Hi everyone. Today, I’d like to discuss the decision to make “The Maharaja” Jinder Mahal WWE Champion at Backlash. To do this right we have to have a look back at his career and what brought him to this historic moment. Was it sudden? Or has it being in the works for a while?
Too Much, Too Soon?
Yuvraj Dhesi made his wrestling debut in 2002 at the age of 16. He spent the next eight years honing his craft, picking up titles in the Prairie Wrestling Alliance. He also worked for Great North Wrestling where he had a feud with Samoa Joe before going for a tryout with WWE in 2010. He can be quoted as saying “I came out wearing a turban and had the full outfit on” and that “they like guys who speak different languages and have different looks”. He was signed to FCW shortly after. While he didn’t see much success, he was given the opportunity to work with names such as Low-Ki (Kaval), Xavier Woods, Big E, Bo Dallas, Damien Sandow, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and others.
Officials were impressed enough to debut him on the main roster in April 2011. The Great Khali had been in decline after losing the World Heavyweight Championship, reduced to silly segments like the “Kiss-Cam” as the Punjabi Playboy. Jinder Mahal was supposed to rejuvenate Khali and replace Ranjin Singh. It didn’t quite work out.
“First time around, I actually got signed at a young age, around 23 and debuted on the main roster when I was 24. When I got drafted originally on SmackDown in 2011, things didn’t work out the way I hoped that they would. I think part of it was because I wasn’t mature enough as a wrestler yet. I didn’t have enough seasoning, I didn’t have the experience yet to be ready to be on TV. I was in FCW for one year. I just wish I had more time in developmental, but anyway, I was there, I was on TV and doing my thing, but not really getting much into storylines, just mainly working on Superstars or Main Event every week and then I got put in 3MB and kind of went downhill from there.”
He spent the rest of 2011 and much of 2012 on the losing side. When FCW changed in to NXT, Jinder started working there and picked up a winning streak while continuing to lose on the main roster. He defeated Derrick Bateman (aka Ethan Carter III), Jason Jordan, Percy Watson, Bo Dallas, and Richie Steamboat to earn a spot in the NXT Gold Rush Tournament Finals to crown the first NXT Champion. He came up against one of his former FCW rivals Seth Rollins. You won’t see this in any other video .. because WWE’s cut it from their highlight packages; Rollins finished him with the Curb Stomp.
Proving Yourself.
After frustrations arose from some mid-card talent over a lack of airtime, some allied together to try and make something happen. As a play on Heath Slater’s “One Man Band” gimmick, Mahal and Drew McIntyre helped Slater and they would soon become known as 3MB. Initially successful after picking up wins over Team Co-Bro (Santino & Ryder) and The Usos, the group soon turned into a comedy act of wrestlers pretending to be a band despite not being able to play any instruments. They tried making names for themselves by attacking Triple H, but The Shield came out and destroyed them. They tried calling out The Shield the following week, but were dismantled by a beast called Brock Lesnar.
2013 was much of the same, except 3MB would occasionally appear in costumes fitting of a specific event, or as a parody of their opponents. They helped Hornswoggle in his feud against El Torito and Los Matadores. After seeming like a lost cause, 3MB split up and Mahal was released from contract in the summer of 2014. He went to work on the independent scene for the next couple of years. In a recent interview with Booker T, Mahal had the following to say:
“Yeah, you know what, getting released from WWE was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. I got to find myself as a person and a performer. I was able to wrestle in Puerto Rico, in Japan, and in the Middle East, got to go to the Middle East, India, and Reality of Wrestling [Booker T’s school]. One of the first independent bookings I received after my WWE release was working with you [Booker T] and I just wanted to thank you very much, because Book you did a lot for me. You helped me get my green card, you got my work Visa, you wrote me a great letter and I honestly owe you everything so thank you so much for that.”
Steroids?
In the summer of 2016 it was announced Mahal had re-signed with WWE and he appeared on Raw less than a week later. He won his first match back against Heath Slater to “earn a contract”. This Jinder Mahal was different as he seemed more passionate. He said in a promo how he felt anger after being let go the first time, but now felt he was at peace with himself. He was relegated to Main Event and Superstars til late in the year.
While he was off the main shows, Jinder put a lot of time in at the gym:
“The secret is consistency. I literally haven’t had a cheat meal in 3-4 months. I haven’t eaten anything I shouldn’t have. Even now, on the tour, I have my cooling bag with me and I carry five meals with me so that I eat every two hours. I eat 30/40 grammes of carbohydrates, 30/40 grammes of proteins with every meal. Then there’s cardio six days a week and weight training six days a week.”
“I also became straight-edge. I also do a lot of Olympic compound movements. Then there are lots of basic squats, lots of push-ups and other exercises. Overall, from diet to exercise, I’m seeing good results. I’m going to keep getting in better shape because not only do I look better but I feel better. I feel better inside the ring in terms of stamina and endurance, which is important if I want to become WWE Champion and have long matches every night.”
