How Long Should Jinder Mahal Be WWE Champion For?

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2012 seems like a millenia ago, but it was a mixed bag of a year in the land of the giants. CM Punk was riding high as champion, RAW started broadcasting for 3 hours which really wasn’t the best idea considering most fans were struggling to watch two hours, but we got Brock Lesnar back in McMahon’s loving bosom and we very nearly had to say goodbye to Jerry Lawler, who had a heart attack behind the commentary desk.

Though during this time of WWE’s mixed year, one stable were providing the laughs for us all and they were 3MB, the team comprised of Drew Mcintyre, Heath Slater and our subject for today’s debate Jinder Mahal. 3MB, in my personal opinion, were fun. The chemistry between the three wrestlers as goofball rock musicians gelled better than most spectators thought it would and while it was clear creative didn’t have any huge plans for them – except to provide comic relief – towards the end of their tenure 3MB were debatably starting to get over with some of the WWE faithful, before Vince McMahon fired Mcintyre and Mahal, presumably to afford Brock Lesnar’s hefty contract.

If I was to tell you in 2012 that one of those members would come back and would go on to beat Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, the safe bet would have been Drew McIntyre and for good reason. Mcintyre was once known as Vince McMahon’s “chosen one”; a gimmick that saw him capture the Intercontinental Championship and with his cold yet articulate Scottish accent, he was destined to be a great heel for years to come.

However, let’s be more specific; what if I told you in 2012 Jinder Mahal would come back and take the championship off Orton? You would have assumed I was Vince Russo in disguise and chase me out of your house. Considering both men were out of the company door at the same time and while we heard much about Mcintyre, Mahal seemingly disappeared out of sight and out the minds of most WWE fans.

Sure enough, Mahal came back in 2016 to little fanfare compared to Mcintyre’s NXT hero’s welcome. Mahal went straight to the main roster debuting on RAW when the draft split came back, had a barely memorable gimmick of being a man of “tranquility and peace” before heading back down the lower card purgatory with an on-off feud with Darren Young. it would appear Mahal’s next venture in WWE was going to be as Jim Ross would say, that of a cup of coffee, not very long.

Then in 2017, something remarkable happened on May 21st, Mahal was booked to win over Randy Orton of all wrestlers, to become the new WWE Champion. For some fans, it was nice to see a new face as a champion, but the booking was agreeably undercooked. For others, it was the death knell conspiracy theory to keep Smackdown as the “B-Show” while RAW continued to tank in the ratings. Whether we like to admit it or not, Jinder Mahal is coming up to his sixth month as WWE Champion and has already surpassed more memorable champions such as AJ Styles, Edge and Eddie Guerrero, which has left some fans annoyed.

If fans are really as upset as the dirt sheet sites and internet forums are making them out to be, then this question is almost begging for an answer. How long should Jinder Mahal be WWE Champion? Who is he going to lose it to? I plan to answer these questions, but first, we must look at the current problems facing The Maharaja and why he is considered by some to be a flop of a champion.

The problem with Mahal winning the championship wasn’t really that he’s was not very good in the ring, in fact, his in-ring work improved tenfold during his time away and his physique, despite whisperings and murmurings he got a little help from certain substances, is shockingly impressive and he has enough videos on Instagram to prove that his body is substance free. While he’s a bit monotonous on the mic, he’s thankfully got the Singh Brothers to carry him a little bit during the wearisome promos where he is being borderline racist to Shinsuke Nakamura.

Jinder Mahal
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The other problem with Mahal being the champion is that fans saw right through the whole facade and knew instantly the reason why WWE put the title on Mahal with little to no build up. It was because WWE has tour schedules in India and really wanted to tap into the Indian market, a market that has been seemingly elusive for them to achieve. In their defense, this really wasn’t Mahal’s fault, he was just following orders from his boss and we know Vince McMahon is compulsive and questionably mad with a lot of his decisions.

