All Hail The Maharaja: Jinder Mahal Is The *NEW* WWE Champion

[ShinChan]

I don't know how you can even say that with a straight face. Jinder Mahal and Roman Reigns couldn't be any more different in the way they've been handled. Reigns is in the middle of a 3 year push, been given the main event at Wrestlemania 3 years in a row, had 3 Royal Rumbles based around him and was given the rub of retiring the Undertaker. If the rumours are true, he will again main event next year's Mania beating Brock Lesnar.

Mahal up until the last couple of months was a lower mid card jobber. He spent some time in a tag team with Rusev, but did really nothing of note after that. Sure the WWE is expanding into India, but as others who come from that country have posted Mahal isn't seen in a favourable light over there, they don't care about him. I mean hell this is a guy who had to beat Heath Slater for a contract on SD.

No they are as different as apples and oranges and it will always be that way.

Yeah, you're right. If we exclude the past month of Jinder Mahal, there's nothing. Just nothing. He was just a jobber and had almost zero credibility. The past month has done him a lot of good.

So, apparently I've been trying to read and evaluate the reactions of Indians on Jinder's win. In my case, I've more problem about Jinder getting a sudden pin and somewhat being mediocre as a whole wrestler.

But the reactions I've seen aren't good. I'm talking specifically about Indians.

"Jinder is ok ok"
"Jinder is a cheater. He cheated to win the title. Shame"
"Jinder is nothing in front of Khali"
"Good for you"
"Nothing in front of Roman Reigns/John Cena"

Since the kayfabe is still very strong, Jinder's cheating didn't do him any favours. Plus, Roman Reigns and John Cena are the biggest wrestlers here. Jinder is going to have a tough time competing with them.

About non-Indians, I've seen a much better response. Like people are ready to give him some chance to showcase his skills. IWC is getting questioned about pushing someone new and then not supporting that particular new.

Also, I don't know why but Jinder's win hasn't been acknowledged on TV. At least, I couldn't see any of it. When Khali won against The Undertaker, there were so much exposure given. Heaps of praise. And what not. Maybe because people actually know that he's from Canada.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

The Bollywood Boyz are essentially jobbers too so associating with Jinder Mahal doesn't give Jinder any more credibility. It COULD help the Bollywood Boyz though. His Punjabi Celebration was alright but his gimmick is just played out and stale.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I think people are overblowing the "India" thing. Yes, there are 1.3 billion people in India. Wouldn't it have had more sense for WWE to pick one of those 1.3 billion people over a Canadian with a jobber rep if they were that serious about having an "Indian" champion? Yet this is part of Jinder's appeal or his heel shtick that is working with the smarks. Look at the reaction this has gotten. People are commenting on it. That is a good thing. Even unsocial media has written articles. And I'm not saying WWE doesn't want to further crack the India market, they do and they would love for this to help them but they must see that as a huge and unlikely upside. In the meantime though they are getting a reaction out of people and they are getting that reaction in May which is usually a quiet time.

If WWE really do want to capitalize in India on all this they will let Jinder have a strong run only to be confronted by a native Indian who calls him out on his phonyness and ultimately takes the title from him. I don't know who that person is. How is Khali feeling nowadays? Is there anyone getting the secret Stroman training that could come out of nowhere?

This is the kind of story I would be telling if i were really serious about building in India. It is how I would sell more merch and sell more subscriptions. I don't see a heel Jinder being able to do that.

That all said, the important thing to note here is that it is May. May is throw shit at a wall season.

 

[blueskyy]

There are a couple of well made points in this post.

I just hope this is not Jack Swagger v2 in the making... He used to be a jobber, he was clearly not ready, pushed him to be a Champion, failed, put him back on the jobber list, future endeavored.

 

[ShinChan]

I think people are overblowing the "India" thing. Yes, there are 1.3 billion people in India. Wouldn't it have had more sense for WWE to pick one of those 1.3 billion people over a Canadian with a jobber rep if they were that serious about having an "Indian" champion? Yet this is part of Jinder's appeal or his heel shtick that is working with the smarks. Look at the reaction this has gotten. People are commenting on it. That is a good thing. Even unsocial media has written articles. And I'm not saying WWE doesn't want to further crack the India market, they do and they would love for this to help them but they must see that as a huge and unlikely upside. In the meantime though they are getting a reaction out of people and they are getting that reaction in May which is usually a quiet time.

