Jinder Mahal: First Impressions

[MrPierrini]

In my opinion he looks, talks and performs very averagely. I think his finisher was shockingly poor and nothing seems to make me interested in him. He's like a pathetic version of Alberto Del Rio with his upper class demeanor and his stupid smile. I can't see him going further than the midcard and there just doesn't seem like there's anything unique about him. It appears the fan's on Smackdown on Friday share my view and that's why no one reacted to him (those were canned boo's by the way). The only reason I see him being used is because of WWE's new office in India, other than that I can't understand why he is in the WWE. Im not saying he's not talented, im just saying there's nothing particularly special about him.

But hey thats just my opinion, what do you guys think?

 

[Maddog Lionheart]

In my opinion he looks, talks and performs very averagely. I think his finisher was shockingly poor and nothing seems to make me interested in him. He's like a pathetic version of Alberto Del Rio with his upper class demeanor and his stupid smile. I can't see him going further than the midcard and there just doesn't seem like there's anything unique about him. It appears the fan's on Smackdown on Friday share my view and that's why no one reacted to him (those were canned boo's by the way). The only reason I see him being used is because of WWE's new office in India, other than that I can't understand why he is in the WWE. Im not saying he's not talented, im just saying there's nothing particularly special about him.

But hey thats just my opinion, what do you guys think?

I do as weel think he won't go any further than mid card. He does remind of Indian Del Rio. But I still want to give him a chance and see what more he can do.

 

[FSWWE]

It was just a destroy a jobber debut match he will probably improve...
I think he is great and if he stops to speak indian i will like him more...

For now i'm enjoying the Khali & Mahal segments...
I want a feud between them and Big Show & Kane, but they need to destroy SmackDown first!!

 

[Daniel]

Well, I don't know how you can think that he performs "averagely" when he had a squash match which lasted a few seconds over a minute. If you watch some of his FCW matches, you'll see that he's actually very good in the ring. Of course, he's not going to be as good as Alberto Del Rio. But that's because Del Rio is a 34 year old luchador who has wrestled in Mexico for years and years. Mahal is 24. He still has time to learn and get better. Which he obviously will do.

He can talk brilliantly, and he has the perfect look. He's like Daivari but much bigger. I'm really excited by Mahal and what he and Khali can do. I'm sure him being of Indian descent (he's actually Canadian) has something to do with his push. WWE want to expand into international markets more, so an Indian duo would be a great help to WWE. Especially when India goes crazy for Indian wrestlers (read about Sonjay Dutt's promotional trip to India for me details).

Overall, I can see Mahal being a world champion. I genuinely do. He has the complete package.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

I like what I've seen so far, and I have to agree with Seth, Mahal hasn't had much time yet. He's a far superior choice for the Indian market to Khali, given that:

1) Talks better
2) Wrestles better
3) Actually has an air of menace instead of just relying on his size to look scary

I hope to see more of him in the next couple of weeks, and in a couple of months or so we can more accurately assess this guy.

However, once again agreeing with Seth, I feel there's only room for one 'evil foreigner' world champion, and it's going to come down to ADR. Why do you think Barrett's been shunted aside for the time being?

 

[Starchild]

I have to say so far so good with Mahal. They are using Khali to get him over by being kind of a bodyguard. Early reports said that they were going to form a tag team, but I'd rather see a relationship more like HBK and Diesel used to have except without Khali getting a push at the end. Mahal can just ride this angle for a little while to get his name out there and get noticed before going off on his own. I think bringing in Davairi would be interesting here due to the fact that he already reminds me a little of Muhammad Hassan so why not attach Hassan's manager as well.

He can talk, his FCW material tells me he's decent in the ring, and he has an intriguing character so my first impressions are positive. We can't look into the other night too much as it was your typical debut and squash match. If I remember correctly, ADR didn't get much of a reaction his first outing and he was instantly beating and feuding with one of the most over faces in Mysterio. Just give it a few more weeks before you really cast judgment on the guy.

 

[blueskyy]

I don't know. I want to see more first before giving my "review" or opinion. I disagree that he is like Alberto Del Rio. Other than having the same cocky wide smile, I think they were every different. Alberto entertains me a lot, more and more each week; Mahal, not at the moment. To be honest, Alberto was quite awkward with the mic at the beginning, but look at him now, he is a natural. So, I'd say give Jinder Mahal a few more matches (chances). He speaks good English, most likely born or raised in the US.

 

[Alberto_Del_Burrito]

I personally don't see much in him, but he'll probably be pushed up the mid-card in no time at all.
He's just not interesting to me, and will probably be changing the channel when he comes on.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I was surprised at the lack of drama at the end of the contest.... and his finisher didn't do much for me. Of course, squash matches rarely feature much in the way of storytelling and it was his first effort in the ring.

On the other hand, the guy has an incredible physique and he certainly speaks well. At this point, he needs someone to play off, but Khali doesn't speak English, so Mahal has to carry the act. By yelling at Khali in Punjabi while shouting at everyone else in English, he's got a gimmick that should stay fresh for quite a while. Once his career picks up steam, I think he'll be a good one.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

He's an interesting character. At least we don't have to see anymore stupid Khali Kiss-Cams. God damn, why did they always pick the really fugly women to come up? Why not pay some hot one to just take a kiss from him. Hes over seven feet tall, that has to attract some women.

