Jinder Mahal is the #1 contender for the WWE Championship, will main event Backlash

[Str8Shooter]

"Pissing clean and being mean; that's what it's all about bitches" - Jinder Mahal, 2017.

I really hope he uses this as his catchphrase!

How bored will the crowd be during this match? I predict chants for many things, all of which not going on inside the ring.

[SlightlyJames]

I don't have much of an issue with this. At first I felt like it was kind of stupid, mainly because Jinder is a jobber, I heard it mentioned in the wake of this he hasn't won a singles match in something like 9 months. That's a pretty startling jump to be suddenly in a title match main eventing a show.

That aside, I'm totally fine with them chucking someone in there and seeing how they do. I don't think Jinder is anywhere near as bad as some are saying. (Though it is another one of those heel gimmicks where it feels like 90% of the reason for not liking them is that they're not American, which are just dumb). He definitely got a response in his post-match promo and while him and Randy aren't sparking much interest right now, the build hasn't even happened yet.

Fuck knows what they're doing with the Bollywood Boyz, presumably they'll settle into the tag division but god damn there are way too many heel teams on Smackdown right now.

One thing I find odd about this whole situation is how the US title picture is being portrayed in relation to the WWE title. It definitely seems like they're trying to position the AJ and Owens thing as the central program of the show, they main evented tonight and it feels like they've had drastically more emphasis placed on that feud. Fuck, Zayn was in the triple threat last week for a US title shot, he lost that and now this week he's in for the WWE title match? Like it's a consolation prize or some shit.

This booking is so upside down I really don't get it. Definitely doesn't help that the fuckin WWE champion is working the Raw PPV and his time on Smackdown is going towards building that. This shakeup has really made a mess of some shit.

[Ali]

At this point, what if Bray Wyatt beats Randy Orton and takes the WWE Title back to RAW? Sure, they have Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion, but he leaves for 58 months at a time. It'll give RAW something to do.

It feels like a weird version of the Rock N Wrestling Era, where the biggest stars like Hogan, Savage, and Warrior had the main belt, while the IC belt was the prize for the best workers, like Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect. I can see how the IC and US belts are valued now, Miz-Ambrose is a good feud even for a rerun, and AJ-KO is sure to bring the house down... but the main belts don't have that STAR POWER behind them, except Brock, and he never shows up.

The big thing about this is that it is just so sudden. We have seen Jinder Mahal lose week after week, for the past few years, and now all of a sudden, he's supposed to be a threat to Randy Orton, a 13-time World Champion? Now he has a stable, and his gimmick is that the fans are jealous and/or racist? Where does this come from? Why should we buy him as a threat?

Although where this really comes from is that there are no good heels on SmackDown right now. Owens is US Champ, Rusev is injured, Baron Corbin is being protected so that he can really be built up for a push as a major player (which I'm fine with), and Dolph Ziggler is involved with Nakamura. And WWE's go-to "we need a credible challenger for a Title feud filler" guy Kane is busy running for mayor.

So with a lack of options, who could've been a better filler? A lot of people say Luke Harper, but why not the other guy, Erick Rowan? He's always been the low man in the Wyatt Family totem pole, sure, but it could've had that built in story of "I will avenge my master and finish what he started!" It would've at least made a bit more sense.

But my other unconventional choice is... Mojo Rawley. Granted, it would still suck just as bad as Mahal-Orton most likely will, but at least it would be a little less out of nowhere. Mojo won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, so it could've been built up as a "Hype Train" of momentum! Face vs. Face, sure, but it could have given some meaning to the AtGMBR winner.

[PorkChop]

I hate to accuse anyone of steroid use but it is definitely unlikely that Jinder is clean IMO. His muscle gain, especially at his age, is ridiculous. He might be clean since his return to the WWE but he was probably using while he was gone.

As if his monstrous physique wasn't enough of a red flag, he's developed both gyno and acne. He's the most obvious case of steroid use I've seen in some time.

He responded to the accusations on social media, saying that he's been tested a whole bunch of times by WWE and he's passed every time. He's not fooling anyone.

[Circled Square]

Yeah so they'll suspend Roman for fucking Adderall or whatever but they'll let Jinder fucking Mahal. cycle roids for some reason lmaoooo.

[VaderBomb]

https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/wwe-new ... e-big-push

From the above article:
"So for all the folks who are wondering why WWE took the decision to push Jinder so hard, it has all been done due to the company’s expansion plans in India. India is one of the biggest markets for the WWE, with an ardent fan base ever-so-ready to consume whatever the company throws at them.

As reported by Wrestlingnews.co, WWE recently appointed Sheetesh Srivastava as the General Manager and VP of their office in India. Having previously worked for Walt Disney India, Srivastava will be overseeing all operations in the country including house shows, marketing, promotions, and sponsorship."

It makes a lot more sense from this perspective, but I still don't understand why they've been jobbing Jinder so much if they knew about this expansion.

If WWE really wanted to build up Mahal at Mania they should have had him eliminate Mojo and then beat up Gronkowski after the match. In that case the fans could buy this storyline a bit more, seeing as he would've won the Battle Royal and made his mark as a contender.

Mahal at least should have booked for more than two minutes against Balor on Raw last week if they planned on throwing him into a WWE Championship match directly after. Sloppy, bizarre booking.

[Hanley!]

If they're pushing him to try and create an Indian star to help their brand in India, then they've demonstrated an extraordinary lack of forward planning. Mahal came back months ago and he's been treated as a jobber ever since. It's not like India is only suddenly on the company's radar.