If WWE really do want to capitalize in India on all this they will let Jinder have a strong run only to be confronted by a native Indian who calls him out on his phonyness and ultimately takes the title from him. I don't know who that person is. How is Khali feeling nowadays? Is there anyone getting the secret Stroman training that could come out of nowhere?

This is the kind of story I would be telling if i were really serious about building in India. It is how I would sell more merch and sell more subscriptions. I don't see a heel Jinder being able to do that.

That all said, the important thing to note here is that it is May. May is throw shit at a wall season.

I agree about Jinder not being able to sell more merch and more subscriptions. You talk about a native Indian. I don't remember exactly how many months passed but WWE was having talks with a native Indian known as Sushil Kumar. Sushil Kumar is well known for winning a bronze medal in Olympics for India and that too in wrestling. He's a big enough name to help WWE in India. But the talks went fruitless. As much as I remember, that WWE official said that WWE wasn't sure if it could use Sushil Kumar properly.

About Khali, he still wrestles. More of a part time. He's the owner of a wrestling promotion named CWE. Recently, he sent a female Indian for a WWE tryout in Dubai. What's hilarious is that he tries all he can to keep kayfabe alive here. He has said multiple times that there are no pre-determined results in WWE. So, he's indirectly working for benefit of WWE.

The thing about Network subscriptions is that it's too costly here. $ 9.99 makes about 640 Rupees here. And you can subscribe for every channel available under 500 Rupees itself. So, I don't see people in India subscribing much for the Network.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

The thing about Network subscriptions is that it's too costly here. $ 9.99 makes about 640 Rupees here. And you can subscribe for every channel available under 500 Rupees itself. So, I don't see people in India subscribing much for the Network.

Hard to say. While you as a student may not find the cost of the Network feasible and looking at median income in India, you could make an argument that the average citizen can't afford it. However, with 1.3 billion people enough people probably can afford it to make it worth taking a risk on an Indian champ.

That being said I stick by my point that Jinder is not champ because it is supposed to improve WWE's market share in India dramatically.

 

[Sagg1298]

Speaking from an Indian perspective, Jinder Mahal will slowly grow on the Indian demographic. It's a different audience than from the States. You cannot expect the audience here to be at once cognizant of the fact that he is now getting this rocket push and is going to be a major player in the coming months. The fans here have been the traditional fans, conditioned to cheer for the Cenas and Mysterios and Roman Reigns, not knowing too much about the behind the scenes aspect, getting their fix of pro wrestling from the good ol' television medium and not caring enough/tech savvy enough to pay and subscribe for an online streaming service. So the traditional Indians are going to take time to fully take a liking to this guy.

The problem with Jinder is it has been all too sudden for the people. Fans in India knew about the guy, but never cared all too much for him since the WWE never featured the guy, and for the kayfabe-driven people here he was just another "cheater" wrestler who is a "loser" to their heroes. Now all of a sudden as he has been given wins against Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Randy Orton and frequently speaking the native language, having the Punjabi celebration, are the people becoming aware of him. Just the other day, 2 of my mates who gave up on wrestling after the Ruthless Aggression era were talking to me over dinner like, "Hey you know, I heard an Indian guy is the WWE Champion now?" So the following is growing. This might be an odd comparison, but just for analogical purposes, if you substitute USA with India, think of it as the Luger push from 1993 that came from nowhere and the traditional kayfabe believing people had to take time to really get behind the guy who was suddenly standing up for their country, just as Jinder is doing now.

All that said, I doubt it is going to convert into much merchandise sales and network subscription immediately. The kids here love their Cena and Reigns too much, and as pointed out earlier, the Network seems too costly for the kids to convince their parents to pay their money for. I have the Network since when it launched here in India but even I am thinking of putting my subscription on hold for a few months as A) it's too costly in Indian rupees and B)the WWE product SUCKS these days.

 

[Navi]

The problem with Jinder is it has been all too sudden for the people. Fans in India knew about the guy, but never cared all too much for him since the WWE never featured the guy, and for the kayfabe-driven people here he was just another "cheater" wrestler who is a "loser" to their heroes. Now all of a sudden as he has been given wins against Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Randy Orton and frequently speaking the native language, having the Punjabi celebration, are the people becoming aware of him. Just the other day, 2 of my mates who gave up on wrestling after the Ruthless Aggression era were talking to me over dinner like, "Hey you know, I heard an Indian guy is the WWE Champion now?" So the following is growing. This might be an odd comparison, but just for analogical purposes, if you substitute USA with India, think of it as the Luger push from 1993 that came from nowhere and the traditional kayfabe believing people had to take time to really get behind the guy who was suddenly standing up for their country, just as Jinder is doing now.

