What's the story?
According to our sources, the supposed partnership between Jinder Mahal and The Bollywood Boyz will indeed be a full-time stable moving forward. The Cruiserweight Classic competitors assisted Mahal in becoming the new number one contender for the WWE Championship on this week's edition of SmackDown LIVE.
In case you didn't know...
Mahal has been on the verge of a push for some time now, with Sportskeeda breaking the news prior to SD LIVE that the former 3MB member was the favourite to pick up the victory in the Six Pack Challenge match in Louisville. It comes off the back of an impressive performance in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania for Jinder.
The heart of the matter
The aforementioned sources noted that WWE is indeed forming a stable between Mahal and the tag team, with the logic behind the move being that there would've been even more fan outrage had Jinder won the match clean. Given that SmackDown LIVE’s next exclusive pay-per-view, Backlash, is being held in Chicago, WWE also wanted to get more heat on Mahal heading into what is sure to be a smarky crowd.
Also read: Reason why Jinder Mahal was given a WWE Championship shot and the big push
Sportskeeda was the first website to report in advance that Jinder Mahal was booked to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship; we were also the first website to report in advance that he was set to be pushed as a midcard heel on SmackDown LIVE.
What's next?
The focus now switches back over to Wyatt vs. Orton for the next few weeks. However, it has become increasingly obvious following this move that Randy will indeed be walking out of Payback as the WWE Champion. Jinder will likely get a good deal of air time leading into Backlash. However, it seems as if the US Championship will continue to be prioritised.
Author's take
While the decision to push Jinder into the main event picture seems like an odd one, it also gives us a chance to see what he can do at the highest level possible. Obviously, his in-ring work could do with some improvements, but it's his character that gives this potential feud with Orton the best chance of succeeding.
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