WWE SmackDown Live: 5 things we learned from this week's episode (January 15, 2019)

#1 Mustafa Ali can become what Jinder Mahal couldn’t

Jinder Mahal has been with the company on and off for the past nine years. However, his most successful run has come after his recent return to the company.

At Backlash 2017 he won the WWE Championship to the surprise of the entire WWE Universe as he beat Randy Orton for the title and held the championship for almost six months.

This was largely done to attract more eyes of the company from international viewers, with the Indian subcontinent being the target market at the time.

However, Mahal’s heel character and constant need of distractions and interferences to retain the championship irked almost all the fans and resulted in him becoming an unpopular character.

Later, WWE even put the United States Championship around his waist, which, again, didn’t go very far.

If the company is still trying to attract viewers from the subcontinent, then Mustafa Ali seems like the best man to do the job. Playing a babyface character on the blue brand, Ali has already become the Heart of SmackDown Live in about two months.

As he is getting more cheer from the crowd in the United States and in the subcontinent, it seems like Ali’s push is to make him what Jinder Mahal couldn’t be.

As he is seen as an underdog, winning every match results in praise for the superstar and he could well win the WWE Championship one day to become a diverse champion for the company.