Why Pushing Jinder Mahal To The Main Event Is Best For Business
Jinder Mahal is on his way to the top, but a plethora of WWE fans are still scratching their heads [...]
WWE has been trying to break into the Indian market for over a decade now. They had Great Khali as their ambassador of sorts and big draw when they went over there, but Khali wasn't exactly the most well spoken and talented individual. Mahal has that flagship look that Vince McMahon obsesses over. Even though Mahal is actually Canadian by birth, he's the closest thing to an Indian solo star on their entire roster. Should he get pushed and get that big break, there's no reason the floodgates in India would open up even more and make them an obscene amount of money.
I'm sure there are fans who wanted a Sami Zayn victory and yeah, his time will come, but comparing Zayn's and Mahal's win/loss record is all too similar. True, Mahal hasn't won a singles match since September of LAST year, but the fact that Zayn continues to lose to Kevin Owens it feels like the Underdog From The Underground is just that, the underdog that will never get his proper shot. Think about this, Zayn hasn't held a singles title since the NXT Championship three years ago. However, Zayn already has an established following, that is something Mahal is extremely lacking but is on his way to finding.
Mahal's victory over Zayn and company disrupted the casual and sometimes lazy booking of WWE matches. Adding in somebody like Mahal stirs things up and gives credibility to their character. It's almost as if the WWE creative team is actually doing their job and bringing on the creativity to somebody who was a run of the mill jobber a year ago. Smackdown has been heralded as this glorious land of opportunity, so why can't a guy like Mahal get his chance? Look at how Twitter reacted. It got him trending, albeit because of confusion on why, but it got people talking and invested. That's the whole point from a marketing standpoint. While Braun was murdering/burying the Raw roster, Mahal literally overcame the odds and had the WWE Universe's attention.
Of course, there's always the possibility he puts his contendership on the line at some point and loses which seems all too similar to their AJ/Orton/Luke Harper drama last month. Is it too much to hope they don't go down that route and help make Mahal the best star he's capable of being? Not everybody needs to be WWE Champion, but in a world where James Ellsworth has had his chances, we should give Mahal more than a quick dismissal.
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