Jinder Mahal vs Shinsuke Nakamura: Why the champion is not going to retain his title at SummerSlam 2017
Jinder Mahal shocked the world when he defeated WWE Champion Randy Orton, and grew from little more than an enhancement talent to the face of the company.
This was seemingly to capture the 1.4 billion strong Indian market, one teeming with opportunities and WWE-crazy fans. We saw a trilogy of matches between Orton and Mahal for the title, which may not have rivaled the Okada-Omega trilogy, but were still solid clashes. In each of them, Mahal persevered and stood triumphantly.
Live commentary: WWE Summerslam 2017 results
Unfortunately, all good (and even not-so-good) things must come to an end, and we believe that the reign of The Modern Day Maharaja will conclude at SummerSlam.
Unfortunately, quarterly reports from India indicate that Mahal's reign had little to no impact upon their business across the diverse nation.
While he has improved exponentially as an in-ring performer and his promos are better, he is nowhere close to main event level, even now. In many ways, the undercard often outperforms him, because of veterans such as AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and their ilk.
Mahal has a great look and a drive to better himself at every opportunity. Unfortunately, that is not enough. The betting odds indicate that Nakamura is the heavy favourite to win at the grandest showcase of the summer.
Add to the fact that WWE has not helped matters by having him cut the same promo, over and over again, and made him portay himself as an outdated 80s foreign heel.
Shinsuke Nakamura has proved just how dominant a champion he can be with his fantastic NXT run. He's a far better in-ring performer, and while he may not have great command of the English language, his crazy mannerisms and charisma make up for it.
SmackDown Live has a stacked heel roster, and Nakamura can have compelling feuds with several of these men.
Because of the reasons we have outlined, we believe that the Maharaja's reign that lasted most of the summer, will end at the biggest show of the summer in Brooklyn.
Join us in a few hours and find out if our prediction does indeed come true, as SummerSlam begins. It's time for a new King, and he's the "King of Strong Style"!