Then in that case Jinder may be in it for the long haul, but I don't think the WWE has him in mind to be champion for the next couple of years. So maybe GSB is right, making Mahal champion just to get the Indian's to buy subscription is a fallacy. Maybe they would just be buying them anyway to get their John Cena and Roman Reigns fixes.

But let's leave it for a month or two and see what happens.

 

[ShinChan]

Speaking from an Indian perspective, Jinder Mahal will slowly grow on the Indian demographic. It's a different audience than from the States. You cannot expect the audience here to be at once cognizant of the fact that he is now getting this rocket push and is going to be a major player in the coming months. The fans here have been the traditional fans, conditioned to cheer for the Cenas and Mysterios and Roman Reigns, not knowing too much about the behind the scenes aspect, getting their fix of pro wrestling from the good ol' television medium and not caring enough/tech savvy enough to pay and subscribe for an online streaming service. So the traditional Indians are going to take time to fully take a liking to this guy.

The problem with Jinder is it has been all too sudden for the people. Fans in India knew about the guy, but never cared all too much for him since the WWE never featured the guy, and for the kayfabe-driven people here he was just another "cheater" wrestler who is a "loser" to their heroes. Now all of a sudden as he has been given wins against Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Randy Orton and frequently speaking the native language, having the Punjabi celebration, are the people becoming aware of him. Just the other day, 2 of my mates who gave up on wrestling after the Ruthless Aggression era were talking to me over dinner like, "Hey you know, I heard an Indian guy is the WWE Champion now?" So the following is growing. This might be an odd comparison, but just for analogical purposes, if you substitute USA with India, think of it as the Luger push from 1993 that came from nowhere and the traditional kayfabe believing people had to take time to really get behind the guy who was suddenly standing up for their country, just as Jinder is doing now.

All that said, I doubt it is going to convert into much merchandise sales and network subscription immediately. The kids here love their Cena and Reigns too much, and as pointed out earlier, the Network seems too costly for the kids to convince their parents to pay their money for. I have the Network since when it launched here in India but even I am thinking of putting my subscription on hold for a few months as A) it's too costly in Indian rupees and B)the WWE product SUCKS these days.

Totally agree.

India is totally different from USA in terms of choices made. Roman Reigns and John Cena might get mixed reaction in USA but they'll be cheered in a huge way in India.

The more I've interacted with people, the more I've got the response that a nobody is the WWE Champion. Some said that they can't even believe that someone like Jinder Mahal could beat the likes of AJ Styles and Randy Orton. And then the ultra strong kayfabe. That how Jinder Mahal won via "cheating". Not to forget that he's mire remembered as a jobber in 3MB or a lackey of The Great Khali.

WWE should've had network at a much lower rate than the current one. I'm not going to pay a amount for WWE when the same amount can get me every channel available easily.

 

[GOOZEKING]

Totally agree.

India is totally different from USA in terms of choices made. Roman Reigns and John Cena might get mixed reaction in USA but they'll be cheered in a huge way in India.

The more I've interacted with people, the more I've got the response that a nobody is the WWE Champion. Some said that they can't even believe that someone like Jinder Mahal could beat the likes of AJ Styles and Randy Orton. And then the ultra strong kayfabe. That how Jinder Mahal won via "cheating". Not to forget that he's mire remembered as a jobber in 3MB or a lackey of The Great Khali.

WWE should've had network at a much lower rate than the current one. I'm not going to pay a amount for WWE when the same amount can get me every channel available easily.

Question.. I recently saw something on the wrestling observer news letter where they said that even if India would get the network they would have to wake up 4:30 am in the morning just to watch the Preshow for a large sum of money as compared to now where they can wake up normal Time and watch the ppv for free later on the day. Is this true? If so I would much rather wake up normal time for free then wake up 4:30 in the morning so I don't know why anyone else wouldn't.

