaja recently returned to WWE TV for his first singles match since February 2023. Mahal failed to capture the World Heavyweight Championship from Seth Rollins on last week's RAW, but he has been a hot topic of discussion for several weeks now.
Matt Hardy spent years with WWE and has been with AEW since March 2020. The wrestling veteran recently discussed Mahal's push and praised him for his abilities. Speaking on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Big Money Matt declared that he is not a Jinder hindered.
"I like Jinder as a person and I also liked him as a performer, too. I thought he was an excellent heel. I thought he was good. I thought he really had the ability to pi*s people off in the most authentic way possible... I am not a Jinder hinderer," he said. [H/T to WrestlingInc]
Hardy noted that he had just returned to WWE when Mahal won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton at Backlash 2017. While some felt like The Modern Day Maharaja's title reign was rushed, the veteran said he did not mind it.
"I thought he [Jinder Mahal] was getting steam as a heel. I'm not huge on the win/loss thing. I feel like wrestling is more about the story than the actual athlete's records. That's me though. I know not everybody's like that. It is important to win, there's times that people should win because they're in a scenario and they're in a story where it's time for them to win and the blowoff to happen. But even when that happened, I do remember hearing his reaction at some of the events and he was very booed and people wanted to see him get beat up. So I get why they tried it.... I didn't have an issue with it," he said.
Despite their lengthy careers, Hardy and Mahal have never teamed up or gone against each other in a standard match. They did share the ring at the 2018 Royal Rumble, at WrestleMania 35 for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and at Super ShowDown 2019 for the 51-Man Battle Royal.
Matt Hardy names WWE Superstar as Female Wrestler of the Year
A recent episode of the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast saw the pro wrestling veteran present several awards for 2023. One award went to the current WWE Women's World Champion.
Last year was a big part of Rhea Ripley's reign at the top of the WWE women's division. Hardy named The Eradicator as the Female Wrestler of the Year for 2023.
"The female that stands out to me more than anybody else in the year 2023, my pick would be Rhea Ripley. I think it was a very special year for her, especially winning the championship, the elevation with The Judgment Day, and just the stuff she's done with Dom [Dominik Mysterio] has really kept her in everyone's [mind]," he said. [From 1:16:26 – 1:16:53]
Ripley closed out 2023 with a win over Maxxine Dupri. The 27-year-old then kicked off 2024 with a successful title defense over Ivy Nile on the Day 1 edition of RAW.
What do you think of Jinder Mahal's recent push? What is your bold prediction for Rhea Ripley in 2024? Sound off in the comments below!
