WWE News: Jinder Mahal receives new tag partner in SmackDown Live dark match
What's the story?
The Singh Brothers moved back to 205 Live after the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-Up, leaving Jinder Mahal without any allies following his switch to SmackDown Live.
With WWE short of tag teams on the blue brand, Mahal teamed up with an unlikely new partner in a dark match before the May 7 episode of SmackDown went on the air.
In case you didn't know…
Jinder Mahal moved to SmackDown Live in the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up and quickly established himself as one of the most prominent stars on the brand, winning the WWE Championship from Randy Orton before holding the title for five months.
With The Singh Brothers by his side, “The Modern Day Maharaja” also won the United States Championship at WrestleMania 34 but he struggled to make an impact on Raw following his move to the brand in the 2018 Shake-Up.
Now that he has been moved back to Tuesday nights, the former WWE champion is without a storyline and he is yet to compete in a match on SmackDown Live since returning to the show.
The heart of the matter
Having competed in several pre-recorded Main Event matches during his time on Raw, Jinder Mahal was used in a similar position on this week’s SmackDown Live, teaming with Shelton Benjamin in an untelevised match which took place before the show went on the air.
The duo were defeated by Heavy Machinery’s Otis & Tucker, who went on to have a brief backstage confrontation with new SmackDown Tag Team champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan on SmackDown Live.
What's next?
It is unknown whether Jinder Mahal and Shelton Benjamin will become a permanent tag team moving forward.
Both men have struggled for singles success over the last year, especially Mahal, while Benjamin has occasionally impressed in one-on-one matches against the likes of Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton but his best run in recent years came when he teamed with Chad Gable.
Given that the SmackDown tag division has been decimated by the Shake-Up, perhaps we will see these two form a team on television soon.