Former WWE Champion almost got fired after legitimately injuring Finn Balor

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In a recent interview with TMZ’s Inside the Ring, The Maharaja discussed the botch. Mahal revealed that he and Balor had perfectly performed the sequence many times at live events before the match on RAW. However, Mahal mistimed the forearm strike on live television.

“One week before getting drafted to SmackDown, before I became WWE Champion, it was myself and Finn Balor in a singles match on RAW. I accidentally gave him a concussion. He was coming off the ropes, I gave him a forearm, and we would do this spot every night on the live events. As a hope spot, he would come off the ropes, I would give him a forearm. But just mistiming (…) I gave Finn Balor that concussion. Felt terrible.”

The former WWE Champion disclosed that the botch could have altered his career trajectory. Vince McMahon was furious after Mahal injured The Prince. He even threatened to fire The Maharaja in the backstage area following the contest.

“‘I should fire you.’ That would have changed the trajectory of my life because a week later, I went to SmackDown. And a week after that, I was [the] number one contender. And a month after, I was WWE Champion. Everything could have ended had I came [sic] back to Gorilla and Vince said, ‘You’re fired.’ It was very possible.” [H/T: WrestlePurists]

Fortunately for Jinder Mahal, he was moved to SmackDown, where he became the number one contender for the WWE Championship. The 39-year-old ultimately won the big one from Randy Orton at Backlash in May 2017.

Finn Balor was attacked on last week’s WWE SmackDown

Finn Balor recently moved to SmackDown after concluding his feud with The Judgment Day. The Prince was part of the 2026 King of the Ring Tournament. However, he lost to Jey Uso in the quarterfinals on the blue brand.

On last week’s SmackDown, Balor expressed his desire to face Cody Rhodes in a backstage segment. The former Universal Champion said he wished to battle Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Balor was later confronted by Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga, who recently left MFT.

During the exchange, Tama revealed that his family’s elders had advised him on his next move in World Wrestling Entertainment. Balor seemed confused before Talla jumped him from behind. The former MFT duo brutally attacked The Prince, kicking off a new rivalry.

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