WWE Rumors: Original no.1 contender for the WWE title was never supposed to be Jinder Mahal
What’s the story?
On a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that the WWE had originally planned for Baron Corbin to challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Backlash.
However, the company’s original plans were changed and Canadian-Indian WWE Superstar Jinder Mahal instead received the push that was to initially be accorded to Corbin.
In case you didn’t know...
The WWE recently launched the WWE Shop in the city of Mumbai which is widely regarded as the financial capital of India. The company addressed its Indian fanbase via its official website regarding the same.
According to several reports, the WWE is looking to expand its global following and given the fact that India constitutes one of the biggest markets for the organisation, the WWE higher-ups have decided to accord a push to Mahal who is of Indian origin.
The heart of the matter
According to Meltzer, the WWE is high on Baron Corbin and if one is to believe the rumor-mill, The Lone Wolf will be getting a big push in the near future replete with a potentially new entrance theme.
Nevertheless, the company has reportedly put those plans on the backburner for now, given that Mahal will challenge Orton for the WWE title at the SmackDown brand’s pay-per-view Backlash.
What’s next?
The reigning WWE champ Randy Orton will first have to get past Bray Wyatt in his House of Horrors match at WWE Payback on April 30th. If Orton escapes the Eater of the Worlds at Payback, Jinder Mahal will compete against him for the WWE belt at Backlash on May 21st at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
Author’s take
The WWE has made an excellent move as far as its global expansion plans are concerned, by promoting a Canadian-Indian star in Mahal to main-event status. However, one can’t deny that the company’s fanbase in the US has not taken to well to Jinder being booked in a WWE championship matchup, with several fans in the States trolling the company regarding the same.
Be that as it may, as long as WWE book Baron Corbin well and look to involve him into the storyline of the blue brand’s top prize after Backlash, their temporary main-event push of Jinder won’t hinder (pun intended) their future storylines, and will serve to both – strengthen their following in India as well as maintain their fanbase in the US.
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