Jinder Mahal: what's next for the Modern Day Maharaja?

Jinder vs Shinsuke 2: Cell-ectric Boogaloo

The immediate future for the WWE Champion seems pretty clear. As WWE are rumoured to be going on a tour of India sometime this year, Mahal will be the champion for another month or two at least. Not only that but, due to the way their match ended at The Biggest Party of the Summer, it seems clear that Jinder will defend his title, once again, against Shinsuke Nakamura.

Their first bout was very underwhelming as Jinder remains extremely limited in the ring and Shinsuke Nakamura has not yet found his feet on the main roster since being called up from NXT, so one should not be expecting this match to be much better.

However, one way for WWE to find a way around this is to throw the two in a Hell in a Cell match at the PPV of the same name in October. While the feud does not, and more than likely will not, have the heat to warrant a stipulation such as the cell, the story will be of the cell being used to keep Singh Brothers out of the match altogether.

The Singhs would eventually find a way to get involved and take some nasty bumps in the process, so expect plenty of shenanigans.

WWE going full Punjab

The entire purpose of Jinder Mahal's title reign is to pander to the Indian professional wrestling market. Since that is the case, why not go all-in on Jinder Mahal as the hero of the Indian people.

Why not have every Jinder Mahal's entrance be presented as a spectacle, with Indian cultural contributions to the entrances each week. As well as that, as opposed to the traditional in-ring introduction, why not have Jinder Mahal be introduced entirely in Punjabi. Go the full nine yards to make him look and feel like a special attraction.

If WWE were feeling especially bold and intend on having Jinder be champion for the many months to come, redesign the WWE Title to suit Jinder himself. Think European Title except Indian. 

The purpose of this entire push is to make Jinder look like a star, a pro-wrestling alpha male for the Indian people to invest in and want to watch every week while also presenting a villain for the American and Western audiences to want to lose the title. 

A Shock Televised Loss

Another way WWE could go in the weeks ahead is to have Jinder lose the WWE Title in shocking fashion in a title match on SmackDown Live. This would supply a shocking title change on live TV while also allowing for possible character development when it comes to Jinder. 

The hunted would become the hunter. Jinder would have to tap into something different in order to regain the WWE Title. He could become more akin to a monster heel rather than the stereo-typical cowardly heel.

If booked correctly in the aftermath of the loss, this would bring new fascination to Jinder's character as he has to prove that he is good enough to win back the title without the help of the Singh Brothers.

Maybe have Jinder banish the Singh Brothers from his match at Hell in a Cell to prove that he is capable of winning the title back. We could then see a new side of Jinder in the match itself. A more vicious, aggressive Jinder Mahal. In a way, losing the title and the story following on from that would legitimise Jinder Mahal in the eyes of the fans far more than what the WWE have managed to do so far.

Prize-Fighter Jinder Mahal

Say what you want about Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion, but the idea that Lesnar only wrestles on PPV makes him a special attraction, something which WWE should be trying to do with Jinder Mahal.

Now I am not saying that Jinder should not show up to most episodes of SmackDown Live on a regular basis, but there is no harm in having Jinder not wrestle on free TV. Whenever he is booked in a match on SmackDown, he would have the Singh Brothers take his place. The point is that Jinder Mahal should not wrestle on SmackDown for as long as possible. 

On top of that, whenever The Singh Brothers are in a match that Jinder should be involved in, Jinder could interfere each time to cost the Singhs' opponent the match. That way he could save himself from being in a match while also embarrassing his rival. 

The final part of this new prize-fighter approach to Jinder Mahal is that his rival NEVER gets their hands on him. One way or another, he avoids any confrontation. Whether that means the Singhs taking a few Kinshasa's on the way to Hell in a Cell or not, Jinder would always manage to escape any punishment.

'Better Than You'

This could or could not be an extension of the prize-fighter approach to booking Jinder Mahal. Either way, it could be a nifty little way of attracting heel heat.

Jinder Mahal makes his way down to the ring for a promo. He opens his mouth before changing his mind and handing the mic to one of the Singh Brothers. It is at this point that the Singhs wax lyrical about Jinder without him saying a word in English. Finally, the microphone is handed back to Mahal and he delivers his own promo entirely in Punjabi.

Essentially, the WWE Universe is not worth being spoken to so, when Jinder does cut his promo, he bypasses the WWE universe entirely to speak to 'his people'. This would not change for as long as WWE can afford to present Jinder this way.

The Singh Brothers waxing lyrical about Mahal, treating him like the wrestling God's gift to the world, before Mahal decides that it is not worth his time to speak to the WWE Universe would guarantee a new level of heel heat.

What do you think is next for Jinder Mahal? Let us know in the comments below!