Many spectators thought he was going to drop the title to Shinsuke Nakamura during Summerslam and we didn’t get that privilege; what we got instead was two very subpar and disappointing matches at both Summerslam and on No Mercy that ended as quickly as the career of Beaver Cleavage. We have just received confirmation to the rumour, that Brock Lesnar is going against Mahal at Survivor Series. If I am honest, I can already envision that it’s going to be a dumpster fire of a match, where ultimately no one is going to win.

If Mahal wins, we are expected to believe he has achieved something that Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and the heavily protected and guarded Roman Reigns could not do and knock Lesnar off his perch. Yes, wrestling is all about the suspense of disbelief, but that is stretching that suspension to excessive ends. If Lesnar wins, all the hard work Smackdown put into their brand, superstars and champions would be ruined with one suplex after another. Was there really a chance in hell creative conjured this up and thought this would be a good idea? I will be surprised if this did drum up a lot needed promotion for Survivor Series.

Fans are clamouring to see Mahal dethroned and sent back to midcard purgatory, but there is one big problem currently facing Smackdown right now as it pertains to Mahal being champion and it’s probably why we’re still stuck with him as a champion. If you really think about it, Smackdown have no credible babyfaces that could face Jinder Mahal.

Shinsuke Nakamura has had his chance and was booked to blow it twice, which does make me worry for the Japanese sensation from here on out. You have Bobby Roode currently booked solid in his feud with Dolph Ziggler that looks like that’s going to last until the year is out. Sami Zayn has turned heel, Shane McMahon is still “injured” and the WWE Universe are not particularly excited to see another Orton Vs. Mahal match anytime soon. The only real credible threat to to Mahal right now is AJ Styles. Considering he’s only lost the US Championship to Baron Corbin, booking him to be number one contender is ridiculous, but Smackdown are out of options.

Like Obi Wan Kenobi against the empire, Styles is currently our only hope, assuming fans want to see Mahal lose his crown by the end of 2017. Styles is more than a worthy opponent who could take the title off Mahal while also making anyone and anything look great, but it won’t be it won’t be Survivor Series. That PPV is going to hopefully be the match that sparks a feud that will start at Clash of Champions on December 17th and will end either at Wrestlemania or Smackdown’s February PPV. however, I do have some reservations that Styles will be able take the title off Mahal as early as December 17th.

WWE still have some touring commitments in India. While they did have a tour in September there are more dates scheduled for December; the corporate structure behind WWE are seemingly obsessed with the Indian market and as explained, that’s the reason why we have Jinder as our current champion. With these dates coming up in December, it makes sense in WWE’s logic to keep Mahal as the champion to help drive those ticket sales up and put butts on seats.

Secondly, with Styles looking destined to take Mahal to task, there is simply not enough time between now until December 17th to book Styles going over Mahal and not making it very sloppy and undercooked booking, not when you consider that Mahal has his match with Lesnar. In that time, promos will be exchanged, matches will be teased and we’ll probably have 6 – 8 weeks of AJ Styles going against the Singh Brothers in various forms of handicap and tag matches, further teasing the first blowout between the two wrestlers. It would be ironic, however, considering it was sloppy undercooked booking that made Mahal the champion in the first place.

I could be wrong in my predictions; if sales and ratings are really that bad for Smackdown, WWE are going to want a quick fix solution for the new year, which will be for AJ Styles to take the belt then and have the rematch at Royal Rumble, so he can go on to have a great Wrestlemania moment with Kevin Owens, a newly heeled Sami Zayn or even a surprise challenger in the form of Adam Cole or Finn Balor could take center stage.

Either way, we’re stuck with Jinder Mahal being the WWE champion. With all things considered, my final prediction is Jinder Mahal will still be WWE Champion until at least the Clash of Champions to Wrestlemania, upon which AJ Styles will be the man to carry the honours and it will happen when VInce McMahon and the rest of creative have decided they have tortured us long enough. If you are reading this and feeling utterly bitter about the fact Mahal isn’t going to be dropping the belt tomorrow at a house show, maybe I could give you a silver lining to all of this: it could be worse, it could be The Great Khali again and I’ll take Mahal over Khali any day of the week.

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