5 things to expect from WWE's India tour

This December, WWE will return for two live shows in India. After a fourteen year absence, the company made its return to India in January 2016 for two very successful live shows. This 2017 return has been hotly anticipated by international fans, as WWE has become more interest in the Indian market, and is sure to appeal to them with a special pair of events.

Yes, Jinder Mahal is the reigning WWE Champion—and we’ll discuss him much more as this article goes on--but there’s also Kavita Devi. After a successful debut performance in the Mae Young Classic opposite veteran Dakota Ka, WWE made headlines by going on to make Devi the first woman from India they have signed to a long-term deal.

So what can fans in India expect from WWE’s return, and a two-night stand at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi? There are sure to be surprised, but there are few key elements that we can start to speculate and make educated guesses about two months out.

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#5 Jinder Mahal vs. Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens is booked to challenge Jinder Mahal.

Recently, it was speculated that Jinder Mahal’s scheduled opponent and challenger for the WWE Championship for the India tour is Kevin Owens. This might seem like an odd fit to US fans, given both men play heel characters, not to mention that they haven’t been involved in any storylines together.

For the India tour, however, WWE is understandably expecting for Mahal to get a babyface reaction, and that’s a reaction they’d like to cultivate to further build their business in that market. So, it makes sense to cast Mahal as the face in the short term, and it’s hard to imagine a better heel for him to bounce off than Owens—a natural villain who has thrived in that role for a variety of promotions. On top of that, Owens is skilled enough to ensure some good to great main event matches at these important shows.

#4 Jindermania running wild

Jinder Mahal will be over huge when WWE rolls into India.

This will be the first time that World Wrestling Entertainment stages live events in front of an Indian audience while featuring a professional wrestler of Indian descent at the main event level, let alone carrying the company’s top title. There is a very little question for the show to build around celebrating Jinder Mahal’s time on top, and pushing him to the maximum level possible.

So, while Mahal has largely been dependent on the Singh Brothers and other interference and distractions to capture and retain the WWE Championship over these past few months, fans can expect him to go over more cleanly in India.

Beyond the actions in the ring, it will probably be a wild ride for Mahal on this international tour. Fans can expect that he’ll hit the media circuit to promote the shows and WWE’s brand at a level of superstardom he and most of other WWE Superstars have never touched before.

#3 Extra cameras

WWE will be looking for documentary footage in India.

Since the launch of the WWE Network, the company has grown both more committed to and better at capturing special moments on camera. Jinder Mahal returning to India as WWE Champion in front of a live audience for these stadium shows marks a unique opportunity to capture an electric atmosphere, and a performer getting the opportunity of a lifetime to connect with a crowd that’s all too ready to love him.

So, we can expect extra cameras to be following Mahal throughout his time abroad. While he has portrayed a heel character consistently in WWE programming, the company may well offer Network subscribers their first glimpse at his more human, and more likeable side by capturing the real person in these moments.

The inevitable Network that will result from this footage is sure to offer up its share of special moments and a glimpse at an underdog who was once released by WWE and returned to unimaginably prominent new heights.

#2 The Great Khali

Might The Great Khali make an appearance in New Delhi?

While Jinder Mahal’s current reign as WWE Champion has been longer and arguably more featured, The Great Khali was the original performer of Indian heritage to reign as a world champ in WWE, winning the World Heavyweight Championship in 2007.

His reign may have been more of a result of circumstance than creative decision making after Edge went down with injury, his size nonetheless made him a legitimate choice to hold the title in the interim and keep the main event scene interesting.

The 45-year-old Khali was born and raised in India, but currently, resides in Houston, so it’s hardly a given that he would attend these shows in India. Given the affiliation established between him and Mahal and Khali's surprise appearance to help Mahal win a Punjabi Prison Match against Randy Orton this summer, it would be sensible enough for him to appear at Mahal’s side again as WWE makes this big push to shore up its standing in India.

#1 A Title change

AJ Styles won the United States Championship at a house show. Might another title change be coming up in India?

When a championship changes hands, WWE typically wants to capitalize on putting in front of a television audience or put it on a WWE Network special event to honour the paying subscribers. Title changes at house shows are not the norm these days, but they’re also not unheard of.

WWE sprinkles them in to help keep the house show market vibrant by demonstrating that fans can’t safely assume a storyline won’t make a turn at a non-televised event. Title changes happen at house shows, too, when WWE needs to move a storyline quicker than originally planned, or, in particularly relevant instances, in big markets and important venues.

The most recent house show title change happened when AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens for the United States Championship at Madison Square Garden in July. Might another US title change go down India? Or could a SmackDown Tag Team Championships change hands? Anything could happen, and if WWE really wants to make an impression, then these are real possibilities.