If you seek the American dream, look no further than Jinder Mahal. The Indian Superstar is the very definition of a self-made man, having battled his way to the WWE Championship despite suffering trials and tribulations that would have sent a lesser person running for the hills.
Mahal made it his business to target the biggest dog in the yard from his first days in WWE, when he confronted the towering Great Khali. And even when Mahal found himself set back by his own ambitions, The Maharaja continued to press for the peak, forming unusual alliances and adopting new styles to improve his game and approach the mountaintop from a different path.
When neither of those attempts paid dividends, Mahal took a sabbatical from WWE and returned in 2016 as a new man. While his style evolved, he also underwent a remarkable physical transformation. Suddenly, going after the biggest dog in the yard didn’t seem so far-fetched. In just a two-month span, Mahal finished as the runner-up in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, defeated five of SmackDown LIVE’s finest to become No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship, recruited Sunil & Samir Singh to his side and made good on his title opportunity, defeating none other than Randy Orton to attain the supreme prize of sports-entertainment.
He may have crossed a few lines and stepped on a few necks to succeed, but if there’s anything to take away from Jinder Mahal, it’s that none are more deserving of glory than those who refuse to be hindered — even if it means getting there by any means necessary.