wrestling / Columns

411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will Jinder Mahal Retain at Battleground?

July 23, 2017 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Jinder Mahal

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Jeremy Lambert and Robert S Leighty Jr!

  • Questions were sent out Monday.
  • Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

    1. You liked the reveal of Jason Jordan as Kurt Angle’s son on Raw.

    Jeremy Lambert: FACT – “Liked” is the keyword here. I liked it. That’s about as far as I’ll go. It was fine. It wasn’t anything unexpected, but it also wasn’t terrible. Dixie Carter could have been terrible. This was just fine. I’m more interested in the follow up. Nepotism has ruled wrestling for the longest time. Now we have RAW GM Kurt Angle and his son Jason Jordan on RAW. Will Jordan be afford chances and opportunities that other wrestlers aren’t getting? Or will Angle make his son earn his way as a singles wrestler? Or will they forget about things in a two weeks? That’s the real reason to keep tuning in.

    Robert S Leighty Jr: FACT – I didn’t love it, but sure I liked it. I think it is a good opportunity for Jordan and it is at least putting someone new in a more visible position. Now the WWE could mess this up, but Jordan has something to do and gets to work with Angle and that I like.

    2. Jinder Mahal will retain the WWE Title at WWE Battleground.

    Jeremy Lambert: FACT – Why not. I don’t care if it’s Jinder or Orton at this point. Orton getting another title shot because he threatened to stalk and murder Jinder is dumb. The Punjabi Prison match is dumb. Jinder barely registers as champion. Let him retain and lose to John Cena at SummerSlam to SmackDown can become awesome again.

    Robert S Leighty Jr: FACT – I can’t see them doing the change a month before SummerSlam. I think they are married to Mahal for the long haul and if he gets past SummerSlam then this reign will last longer than most expected.

    3. You want to see Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.

    Jeremy Lambert: FACT – I like all four men in the match. Samoa Joe is a longtime favorite of mine, Roman Reigns is a good worker despite his horrid booking, Braun tossing around big men who are still smaller than him is fun, and Brock is Brock. These four dudes are going to beat the hell out of each other and toss each other around for our entertainment. I’m all for it.

    Robert S Leighty Jr: FICTION – I want to see Joe/Lesnar II and see them given more time, but I am ok with the Four Way match. It is better than Reigns vs. Lesnar as I think 4 monsters trying to kill each other will be fun and it will get Brock out of doing these 5-8 minute matches. So while it isn’t the match I want, it is at least new and more interesting than what I thought we were getting.

    SWITCH!

    4. You are disappointed that Talking Smack (as a weekly show) got canceled.

    Robert S Leighty Jr: FACT – A thousand times Fact. Obviously this one hits close to him since I covered Talking Smack each week, but even without that I am more than disappointed the show is no longer weekly. At its best Talking Smack was amazingly entertaining and was one of the best shows the WWE has produced. Even with the down shows it was still better than any other original shows on the Network. The creativity and freedom on the show something special as was the chemistry between Daniel and Renee. This show gave the audience a chance to invest in new guys like Corbin and Mojo. It shows how great The Miz, AJ Styles, and others could be in an open forum, and it was a nice way to continue storylines for us lucky enough to watch. Easily one of the worst decisions the WWE has made in terms of their programming choices.

    Jeremy Lambert: FACT – I enjoyed Talking Smack every week. I typically watched it the next day because I don’t watch 205 Live and never circled back around to the Network on Tuesday night. But I enjoyed it. Talking Smack basically turned The Miz into the current version of The Miz that we enjoyed every week before he got moved to Raw and continued to feud with Dean Ambrose. Renee Young was great as the host. Daniel Bryan was great at being himself. The majority of the wrestlers showed off a side of their personality that we don’t see on the weekly show. It was easy to sit through and it was something different each week. It’s a shame that it’s no longer continuing because WWE needs more Network exclusive shows like it.

    5. WWE will do a full Shield reunion before the end of 2017.

    Robert S Leighty Jr: FACT – All 3 guys are on RAW, so yeah, they won’t be able to resist. There is money to be made off a Shield Reunion and I just hope it isn’t thrown away as a one time gig on RAW. The group split just as they were rolling as baby faces and while some will some it was the right time, there was a lot left for the group to do. The WWE is all about moments and there is no way they pass this one up.

    Jeremy Lambert: FACT – Vince won’t be able to control himself. Roman Reigns can only play “bad friend John Cena” for so long before he finally gives in and helps out the two lesser members of The Shield. I imagine they get back together around Survivor Series in order to compete in the five-on-five brand vs. brand match for nothing.

    6. What’s your level of excitement for WWE Battleground on Sunday?

    Robert S Leighty Jr: 6 out of 10 – I was more excited for GBOF because of Joe/Brock and while this doesn’t have a match of that caliber, I am still interested to see the show. Orton vs. Mahal doesn’t excite me, but the Punjabi Prison stipulation does if only due to it being something not run into the ground. Styles vs. Owens should be sweet and Cena always delivers on PPV. The flag match should have good heat and I want to see how Rusev looks after his time away. Add in what should be a fun tag match, and Nakamura and this show is good enough for me. Now If this was 5 years ago there is no way I would pay crazy PPV money for this show, but the Network fixed that issue. So I will watch and I am very intrigued to see how all this leads to SummerSlam.

    Jeremy Lambert: 6 out of 10 – I’ve said before that I’m usually on the high side for these events because they come with my Network subscription and I can watch them at any time. So, based on price and accessibility, it’s tough for me to complain about these shows. But I didn’t even know the show was this weekend. When I saw the promo my wife pointed out that it’s this weekend. I thought it was next week. I’m excited that John Cena and Rusev are back, but seeing them wrestling again, and in a stupid flag match, does nothing for me. Orton vs. Jinder, even inside the visually cool Punjabi Prison, does nothing for me. AJ vs. Owens should be good, Nakamura will do the minimum against Corbin, and the women will have another DQ so they can do another multi-woman match on SmackDown.