Hulk Hogan is one of the greatest superstars in pro wrestling history. He retired in 2012. The 68-year-old has an insane fan following and whenever he makes an appearance in WWE, the pop from the crowd reaffirms it.
“The Immortal” Hulk Hogan picked SmackDown superstar Jinder Mahal as someone who can fill his big boots in modern-day wrestling. On Friday night, Hogan revealed via his Instagram account that Jinder Mahal paid a visit to Hogan’s Beach Shop store in Tampa, Florida.
The two-time Hall of Famer shared a picture with Mahal. In the caption, he stated that if given a proper push, the Modern-Day Maharaja can be the Modern-Day Hulk Hogan.
“The old school respect with thee new school #JinderMahal physicality, he’s a bad man brother, with the right push he could be the new generation Hulk Hogan, he’s got it all brother!!!
#hogansbeachshop #clearwaterbeach”
Jinder Mahal’s first run in WWE wasn’t memorable at all. He was part of the faction 3MB alongside Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater during the time.
After being released by WWE on June 12, 2014, Mahal wrestled on the independent circuit without much success. He also wrestled for The Great Khali’s wrestling promotion Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) in India.
Mahal did an interview with Chris Jericho back in 2017 where he admitted that he had “hit rock bottom” during his run on the independent circuit and revealed that he stopped drinking and hit the gym regularly, and as a result lost 20 pounds.
After returning to WWE, Mahal performed as a singles competitor. He featured more regularly than during his first run. After about six months, he formed a tag team with Rusev.
The 35-year-old received a huge push soon after WrestleMania 33, which saw him win the WWE Championship beating Randy Orton. His reign lasted 170 days as he lost the title to AJ Styles.
Mahal would go on to win the United States Championship at WrestleMania 34. Apart from that, he has won the WWE 24/7 Championship a couple of times.
He is now confined to the lower-mid card as he has formed an alliance with Shanky on the blue brand but is not featured on the card on a regular basis.
He will enter the 8th Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which will be held on next week’s WrestleMania 38 go-home episode of SmackDown.
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