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The calendar year 2017 is likely to go down as one of the strangest in the history of sports entertainment.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Balor have not been up to expectations owing to poor booking, whereas what is arguably the sport’s most prestigious title, the WWE Championship, is being inexplicably placed on the shoulders of former 3MB member, Jinder Mahal -- a move which has been, and still is, being widely derided as short-sighted and squandering.
Regardless, what’s being heralded as a misadventure by the vast majority of experts, he will apparently continue to hold the title until the WWE’s India Tour gets underway this December—the 8th and 9th in Delhi, to be specific.
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Mahal is expected to hold the WWE Championship until then and would drop the title no sooner than the Royal Rumble PPV early next year. Well, until then, the WWE has to come up with a slew of worthy contenders for the Maharajah to defend his title against.
Worry not, WWE Universe! Yours truly has come up with the most Phenomenal lineup of foes who’ll make for great sports-entertainment opposite our Indo-Canadian Champ until Rumble. Here goes—
#5 AJ Styles
Much to the dismay of his fans, AJ Styles recently dropped the United States Championship to the self-confessed destroyer of keyboard warriors, Baron Corbin, at Hell In A Cell. "The Phenomenal One" vs "The Lone Wolf" doesn’t quite seem like an intriguing feud right now, does it?
Enter Jinder Mahal! The WWE Champion, quite frankly, seems lost in the mid-card as of late, which was indeed alarmingly apparent at HIAC a few days back. Styles can make any feud delightful, every match sui generis and present each opponent as a wrestling maestro.
Styles’ ring IQ is unmatched, and given his electrifying promos, served with a side of crackerjack, highly dexterous wrestling skills, he is the perfect opponent to feud with Mahal for a good part until the Rumble.
#4 Rusev
When the dust settles on this man’s career, he’ll be lauded as an extremely slick, facile and true to the end performer. However, presently, Rusev’s WWE spot is living on a prayer.
"The Bulgarian Brute" gained commodious steam when working alongside his valet/mouthpiece, Lana, but, he’s been relegated to nothing more than an afterthought as of late, squashed by Randy Orton on multiple occasions.
Mind you, the former professional power-lifter was indeed paired with Jinder Mahal after the Maharajah returned to the WWE with an enhanced physique last year.
While Mahal ascended to the top of the food chain, Rusev faded into oblivion Bolivian (sic). Nevertheless, with the Champ desperately in need of a decent feud after only just getting past Shinsuke Nakamura, Jinder’s former Tag Team partner can fill in that void.
Both the Bulgarian and the Punjabi share great chemistry on the mic, besides having wrestled each other multiple times in the past.
#3 Bobby Roode
If you’ve happened to follow a certain TNA Tag Team known as ‘Beer Money’ you’d know how great Roode is with the mic.
Roode went over Dolph Ziggler at HIAC and is now rooted at the very top of the SmackDown pecking order. Given the Glorious One’s cutting-edge verbal tirades and veteran savvy on the mat, he’d make the perfect foil to the Maharaja’s reign as WWE Champion.
Granted that Mahal isn’t dropping the belt anytime sooner than Rumble, however, if there’s anyone on the blue brand’s roster who can bring the fight to the Champ; enthralling and bedazzling the fans, teasing a potential upset, it’s Bobby Roode.
#2 Sami Zayn
Ah, "The Underdog from the Underground"! Sami Zayn’s NXT momentum somewhat dissipated after his main roster stint on the blue brand.
Nevertheless, as the old adage goes -- desperate times call for desperate measures -- and rightly so, the powers-that-be chose to book Zayn as a heel, turning on Shane McMahon, and allying with longtime frenemy Kevin Owens.
Although Zayn’s job in the weeks to come likely revolves around KO, he can indeed serve as Jinder Mahal’s final feud before the latter loses the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble.
Sami may not excel on the mic, however, when it comes to pure wrestling. he is an enigma. The Maharajah vs The Underdog would undoubtedly give the WWE Universe a healthy dose of action-packed nights in the lead-up to the Rumble.
#1 Kevin Owens
I, for one, completely shun all talk of Jinder Mahal being terrible on the mic! In fact, I’m a strong proponent of granting him additional airtime, letting the hulking WWE Champion learn and evolve, as he seems to be sliding seamlessly into his role of a villainous foreign champion.
On the other hand, you have Kevin Owens who has, time and again, been hailed for cutting golden, memorable promos, and that’s not to mention his sterling ring generalship to boot. Owens vs Mahal would be the WWE’s best choice if they honestly intend to bring back a hint of much-needed zing to the WWE Championship picture.
Owens and Mahal are both exemplary workers who tirelessly dedicate themselves toward honing their craft, and mesmerising the professional wrestling community with their top performances. Hence, the bottomline -- KO vs the Modern Day Maharajah. Book it, Vince!
