What’s the story?
On a recent episode of Edge and Christian's Pod of Awesomeness, the former World Champions discussed WWE's decision to put over Jinder Mahal as the WWE Champion. Edge and Christian weighed the pros and cons of having an upstart like Jinder holding the biggest prize in the company.
In case you didn’t know...
Jinder Mahal has been the topic of wrestling fans the world over since he beat Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship at Backlash. Jinder's win comes amidst strong rumours that WWE is trying to leverage the untapped Indian market with Jinder as the poster boy of the brand.
The heart of the matter
Edge reasoned that Jinder could prove himself only if he was given the opportunity to shine. He was of the opinion that fans wanted to see some change, and putting the title on Jinder should be a welcome shakeup for the fans. Edge recalled his time in the business and said that it took a lot of patience to let things play out.
Edge also focused on the business side of the decision. He put on his thinking cap and asked the fans to settle down. He said that it might have been a wise decision to put the title on the 6'5" 240 lbs Indian man if WWE was indeed planning to make inroads into the Indian market. He mentioned that it gave the Indian fans someone to latch on to.
What’s next?
The Modern Day Maharajah will defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in a rematch of their Backlash encounter. The match is set for the Money in the Bank PPV in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. The winner of that match will also have to keep in mind, a possible cash-in by the new Mr Money in the Bank.
Author's take
Jinder Mahal went from being a jobber to the WWE Champion in a month. The decision to have Jinder Mahal go over Randy and win the championship tore the WWE fans right down the middle.
There has not been any extreme positive or negative consequence to the decision. However, the WWE's ratings are at an all-time low. Only time will tell if the gamble on Jinder was a profitable one for WWE.
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