How Jinder Mahal went from 3 Man Band jobber to WWE Championship title-holder

Jinder Mahal shocked fans by defeating 13-time WWE world champion, Randy Orton, at 2017 Backlash over the weekend. The Maharaja will be facing the Viper in a rematch at the 2017 Money in the Bank, to determine once and for all as to who between the two is the real king of SmackDown Live.

The incredible feat the new world champion achieved at the PPV event would not have been possible a year ago as he was not in the best of shape. The Canadian-born wrestler of Indian origin would have never got anywhere close to the WWE World Championship if it weren't for his jaw-dropping transformation.

In a recent interview with Fox Sports, Mahal revealed how he changed his physique for the best.

Asked when exactly he decided to "start doing something different" to transform his body, he said, "That moment actually came before I signed back with WWE. I was kind of in a slump and I was eating junk food every day, drinking too much, and I actually weighed about 260. Just kind of real soft."

He said he stopped drinking, changed his diet, and started hitting the gym religiously.

"So one day I just decided that enough's enough. I stopped drinking, I still don't drink. It's been almost a year now, it'll be a year next week," he said. "I just ordered [from] a meal prep company called Nutrition Solutions, I ordered a meal prep and that's virtually all I ate. And I started training again, and just, you know, caring about myself."

Mahal was asked to return when he was just two months into his new workout programme. He was out of the company for two years before he got the call back.

"It just sparked something in me, if I keep working... If I care, they care. And doors start to open."

Mahal has said that he has not had a "cheat meal in months" since taking up a new fitness and diet plan.

"I haven't eaten a cheat meal in months, but I'm not even tempted to because I see the results that I'm getting and it's giving me confidence, which in return [makes] me more aggressive in the ring, and helps make me more believable as a superstar. It's motivating me even more. Diet hard, train hard," he said. "After the world championship, no cheating, just had chicken and rice and I was in the gym the next day early in the morning. I'm going to keep working hard, and hopefully this is just the beginning."