And even if they somehow only realised that Mahal is Indian this week, this was still the wrong way to go about establishing him. Because he's starting at the top and will go down hill immediately. This is a mistake they've made before. There's no way Jinder Mahal is beating Orton to become champion. So this match isn't ultimately going to make him look good. It would be far more beneficial for him right now to beat a midcard guy, rather than losing to a main event guy. That's how you establish a new star.

[The Legend]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure when Great Khali was around I remember a story about how the WWE would heavily edit his matches for Indian TV and actually made him look significantly stronger in that country than he was outside it. It's not inconceivable that they could be doing something similar with Mahal. Although that was also a time when Khali was on a taped version of SD so editing was easier. Although I don't know what the TV schedule is like in India.

[Circled Square]

Yeah they would edit the show to put Khali on last, as the main event.

[Hanley!]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure when Great Khali was around I remember a story about how the WWE would heavily edit his matches for Indian TV and actually made him look significantly stronger in that country than he was outside it. It's not inconceivable that they could be doing something similar with Mahal. Although that was also a time when Khali was on a taped version of SD so editing was easier. Although I don't know what the TV schedule is like in India.

Khali at least got some wins though. It's not like they could edit his matches to show him winning unless they recorded a separate finish. And if that was happening, it'd be out there already.

I just realised something actually: the arena for this pay per view is probably half sold out already. How shit must this be for the people who have bought tickets for this show? They would have expected a semi-decent main event, and this is what they're now getting? I imagine there are plenty of people thinking about selling their tickets right now ...

I think the show is in Chicago too. Those people are going to shit all over this.

[Str8Shooter]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure when Great Khali was around I remember a story about how the WWE would heavily edit his matches for Indian TV and actually made him look significantly stronger in that country than he was outside it. It's not inconceivable that they could be doing something similar with Mahal. Although that was also a time when Khali was on a taped version of SD so editing was easier. Although I don't know what the TV schedule is like in India.

Khali at least got some wins though. It's not like they could edit his matches to show him winning unless they recorded a separate finish. And if that was happening, it'd be out there already.

I just realised something actually: the arena for this pay per view is probably half sold out already. How shit must this be for the people who have bought tickets for this show? They would have expected a semi-decent main event, and this is what they're now getting? I imagine there are plenty of people thinking about selling their tickets right now ...

I think the show is in Chicago too. Those people are going to shit all over this.

Aren't they getting KO vs AJ probably though? It's a shit match but if the rest of the card is alright I don't know if you'd feel screwed. They will shit all over the match though for sure. That's undeniable.

[Hanley!]

KO vs AJ would definitely help. But if the main event is this bad and there's nothing else strong on the card, I think the crowd is going to feel a bit screwed. It's not like it looks like there's going to be a really good women's title or tag team title match on the show that'd boost people's interest.

[The Legend]

KO vs AJ would definitely help. But if the main event is this bad and there's nothing else strong on the card, I think the crowd is going to feel a bit screwed. It's not like it looks like there's going to be a really good women's title or tag team title match on the show that'd boost people's interest.

Naomi vs Charlotte is locked onto the card which is a very interesting matchup that we haven't seen before between two great athletes that should do fun things with that match, but I'm not sure what the rest of the card will hold and it certainly needs more to make up for Randy vs Jinder.

[Hanley!]

I think Charlotte vs Naomi is supposed to be happening next week. So I doubt that's the pay per view match too. I hard some talk that they'd be doing a big women's tag team match at Backlash instead.

[War Daddy]

It's a 100% possible he's clean of steroids. They don't sit in your system very long. Depending on when he started and when his most recent test was done, he could very well pass. Plus, you draw blood for roids you don't piss for the test. He could have got off of them just in time and maybe bridged with SARMS, which is very legal. For now.

[DBSoT]

I think Charlotte vs Naomi is supposed to be happening next week. So I doubt that's the pay per view match too. I hard some talk that they'd be doing a big women's tag team match at Backlash instead.

The only things saving Backlash are KO/AJ and NAK/Ziggler.

[KaiserGlider]

I gotta give Jinder credit; he's improved his mic game and I thought his recent appearances on Talking Smack were solid. He seems motivated and ready to make the most of this spot, regardless of whether or not he's taking steroids. I guess we gotta wait and see what will come of this push long-term - will it turn out to be a JBL thing or a Jack Swagger thing?

The thing that's indefensible is that he's going up against Randall. It would have been far easier for Jinder to get serious heel heat if he went up against a good babyface everybody loves. I have a hard time seeing them go out in Chicago and put on a 10-15 minute match which gets shredded by the fans. I actually think Owens vs AJ has a decent chance of being the main event of that PPV, while the world title match is in the middle or the opener (they did it at No Mercy last year). Another thing I wouldn't rule out is Bray winning the WWE title at Payback and taking it to Raw, leaving Jinder to proclaim that he was screwed out of his opportunity while AJ/Owens is the main program. Like Ali said, Raw could use a full-time world champion.

[Hanley!]

They've actually stopped advertising the Orton vs Wyatt match as a title match though, bizarrely. It might not even be possible for Wyatt to win the title - he might not be getting a proper rematch.

[KaiserGlider]

They've actually stopped advertising the Orton vs Wyatt match as a title match though, bizarrely. It might not even be possible for Wyatt to win the title - he might not be getting a proper rematch.

Yeah, just it on checked WWE.com, it's not a title match. So... yeah.

[Circled Square]

The state of Bray Wyatt, Jesus Christ. He's forever cemented into just fuck my shit up status.