Upon returning to Raw, Mahal allied himself with Rusev in his feud against Enzo A’more. Fans took notice of his physique and concluded there was no way he could have buffed up so much in such a short amount of time. They believed he’d only done it by taking steroids, despite WWE’s strict wellness policy which prohibits its use. Former WWE wrestler Ryback chimed in and agreed there was no way he could have bulked up that much in a couple of months. Mahal had the following to say:
#TBT to a few weeks ago, no idea exactly when or where… Anyone else on the roster have veins in their abs ??… And of course I’ll get a hundred “steroid” or “wellness” comments …. I’ve been tested multiple times since coming back, and have never once in over 6 years with WWE had any issues. Follow my IG stories or my SnapChat and you can see that no one is out-training me, and no one is out-dieting me.
Of course, this hasn’t stopped fans claiming it to be true despite WWE suspending wrestlers after they were found to be using drugs considered less serious (like prescription/recreational). Roman Reigns has been suspended. Randy Orton’s been suspended. Wrestlers who fans consider “protected” have been found out and punished for violating the wellness policy. Had Jinder been found to be using steroids he would’ve been found out and his contract would be terminated. WWE took notice of these comments because the company has come under fire by the government for allowing the use of steroids back in the 80’s and 90’s. Had the company found any evidence of steroid usage they would’ve shown no remorse in letting him go.
Crash Through The Glass Ceiling.
In late February, WWE officials suddenly decided to end the relationship between Rusev and Mahal. Rusev needed to take time off to undergo surgery for an injury. From this point, I feel WWE gave Mahal a boost in status which almost resembled Rusev’s. For the first time in his WWE career, he was given the chance to prove he could be more than a jobber to the stars. He was given a moment at Wrestlemania when he made it to the final two of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. It was a reward for choosing to sign with WWE instead of going to TNA Wrestling where he was likely promised a run with their World title.
Following the Superstar Shake-Up the landscape of Smackdown changed considerably. Orton and Wyatt were separated, and officials decided to sign off an AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens feud for the US title. With John Cena on the sidelines as well, Smackdown suffered with a lack of top heels who could carry the WWE title. Mahal won a six-pack challenge with help from The Singh Brothers (formerly known as The Bollywood Boys). To everyone’s disbelief as well, as Luke Harper, Sami Zayn, or Dolph Ziggler felt like more logical choices to face Orton.
Triple H: “Jinder is a guy who has always worked extremely hard. He trains hard; he’s very intense about what he wants with his career; he’s very thoughtful…To Jinder’s credit and to Drew (McIntyre)’s credit, they left, they went and figured it for themselves, they improved. They’re both men now as opposed to kids trying to make it in the business…Now hopefully they are in a better position to succeed.”
In the buildup to the match with Randy Orton, the company did their best to make him look like a threat. Fans began to remember the old hashtag #DontHinderJinder, which you can find strewn across social media over the past couple of months. While it hasn’t been made clear on television, the support he’s received since becoming #1 contender has been noticeable. And not all from Indian fans, others who wanted change, others who respected the work he’d put in over the years .. got on social media and let the company know who they were supporting at Backlash. He gave a number of interviews outlining how he got the opportunity; while Randy Orton was more concerned with taking shots at Bubba Ray Dudley and independent promotions over “dive” comments.
Disbelief.
Mahal had more to say leading in to his title match at Backlash. Here’s an excerpt about the promo Vince McMahon changed at the last-minute:
“In my first run, I would avoid Vince–not really avoid him because he is intimidating, but now I have a good relationship with him. He had re-written my promo after I won the match. The original promo was totally different; when I finished calling the match, Vince said that he changed my promo so I said, okay, bring it to me, and when they brought it to me I had read the American comment, I said, oh man, I liked the original promo better about how I was once peaceful but nobody was listening to me, and now that I have all of your attention, I beat the top stars of SmackDown all alone, something like that, it was like a regular promo, but the new promo was something like, you Americans, this and that, and I wasn’t sure if we should do it, but since Vince wrote it it’s okay, so after I said it, the reaction I got, I was like, oh man, Vince is a genius, he knows what is going to draw the most heat.”
“After I had said the promo, I went and sat with Vince and we went overtime already, and he’s like, forget about the time, let them boo even more before you start saying something. While we were there, I said Vince, please, every single live event, can I please say a promo, he said, yeah sure, and went and told Michael Hayes, Jinder promo. I checked my email and noticed a script for house show promos, which I have never had before. Even then, a day later, extra notes came from Vince. I feel prepared this time for it because if it happened early in my career—Vince knows what he is doing.”
The main event of Backlash was strange in that it felt like Randy Orton played the heel. He jumped Mahal from the start, and it was labeled as “Randy’s not taking him lightly”. Commentators sold Mahal as a threat despite Orton dominating him and The Singh Brothers from the beginning. Despite not doing much to antagonize Randy, he spent an awful amount of time chasing and hitting Mahal’s lackeys with moves. The crowd was split, with some chanting for Jinder while the rest chanted he sucked. Didn’t hear many RKO chants. Another weird moment was when The Singh Brothers dragged Mahal out of the ring after being hit with the RKO in front of the referee.
