Going into the Six Pack Challenge on SmackDown Live to determine the Number 1 contender for the WWE Championship, nobody expected Jinder Mahal to emerge victorious (unless you are a regular reader of our site, considering we predicted it first).
With the help of The Bollywood Boyz, Jinder beat the odds and will now challenge Randy Orton for the top prize on SmackDown Live at the Backlash pay-per-view. While he was, at best, Rusev’s lackey on Raw, Jinder is now officially a top heel on SmackDown. Why did the company decide to invest so much into a man who's remained in the background for most of his career?
We can only speculate. Here are five probable reasons.
#5 Breaking into the market that exists in India
India is the second most populous country in the world, and you’re guaranteed to find many WWE patrons among a billion people. While The Great Khali was the closest thing that the country ever had to a top level WWE superstar, his lack of in-ring skills ended his career rather prematurely.
When WWE hosted their recent live event in India, the babyfaces got a positive reaction, while the heels got a negative one (Roman Reigns was cheered like a babyface). Something that one does not see in modern-day WWE. In addition to all this, WWE makes a lot of money from Ten Sports, a channel that broadcasts WWE action across the country.
While Jinder Mahal is more Canadian than Indian, he’s the closest thing to an Indian superstar. Thankfully, he's also better in the ring than The Great Khali. It’ll be interesting to see whether he gets a babyface reaction in India if WWE does visit the country for a live event.
According to reports, this is exactly why WWE booked his mega-push and handed him his first and biggest win in 5 long years.
#4 Disrupting the predictability that exists in WWE’s booking
What made WWE special during The Monday Night Wars was the feeling that anything could happen. Millions tuned in to find out the next chapter in the Austin-McMahon saga or the next crazy, devious thing that DX had planned. In today's era, the fans are smarter, and they can predict the action before it happens. Therefore, WWE decided to make a bold decision and shake things up, just like Vince McMahon had promised to fans, during the ‘Superstar Shake-Up’.
Think about all the times in 2016, that an angle in WWE’s programming began trending online. Whether it was Shane McMahon making his return after many years of being away from the business, or Goldberg defeating Brock Lesnar in just 1 minute, 26 seconds, the news ‘goes viral’ when you disrupt the norm. We sincerely hope WWE continues the feeling of unpredictability, far beyond this week, over time.
#3 SmackDown desperately lacks heels
SmackDown is stacked with babyfaces, be it AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tye Dillinger or even Luke Harper, a man who turned face not too long ago. They are desperately short on the heel front, with characters such as Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler already in existing programs with other babyfaces.
Also read: Jinder Mahal is set to lead a faction going forward
With the assistance of the Bollywood Boyz, Jinder Mahal has created somewhat of a heel faction that is guaranteed to get booed. He is a true heel, unlike someone like Kevin Owens, who despite his best efforts, is cheered and beloved by the WWE Universe, who recognise his truly outstanding talent.
#2 With any other opponent, the crowd would turn anti-Orton
SmackDown has a very interesting problem. While Randy Orton holds the biggest prize in the entire company, he isn't the most beloved superstar in the blue brand. The night after Wrestlemania 33, when he made his triumphant entrance after defeating Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton was showered with boos. If he were taking on the two men who looked like the likeliest contenders to win the 6-Pack Challenge, Luke Harper and Sami Zayn, the crowd would turn on him and root for the underdog.
Enter Jinder Mahal, a man who was never an internet favourite and will possibly never be one. This makes him the perfect candidate to take on Randy Orton and still keep him babyface.
#1 ‘Vince McMahon likes big, muscular men’
At the age of 71, Vince McMahon is a man who still likes to stay healthy. As a bodybuilder for most of his life, McMahon has always pushed the guys who have been absolutely jacked- be it Hulk Hogan, or The Ultimate Warrior, or more recently, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
Jinder Mahal's vein protruding physique is something that should appeal to McMahon's sensibilities, and it is no wonder that he has found favour with the top boss. In this era of indie wrestlers with underwhelming physiques (viewed through the lens of Vince McMahon), Mahal is exactly the kind of superstar that Vince McMahon likes.
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