Naughty Or Nice: Jinder Mahal In 2017

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Backstory

Last year was 12 Days of Wrestle-mas where I wrote twelve columns in the two weeks leading up to December 25th. This year is using the Naughty Or Nice theme of the holidays where I pick one superstar, dissect their 2017 and then decide if a gift or coal is deserving of their stocking. Basic year-end review stuff with a Christmas spirit added.

Jinder Mahal: Naughty Or Nice?

Rewind – Let’s be real. If anybody told you in late 2016 Jinder Mahal would be one of the most talked about wrestlers of 2017, they would be laughed at. No chance, no way, no how anybody saw this all coming. Pretty amazing when you go back to reports of him re-signing in mid-2016 to add depth to the rosters before the WWE Draft. Laughable that he and guys like Curt Hawkins were considered “depth” to the roster but whatever. A different column for a different day. Either way, Jinder Mahal has indeed had one heck of a year – whether we like it or not…which begs the question – did we like it or not?

Scrooge In Early 2017 – This is a definite NAUGHTY. Jinder Mahal didn’t exactly light the world on fire during January, February, or March. I mean, he was teaming with Rusev. That seemed to be ‘something’ for the guy at least. Right? Better than being unemployed and sitting at home every Monday night. From there it was interactions with Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. Kind of a step up but only in the mind of people still waiting for them to become breakout stars. I give Dallas a chance. Axel? Please. Never bought into the hype and still don’t get it. Back to Jinder, his pairing with Rusev went nowhere and after a whole bunch of losses to Big Cass and Enzo, it was back to the drawing board. Enjoy the coal.

Christmas Comes Early – Wow, talk about a change in three month’s time. Jinder Mahal began April by having a great showing in the WrestleMania 33 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. It was shocking to say the least; we had NO idea what we were in for, haha. I remember being there and knowing Mojo Rawley would win the instant Gronk was shown on the big screen. The only question was which heel he would eliminate last. Well, it was Mahal. A big spot for the physical spot with Gronk and a cool WM moment. Not too shabby. Then came the infamous two minute loss on Raw to Finn Balor and a subsequent move to Smackdown LIVE in the SuperStar Shakeup. I thought it was a pointless move and meant nothing. It looked as if I would be right, as he promptly showed up and get his butt kicked by Mojo Rawley in no time.

Then it happened.

Within weeks, the guy who lost to Balor on TV in two minutes was the #1 contender to the WWE Championship held by Randy Orton. Clearly a calculated move by the company to promote the Land of Opportunity moniker, get over the Superstar Shakeup gimmick and yeah, help with the expansion into India. Jinder was not necessarily a terrible option or somebody that was a problem behind the scenes. He just wasn’t anybody’s first choice from the outside looking in. Or fifth choice. Or 15th choice. Or probably 31st choice. I could probably name 30 or so guys that would have made more sense to get a sudden main event spotlight on the blue brand. Still, Mahal had kept his nose clean, put in the work to be bright back, was in the gym a lot, and had been receiving praise from all of his peers. Why not go for it?

Well, that opportunity turned into a reality when May hit and he was the NEW WWE Champion. In the surprise upset of the year (and maybe ever), Jinder FREAKIN’ Mahal had gone from losing to everybody in sight to the top star in the entire industry in about a month. Christmas had come early for the guy. You couldn’t help but feel happy for him. After not even being in the company a year earlier, there he was on top of the mountain. Yet, it all felt so hollow. I know he will never admit to it but imagine him holding the gold over his head that night in Chicago. Yeah, the fans were stunned, shocked, amazed, and booing…but deep down, he know. We all did. This was not what anybody had wanted, and it was now up to Mahal to prove the doubters wrong.

June may have been his best month. I know that is not saying a lot, but he was actually looking, acting, talking, and feeling like a main eventer. The fans went from DESPISING him with a deep rooted passion to giving him professional wrestling styled heel heat. He was a bad guy and playing his role well. The ongoing feud with Randy Orton may have been subpar but whatever, a lot of Smackdown LIVE came to a screeching halt around this time. Hmm, I wonder why? Anyways, it is difficult to deny Mahal a GIFT for April-June of 2017. He was WWE Champion, winning over established stars and living the dream. Certainly a NICE stretch for him.

Miracle On Singh St. – It was around this time that I knew the Jinder Mahal experiment was not going to work. I stayed positive and kept optimism, but this was not going to be a JBL-like fairy tale ending. Nope. It was failing and failing badly. The WWE Title had to come off him after his story line with Mr. RKO wrapped up. The promos were still okay. The matches were still okay. The presentation was still okay. The focus and spotlight was still okay. The problem is the WWE Championship should not just be ‘okay.’ Jinder Mahal made that all seem acceptable. Like we simply took for granted that he was holding the gold and were fine with it.

Shinsuke Nakamura was the man to end that title reign in August. At Summerslam. The Artist had rarely lost in NXT (only on his way out) and was undefeated since arriving in WWE four months prior. The moment was set up perfectly.

Sadly, the moment was set up for more shenanigans involving Mahal and his croonies The Singh Brothers. Truth be told, these two did add a lot to the act and could certainly be thrown around the ring. That was a plus. For what the two were there for, yeah. It worked. Unfortunately, the stocking could not get enough coal placed inside for how Nakamura lost. No fanfare. No big hype. No build. Just the usual Mahal distraction finish and pinfall victory. So deflating. Honesty, after Heck on a Deck, I didn’t even care that Jinder still held the title. I was so done with it all. The miracle was not that he was champion in the first place; the miracle was he somehow kept retaining month after month.

A Resolution Before The New Year – In early November, WWE finally accepted what most fans had already known months earlier: Jinder Mahal was not a main event act and while he may develop into one down the road, that time was not 2017. The WWE Survivor Series promoted interbrand bout versus Brock Lesnar may have been interesting on paper, however it held no real logic or reason. On the UK Tour, the company corrected course and had AJ Styles defeat Jinder Mahal for the title belt. It was treated with a ton of fanfare and was just what the doctor ordered. Not sure anybody will complain about AJ being on top of the card, especially if it meant Mahal being knocked off his perch.

Credit to Jinder here. He didn’t cause a scene backstage. He didn’t kick up a fuss. He didn’t act unprofessional. He didn’t get a big head during his title reign. He didn’t ‘sandbag’ Styles in the match. Heck, the dude probably had the BEST match of his career. He went out there, did his job as the heel and made the conquering face look like a million bucks. Whatever is said about the year that was for Mahal in 2017, it must be said he did business the right way. Even if you do want to mock WWE and call BS on his championship victory, he is just doing what he is told. Don’t blame him. Mahal did all he could, and I am sure his 100% was given every single time.

Now, was that 100% enough to be considered NAUGHTY or NICE? We will find out at Clash of Champions where I suspect he loses clean to AJ Styles (again) and begins a slow descend back down the card. Where his 2017 ends is where it started.

I turn this debate over to all of you Santas…

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