The thing about this match is it was either totally predictable or completely shocking depending on the type of fan you are. Those who watch WWE casually were likely unaware of Mahal’s recent victories over AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, and others along the way. Those who know how WWE operates could see the writing on the wall; it was really obvious by the way they told the story that Mahal would leave Backlash as champion. I was on the fence with it .. I knew Mahal would most likely leave with it, but it didn’t feel like a sure thing. I didn’t know how fans would react to it. I tried to figure out where they would go if they had Randy defeat him after the effort they’d put in to make Mahal look like a threat.
Mahal won and I popped for it .. because it’s different. I was more shocked by the reactions from the WWE Universe .. it was like The Undertaker lost his streak again. I couldn’t believe how much disbelief there was in the audience. It’s like .. they assumed Randy Orton was invincible and could never be defeated by a nobody. I found more entertainment from the reactions than I did the match itself. I never expected it to be a classic .. but I also didn’t expect fans jaws to drop so far. Was it really that unbelievable? There’s a reason why it was to many.
Just look back at Randy Orton’s career and you’ll find he’s never lost a championship to a guy who isn’t a big name. He’s been protected for a long time. He’s more likely to be challenged by someone like John Cena. At least if he lost to Cena it wouldn’t be a shock right? Orton has never suffered such a huge loss for a title in his career. The Orton fans have spent the past decade knowing he will always prevail against someone like Mahal. To them Mahal is a joke who spent the past few years as part of an imaginary band. It would be like Spike Dudley defeating Braun Strowman for a championship. The fact Mahal had not been built up over many contributed a lot towards the shock value.
And that’s what we want isn’t it? For WWE booking to be unpredictable? To leave us guessing? To give men and women the opportunity to show they can be more than what we’ve come to expect of them? Jinder is only 30-years-old, he’s just getting started. I’d understand the shock if they brought back The Godfather and he defeated Orton for the title thanks to his Ho Train .. but Mahal isn’t an old-timer. He’s not a part-timer. He’s a man with Indian heritage who not only represents the country well, but has gained the respect of his peers by saying no to booze .. saying yes to anything the company asks him to do, and all the while training like a WWE Champion should.
I’m not feeling entirely well today. As I was writing this I fell ill so had to take a break. There’s likely something I’m missing here .. and for that I apologize. I think I managed to write the brunt of what I wanted to deliver before then. I have to end this by saying it’s not right to judge something before it gets going. It’s not right to assume a guy who has been a jobber for a few years cannot become WWE Champion. Think about all those mid-carders .. they know it’s possible now.
Perhaps it is purely for business so WWE can sell more to India? Should we care? I mean, Mahal has done everything he’s been asked to do. If WWE thinks he can sell to India doesn’t that mean he’s deserving? They could have found any Indian wrestler .. but they chose the Indo-Canadian who can deliver the promos they want. They went with who they know, a guy they can trust. A man who’s said he wants to get better, and better every week. I find it hypocritical when fans say “WWE always pushes the same old stars”, or “They only push part-timers”, but then complain when they put someone fresh (and full-time) in the WWE title scene.
What did you want? Six months of build? Would you have called it shocking if they built Mahal up to the Wrestlemania main event? Or Summerslam? Yeah .. many would have turned around and said “typical, predictable WWE booking”. Why did it need build? So you can happy knowing the WWE title hasn’t lost prestige? Hate to burst your bubble .. but the WWE title lost half of its prestige the moment they brought the brand extension back and introduced the Universal title. As long as there’s two World title equivalents, they will always cancel each other out as you can never claim to be the #1 guy. Not only that, but you have Roman Reigns claiming to be “The Guy”. You could be CM Punk with the WWE title but it doesn’t make you the #1 guy over John Cena. You could be Daniel Bryan with the WWE title, but it doesn’t make you #1 over Brock Lesnar. You could be Jinder Mahal with the WWE title, but it doesn’t make you #1 over Roman Reigns. Since when was the WWE title held with such high regard?
Instead of over-analyzing we should sit back and see how it unfolds. If Mahal sucks .. he will lose the WWE title back to Orton. If he manages to get the heat I think he can garner .. he will keep the WWE title. Calling it stupid because you don’t have the patience to wait it out is judgemental. It’s assuming the worst before it’s happened. We hate everything before giving it a chance, all I ask is we muster up the patience and wait to see if Vince McMahon’s decision was the right one. It’s his company, if it fails he only has himself to blame. The Joker from The Dark Knight movie puts this shock booking in perspective:
“It’s a schemer who put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans. Look where it got you. I just did what I do best-I took your plan and turned it on itself. Look what I have done to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple bullets. Nobody panics when the expected people get killed. Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plans are horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a gangbanger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will get blown up, nobody panics. But when I say one little old mayor will die, everyone loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I am an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey? It’s fair.”
In other words .. if you were shocked at Backlash, it wasn’t part of your plan. To everyone else, you knew it was coming so you sat back and soaked it all in. You could smell the disbelief through your TV screen. And you know what? It smelled fantastic. A smart and brave decision by WWE. Sorry if I made any glaring mistakes as I recover from illness. Thanks for reading everyone! Long live The Maharaja.
