Ranking every WWE Champion in the SmackDown Live era from worst to best

#7 Jinder Mahal

Outta nowhere

Less than two months before beating Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, Jinder Mahal was perceived as a mid-carder used to enhance the bigger Superstars.

Mahal had essentially hot-shotted into the main event scene with no prior indication at all, making his WWE Title victory at Backlash so shocking and unbelievable. He had the look and presentation of a top tier Superstar, but his in-ring skills left a lot to be desired. The Modern Day Maharaja was not a terrible wrestler, but he was put in a position way beyond his talent suggested.

WWE could have pushed Jinder Mahal at a steady rate, allowing him to hone his craft and improve, instead of booking him straight to the top of the company. His current position on the roster further proves that this title reign was nothing short of an anomaly.

Mahal's matches always ended through interference and some of his promos did not land well enough, particularly his cringe-worthy work in the feud with Shinsuke Nakamura. It did end phenomenally though, as AJ Styles won the WWE Championship from him ahead of Survivor Series 2017, in what was the best match of Mahal's career. But was this joyous moment worth the previous five months of stagnation for SmackDown Live? Probably not.