 

[ShinChan]

Question.. I recently saw something on the wrestling observer news letter where they said that even if India would get the network they would have to wake up 4:30 am in the morning just to watch the Preshow for a large sum of money as compared to now where they can wake up normal Time and watch the ppv for free later on the day. Is this true? If so I would much rather wake up normal time for free then wake up 4:30 in the morning so I don't know why anyone else wouldn't.

It's totally correct. Raw starts at 5:30 AM. Same for Smackdown. PPVs are rarely live anymore after the Ten Sports was bought by Sony. Maybe they weren’t getting desired rating. PPVs can be seen for free just 12 hours later on Monday evening. And then a repeat on Wednesday.

Heck, NXT is more easier to watch. Since it's telecasted on Saturday evening. More than 60 hours after the actual telecasting.

Some years ago, PPVs used to be telecasted after two weeks. It's a lot better now.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Speaking from an Indian perspective, Jinder Mahal will slowly grow on the Indian demographic. It's a different audience than from the States. You cannot expect the audience here to be at once cognizant of the fact that he is now getting this rocket push and is going to be a major player in the coming months. The fans here have been the traditional fans, conditioned to cheer for the Cenas and Mysterios and Roman Reigns, not knowing too much about the behind the scenes aspect, getting their fix of pro wrestling from the good ol' television medium and not caring enough/tech savvy enough to pay and subscribe for an online streaming service. So the traditional Indians are going to take time to fully take a liking to this guy.

The problem with Jinder is it has been all too sudden for the people. Fans in India knew about the guy, but never cared all too much for him since the WWE never featured the guy, and for the kayfabe-driven people here he was just another "cheater" wrestler who is a "loser" to their heroes. Now all of a sudden as he has been given wins against Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Randy Orton and frequently speaking the native language, having the Punjabi celebration, are the people becoming aware of him. Just the other day, 2 of my mates who gave up on wrestling after the Ruthless Aggression era were talking to me over dinner like, "Hey you know, I heard an Indian guy is the WWE Champion now?" So the following is growing. This might be an odd comparison, but just for analogical purposes, if you substitute USA with India, think of it as the Luger push from 1993 that came from nowhere and the traditional kayfabe believing people had to take time to really get behind the guy who was suddenly standing up for their country, just as Jinder is doing now.

All that said, I doubt it is going to convert into much merchandise sales and network subscription immediately. The kids here love their Cena and Reigns too much, and as pointed out earlier, the Network seems too costly for the kids to convince their parents to pay their money for. I have the Network since when it launched here in India but even I am thinking of putting my subscription on hold for a few months as A) it's too costly in Indian rupees and B)the WWE product SUCKS these days.

And this is why this whole Jinder deal just blows. They just had to ho head on with this. What has happened to slow builds? It's not like they really needed Jinder to be champion now. Build him up first. Have him gain some fans. Have him improve his game. Also the tour in India comes in September. So, what are they doing? Why did this come all of a sudden? Why rush things, again?

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Question.. I recently saw something on the wrestling observer news letter where they said that even if India would get the network they would have to wake up 4:30 am in the morning just to watch the Preshow for a large sum of money as compared to now where they can wake up normal Time and watch the ppv for free later on the day. Is this true? If so I would much rather wake up normal time for free then wake up 4:30 in the morning so I don't know why anyone else wouldn't.

Yeah but you can say the same for most people who don't have the same time zone as North America. I don't watch PPV's live anymore unless I don't have to go to work.

And if the PPV is shown in free TV I would assume the TV station in India would cut commercial breaks thus potentially cutting away segments or even shortening the running time of the PPV to make space for their other TV programs.

Also in my country when TV specials air they normally have a ton of commercials. From where I am from if you watch the Oscars on Free TV you get 15 mins worth of commercials then 5 to 10 mins of the Oscars, then another 15 mins worth of commercials. Naturally segments were cut (heck they cut out the In Memoriam one year and even the Honorary Oscar for Robert Altman).

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Anyways I can't edit anymore my point is that sometimes it's probably better to pay for the Network than getting the program via free TV.

 

[ShinChan]

Anyways I can't edit anymore my point is that sometimes it's probably better to pay for the Network than getting the program via free TV.

It really depends on priorities.

Like I can't afford paying $9.99 for just the WWE network. Many do. Many don't. I can afford to see a longer advertisement on free TV than to pay just for WWE network. The advertisements will be present there as well. Plus, the difference in time zones affect a lot as well. I remember UFC doing a PPV in United Kingdom after midnight just so that USA could watch it at regular timing.