Our current WWE World Champion is Jinder Mahal. I still can’t believe I’m writing it, saying it, discussing it, and analyzing it without referring to a video game, but The Maharaja is actually the WWE Champion. At Backlash in Chicago, Mahal pulled off one of the most unlikely upsets in wrestling history as he defeated WWE legend, Randy Orton. Mahal has been a polarizing figure since his sudden and unexpected push. Some fans are loving the change as well as the opportunity that Mahal received, others, me included, just can’t buy it. Jinder Mahal as WWE champion doesn’t click for me, and I would like to write this article to help some Jinder lovers understand why guys like me absolutely hate Mahal on top of the mountain.
Mahal’s win-loss record is the first red flag. According to Meltzer’s records, Mahal’s W-L record stands at an astoundingly unimpressive 80-344. Those 80 wins were mostly during live events, or when he was taken seriously down in NXT. 99 percent of Mahal’s career has been spent in 3MB, or jobbing to Ryback or greater talent. Now, there is nothing wrong with jobbing, and I want to make this clear: I respect Jinder Mahal. I don’t hate any wrestler, and I appreciate and understand all the work that they do. Despite this, I’m just saying that I simply can not take Jinder seriously because I believe his reputation and ability to be taken seriously has been tarnished by his time on the bottom of the card. On the other hand, Drew Mcintyre redeemed himself on the independent scene and while in 3MB, was clearly the star of the group. Slater has also bounced back by becoming the inaugural SDL Tag Team Champ. If WWE wanted to create something believable, the World Title isn’t the way to go. A lesser title like the Tag Titles would be a perfect way to first build up his credibility before he moves on to the World Title picture.
Secondly, Meltzer and various other insiders have reported that Mahal became champion simply to make money in India. The secretly Canadian wrestler has been cutting heel promos over the last few months; heel if you live in the United States that is. If you live in India, however, these promos are babyface. WWE ratings, and social media numbers are apparently higher in India than any other country, but the money they make from the region doesn’t match up. WWE figured that they needed an Indian Champion to boost merchandise sales, Network subscriptions, and extract as much money as they can from the area. India is an uncharted region, and China is in the same boat. Anyway, WWE crowned Mahal the Champion to make money in India. This is a business after all, but I don’t buy Jinder as champ, knowing that he was partially crowned to allow for WWE to make profit in an area they haven’t explored yet.
Between his time jobbing in 3MB, and the dirt sheets accusing him of steroid use as well as claiming he went over Orton just to make extra money, I simply can’t buy Mahal being the best wrestler in the world. His in-ring and mic skills have never been jaw dropping. (They aren’t bad, but they’re nothing special) It is clear that he won the title for various other reasons. Of course, his hard work payed off and WWE must legitimately believe in him to some extent, but, a billion dollar company crowned a superstar with tarnished credibility as the best wrestler on earth, as a business tactic.
