During an interview with Inside The Ropes, Jinder Mahal revealed that a combination of bad luck, superstition, and medical mishaps sidelined him for nearly a year during his WWE run.
The former WWE Champion first explained how he “jinxed himself” into a devastating injury. After years of wrestling without major issues, he once joked backstage that he couldn’t get hurt – only to rupture his patella tendon that same night.
“I literally said, ‘I’ve been trying to get hurt and can’t,’” Jinder recalled. “Then I knocked on a plastic table instead of wood and tore my knee that night.”
After months of rehab, he finally returned during the pandemic, performing at the Performance Center. But soon after, a WWE doctor accidentally made things worse. Jinder said his knee was swollen, and when the doctor drained the fluid, it caused a piece of torn cartilage to jam inside his knee joint, locking it in place.
That mistake forced him into another surgery and another 9–10 months of recovery. Mahal said the ordeal humbled him, teaching him patience and gratitude.
Here’s the full story:
“During my last few weeks of rehab, I noticed my knee had filled with fluid and it was bothering me a little. When I came back, we were at the Performance Center and I had a match with Akira Tozawa. I also did a promo as a babyface, and because there was no crowd, the dirt sheets started reporting that I was turning babyface. But the actual storyline was supposed to be that I thought I was a babyface, while the crowd would still boo me – kind of a self-righteous heel who believed he was a hero. That was the idea, not a real babyface turn.
The following week at TV, I didn’t know who I was facing, but I told the doctor, ‘Hey doc, my knee is really full of fluid. Can you drain it for me?’ That’s a common procedure – your knees or elbows can swell up, and the doctor just drains the fluid.
He said sure, drained my knee right before my match, and told me to stand up – said I should be good as new. I stood up, and suddenly my knee was locked in place. I looked at him and said, ‘What did you do? My knee won’t move.’
What had happened was, I had a torn piece of cartilage in there without knowing it. The fluid had allowed me to move my knee a bit, but once it was drained, the piece of cartilage jammed into my knee joint.
After that, I got an MRI, and it confirmed the torn cartilage. I had just come back from a 9-10 month layoff, wrestled for two weeks, and now I was injured again – another 9–10 months out.
Later, nearing the end of my second rehab, WWE announced the Superstar Spectacle taping for India. I wasn’t fully cleared yet, but I saw Triple H at the Performance Center and begged him to let me wrestle. He asked if I was sure I’d be okay, and I told him, ‘100%. Book me for it.’ Luckily, they cleared me enough to do the match.”
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