Jinder Mahal only had one match on televised television. If you want to use debuts to categorize people as average, poor or anything different, go back and look at The Miz. When he debuted he sucked and he improved over the years. There are way better examples for me to choose, but, that's the one which my fingers picked

In a month or two we can start this thread again and see if Jinder is still average. But judging him off one match is pretty nonsensical.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

I acknowledge his potential. He's the mouthpiece that Khali needed and it's good to see Khali back in his destructive heel form. Enough with the ridiculous kiss cams and stupidity. The heel turn was fun. Jinder Mahal isn't bad in the ring. The squash was to show Mahal and Khali's impact together. It sucks for Yoshi since he didn't even get a chance to throw in some offence, but it is what it is. I didn't enjoy Mahal's "finisher" though. It's an all too common move that we see being used as a signature. He needs to reinvent himself in that department. If that's his finisher, then we really aren't seeing anything distinctive. Oh yeah, and he in no way compares to Alberto Del Rio. Alberto Del Rio oozes charisma and has a killer finisher. This guy has hints of charisma, but we still need to see what more he can do before passing him off as a failure.

 

[mjdm]

I can't give a real opinion about him until I see him in an actual match. His promos so far have been decent, but theres nothing hes done so far to make a fan completly hate the guy. He definatly had potential, and we'll just have to wait and see what hes capable of.

I actually like his finnisher. People are saying its too generic or whatever... But other then The masterlock, I haven't seen any type of full nelson move in several years in the WWE. I think maybe he can tweak it a little bit for a bigger impact, but other than that. I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[gbswim972]

I love it... I see a ton of potential there!!!! I can see a possible Hassan type of character... not exactly, so he doesn't get fired for pissing off the SYFY network... But he has potential to be a huge heel!!! I'm behind his rise to the main roster!! possible future WHC!!! Orton vs Mahal???? could be a classic!!!

 

[JoonDaGr8One]

I think he has potential, he has a good look he speaks well and can wrestle. I don't have a problem with him speaking another language, he always repeats what he just said in english so its no big deal. I know its early but i think he can be a big time player sooner than later, i just hope they let him use his Sands of Time finisher in the future, it looks more devastating than the one he used on Smackdown.

 

[Ventana]

Jinder wont go anywhere in this business. He is nothing but a mid card and I believe once The Great Khali is done on this heel turn Jinder will slowly fade out of the WWE

 

[RavenChaos21]

Based on what I saw on Smackdown he looks interesting. hopefully this will give some much needed credibility to The Great Khali. He has only been in one match but he has potential to become a solid midcarder. I guess only time will tell. Right now he has me interested.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Jinder Mahal isnt anything special in the ring, I dont think he's nessecarily bad but I dont understand the buzz about him. I would compare his in-ring style to that of Drew McIntyre but not quite as good, he does show some talent on the mic though. But my first impression of him was this guy is nothing we should be getting excited about, unfortunatly it looks like he's being prepped for a push so i'll have to see more of him >_<

 

[Dagger Dias]

I don't like him. He has an annoying character, sucked in the backstage promos, and is nothing special in the ring. So he might be used to turn Khai heel. Big deal. Khali sucks even more than Jinder does. However something good will come out of Jinder if this means we will never see those comedic segments with Khali again because they were so awful that whoever wrote them shoud be fired.

 

[Cracka Jack]

He seemed solid, but that's it. It's still too early to tell what he can do. When he has a match that isn't a total squash, we should be able to say more about him, but as of now, there isn't enough to go on. His finisher is delivered well, but a full-nelson slam? Maybe twenty years ago, but not now. I can't say if he sells well, because nobody's gotten more than three or four hits in on him. He does seem to strike well, but that's just one part of working. In time he may be a star, but I can't tell for sure right now.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I really don't know how to feel about Mahal as of now. Having Khali as a shield/bodyguard can help. I can't stand Khali, but he is a giant, and he can be intimidating presence. Khali could help elevate Mahal, because Khali's presence does command attention.

Could Mahal become main event material? I think it's too early to ask this question. Mahal does have an impressive physique and look, but other than that, I don't see anything special in him. I don't see any signs of a superstar right now, but of course, this could all change with time and work.

 

[Notorious718]

I have very little interest in Mahal right now and care just as much about Kahli. That said, he's still young and has his whole career ahead of him. There's very little to say about his matches so far as they've been nothing more than squashes. Once he gets into a meaningful feud and works longer matches, I think I may change my opinion on him. Right now, he's just meh to me. Also, I hope his changes his finisher. The full nelson suplex doesn't work for me personally.

 

[Mac Attack]

My first impressions is this: he is getting the Kozlov debut push. Totally destorying opponent after opponent until I believe he gets his title shot. And the good thing about this time around is there is no ECW to screw this push. I honestly hope that he turns out to be the Kozlov that never was considering the fact that we haven't had a monster heel/lack of speaking english champion since the days of Umage. (I know he speaks English just not too often.) I hope for the best for him and honestly hope he is not used to boost the Khali but boost himself.

 

[StylezClash3:16]

I'm just hoping he doesn't end up another Muhammad Hassan. He has a mean look to him and but I can judge his mic skills just yet because we haven't heard him talk much. He's definitely a good wrestler and has a great finisher but he looks botch prone. My suggestion would be for him to slow it down and be more careful. If he continues to impress, there's no doubt he will be one of the biggest heels in the WWE.

 

[#hamler]

I don't like the dude. First, I do not think its fair in anyway for me to judge Jinder Mahal on his in ring action when he's only had a few minutes on Smackdown to showcase his so-called talent. However, going by first impressions, he did not do his job of impressing me. I do not understand how someone of that build dominates a match. He is tall, but also very average in build. I usually hate it win the WWE pushes a newcomer to dominating levels. Hopefully Mahal takes a while to get to the top. I don't like him, probably won't like him. Never will. He can leave tomorrow and I would not give two shits. But like I have been saying, it's a bit early to judge him on his work.