Below are a couple of top WWE & AEW news stories of the day, involving Jinder Mahal and Jon Moxley.
• In a surprising turn of events, Jinder Mahal has expressed gratitude towards AEW President Tony Khan for sparking interest in his World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins earlier this year.
The unexpected acknowledgment comes after the AEW owner highlighted Mahal’s win-loss record on social media, before Mahal’s bout on the January 15th episode of WWE RAW.
Khan’s remarks drew attention to what he perceived as WWE fans’ double standards, particularly in light of his decision to book Hook in an AEW World Title match against Samoa Joe on the January 17th edition of Dynamite.
Here’s what Mahal said during an interview with Chris Van Vliet:
“I was at home, I think it was early in the day. Drew (McIntyre) had texted me. I got a bunch of texts in a row and I was like, ‘What? I have to see this’. I opened Twitter and saw it (laughs).
Thank you, Tony. You made the match with Seth more interesting. People thought I was going to win it just to spite Tony. I was surprised, everyone stuck up for me, it never happened before.”
WATCH: Lana In A Hot Outfit (Part 3):
• When The Shield’s music hit during the Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes match in the main event of WrestleMania 40 – Night 2, many fans thought Jon Moxley fka Dean Ambrose will show up.
However, only Seth Rollins showed up in Shield gear.
During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Moxley revealed what he was doing when that moment happened at WrestleMania XL:
“I was asleep in Japan when that was going on. When I woke up, I had these messages saying, ‘I thought you were coming out!’ And I was like, ‘Coming out where?’
It’s cool that people thought it was me. But I was asleep.”
Moxley was in Japan to compete for NJPW.
