Jinder Mahal has wrestling fans across the world dusting off their Bowflex’s in hopes they can biceps curl their way to a promotion. It’s a shame this meta-story of a forgotten employee working his way to the tippy top of WWE will go unsung as Jinder will be working heel. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it right?
How far will this Jinder tale go? Is he destined to lay down for Orton only to return to the muck of the pre-shows? Or is WWE actually considering making Mahal an interim champion?
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Odds are, Orton hits an RKO (from a totally foreseeable place) on both Singh Brothers and Mahal to retain. JBL will gaga over Orton’s credentials and we’ll all go home feeling like we watched filler.
But what if?
On the surface, Jinder winning feels impossible and arguably illogical. However, there are some redeeming qualities Jinder’s potential run. Let’s crack them open and trick ourselves into thinking that Backlash will go Bollywood.
Because He’s a Heel
Heels are wrestling’s most valuable commodity. They are the moral driving force in all storylines, ranging from movies to religion. Simply, good guys need some one to beat up. The stronger the heel the stronger the babyface.
In Alexa Bliss and The Miz, Smackdown owned the best heels in the company. However, after their departure to RAW, the SmackDown was a little too wholesome.
Jinder Mahal is WWE’s newest attempt at building a top of the card heel. Since he came from obscurity, he’s been a little hard to take seriously. But, if he pins Randy Orton at Backlash, we’ll be a little more willing to play along. And SmackDown, being the thoughtful show that it is, will have created the all important top heel.
Because it’s May
This point in the season, WWE finds itself drudging through piles of WrestleMania confetti. Calling the company complacent is the quickest way for Vince McMahon to show up and kick one in the balls, however in May, WWE moves at a slower pace.
Can we blame them? For me, a couple beers have me hampered the next day. For WWE, the night of WrestleMania is the equivalent of butt-chugging a gallon off moonshine. Drink some Gatorade, eat fresh foods and mail in a month’s worth of television.
With the end of their Mania hangover approaching, ideas finally can finally sprout. Mahal in a title match is one of there earliest. It still feels incongruent, but it doesn’t seem like anyone else in creative has a better idea.
It would be one thing if Jinder pinned Orton at Summerslam, but that’s not what this is. Although fans may whine, WWE is still drunk from ‘Mania and won’t even remember pulling the trigger.
Becuase Randy Orton’s Run as Champion Has Been Forgettable at Best
How many reasons do you need? I’ll abandon rhetoric just so nothing is misunderstood:
His “Meh” Royal Rumble victory was the best moment during this championship arc
The WrestleMania build-up was incendiary but lacked consequence
Wyatt vs. Orton was objectively WrestleMania’s worst match
The title was stolen
The non-title House of Horrors Match
A soulless babyface build into Backlash
How much more does Randy Orton offer as Champion than Jinder Mahal, really?
Becuase India
A. 1,949,000 or the current number of WWE Network subscribers.
B. 51,000 or the exact number figure A lacks from being 2 million
C. 1,340,000,000 – the population of India
Two million is the number at play here. You see, WWE can’t wait (in fact they already have the graphics ready to go) to tell you that the WWE Network has 2 million subscribers. Surely they can find 51,000 people out of a pool of 1.34 billion who’d like to watch some wrestling.
Just to be sure, they’ll make an Indian dude champion.
Do you think The Great Khali became WWE Champion because he had a great drop toehold?
Because No One Else is Available
For every argument one can make against Jinder Mahal, the same critique could be applied to Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Kevin Owens just got the SmackDown and has a title of his own to carry.
AJ Styles still needs a little space between title runs.
John Cena is doing things.
It feels like WWE spun the wheel here and it fatefully landed on Jinder Mahal. If he is to win, know that he will be dropping the belt well before SummerSlam. When you go back and look at the list of WWE champions, guys like Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler raise an eyebrow. As clear outliers, how did WWE come to the decision to make mid-card guys one-off champions? Well, because of they likely in a very similar situation that they are in today.
