Jinder Mahal has just hit the 50-day mark in his historic reign as WWE Champion. For a man who started 2016 as a lower card player over on Monday Night RAW, to achieve what he has since his push truly began in April has been nothing short of astonishing.
In a WWE landscape where the main event scene rarely features a great deal of diversity, the ascendance of Mahal to the level of WWE Champion has been a very welcome development, as well as sending out a message to every member of the roster that hard work and a healthy slice of luck could catapult any one of them into the main event spotlight, given the right circumstances
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The WWE Universe were astonished even at the sight of Jinder becoming the number one contender, a feat he achieved during a 6-Pack Challenge match on Smackdown Live, with the aid of the debuting Singh Brothers. Some were of the opinion that putting Jinder Mahal over the likes of Sami Zayn, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, who were also in that match, was a short-sighted move as Mahal never actually stood a chance of defeating Randy Orton for the WWE Title anyway.
Oh, how wrong they turned out to be. Mahal absolutely dominated Orton in the run up to their initial clash at May’s Backlash, boldly stealing Orton’s title belt before attacking him at Payback, allowing Bray Wyatt to pick up a victory over the WWE Champion. Then, he pinned Randy in 6-man tag action on the final episode of Smackdown before Backlash, cementing himself as a legitimate threat to the WWE Title.
People were already beginning to genuinely consider the prospect that Jinder may defeat Orton. While it was no doubt rushed, the way that WWE built up a guy like Jinder Mahal to a level where he could compete with Randy Orton, the 13-time World Champion, in such a short amount of time was something pretty special. At Backlash, The Singh Brothers again interfered on behalf of Mahal, and the Canadian-born superstar of Indian descent was able to pick up the victory and begin the most unlikely of title reigns.
Now that the initial novelty has worn off, and the reality has set into us all that Jinder Mahal is and will continue to be the WWE Champion for the foreseeable future, it is time to analyse just how well his title reign has gone. On paper, it’s been pretty good. Very good, in fact.
Mahal has been afforded a great deal of screen time on Smackdown and has picked up quite a bit of fan heat, whilst managing to successfully defend his title against the same legendary opponent he defeated for it to begin with. However, this does not tell the full story.
Undoubtedly, Mahal’s run has gone better than anybody could have hoped for, but there is still a lingering feeling that the WWE Title has lost some of its prestige as a result of the seemingly endless Mahal/Orton feud holding the belt hostage. This feud has been vastly less entertaining than the US Title picture, which features the likes of AJ Styles, Kevin Owens and John Cena, a fact that serves to further devalue the WWE Title.
On top of this, there have been accusations from some quarters that Mahal’s recent improved physique can be credited to steroid use, accusations which are totally unfounded but have nonetheless unfairly clouded the overall perception of Jinder.
Despite all of this, Jinder’s performances have been improving. His in-ring work, which seemed clunky and perhaps rather careless just a few short months ago, has dramatically improved recently, which may in part be down to consistently working alongside a highly talented veteran like Orton. Whilst not as outright exciting to watch as many of the Smackdown roster, Mahal has settled into a methodical style that perfectly allows him to gain heel heat.
His promos have largely been very similar since becoming champion, although it is clear that having the spotlight thrust upon him has allowed the “Modern Day Maharaja” to obtain a huge boost in confidence which has positively affected his performance on every level, promos included.
In particular, the biggest improvement to Mahal’s character has been the addition of The Singh Brothers (formerly the Bollywood Boyz) to act as Mahal’s henchmen, a move which has enabled Jinder to appear like a huge star. The sight of The Singh Brothers interfering and attacking Mahal’s opponents only serves to remind us of 2015, a time when Seth Rollins employed J&J Security in a very similar role during his first WWE World Championship reign.
However, as much as it’s clear that Mahal has improved greatly during his time as WWE Champion, it can’t be said that his reign has been a total success. The United States Title has, quite simply, overshadowed the WWE Title over the past couple of months.
Some can’t see why the likes of KO and AJ are fighting over the US Title, whilst a man who began 2017 nowhere near the main event has been elevated so rapidly to the WWE Title picture. In a way, those people have a point, but it’s not Jinder’s fault that WWE management decided to strap a rocket to his back and push him at the expense of others.
Overall, it has to be said that Jinder has done very well, over the course of his first 50 days as the WWE Champion. He may not be the most popular champion in history, or even the most popular current Smackdown champion, but Mahal will go down as one of the more memorable and unlikely characters ever to win the WWE Title.
The only WWE Champion ever of Indian descent, (The Great Khali only ever held the World Heavyweight Championship) his reign has been a success in that he’s done everything that management asked of him and improved at a rate which nobody thought possible. Whatever your personal views are on Jinder Mahal or his in-ring skills, it has to be said that his title reign has been one of the biggest WWE talking points of the year.
As the old saying goes, “all publicity is good publicity.”
What do you think of Jinder Mahal’s WWE Title reign? Let us know by commenting your thoughts, below.
