WWE News: Jinder Mahal Calls Himself The ‘New American Dream,’ Latest Odds To Win Title At ‘Backlash’ PPV?
The newest WWE superstar to get a push, Jinder Mahal, is feeling confident he will take away Randy Orton’s championship when Backlash arrives next month. Mahal, who won a Sixpack Challenge Match on this past Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, appeared on the WWE Network immediately after for an interview. During his segment on the set, he was asked by SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon how he was feeling about his upcoming match, and Jinder gave some interesting responses.
According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Jinder appeared on Tuesday’s Talking Smack program and was interviewed by show host Renee Young and the SmackDown Commissioner, Shane McMahon.
Jinder mentioned that being booed after defeating five other superstars felt horrible, but then added he will prove to them why he is where is right now.
“I’m gonna get the respect. Because when I become World Heavyweight Champion I’m gonna become The New American Dream.”
It became quickly apparent with his victory that the fans in attendance were delivering the boos mostly because it was such an unexpected top contender to arrive after suffering two-straight losses. Before leaving the Raw roster in the “Superstar Shake-up,” Mahal lost to Finn Balor and then lost to Mojo Rawley once he joined the SmackDown brand. However, he quickly surprised everyone by pinning Sami Zayn in the Sixpack Challenge, thanks to some outside help from “The Bollywood Boyz,” or as they’re now known, The Singh Brothers.
Is @JinderMahal feeling confident as the new #1Contender to the @WWE Championship after staring down @RandyOrton? #TalkingSmack pic.twitter.com/joMrinHOco
— WWE (@WWE) April 20, 2017
The strong booing could be a good thing, especially to help develop Jinder as a top heel. It’s clear that WWE may have shifted plans to use Jinder, rather than another star right now. It’s been pointed out by several analysts, including Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, that it’s possible WWE is keeping Corbin away from Orton and the title for now. Meltzer also speculated that maybe Rusev was intended to be Orton’s opponent at this point in time, but Rusev is currently hurt. That left Jinder as the next quick option for a heel opponent.
When it comes down to Jinder Mahal’s chances to win the championship from Randy Orton, he’s quite confident, based on his rant on Talking Smack.
“He knows I’m younger than him, I’m faster than him. I’m in better conditioning than him. I’m in better shape than him. He should have every reason to be nervous of me. Why would I be nervous of him?”
An article featured at WWE Leaks, a website devoted to betting odds for professional wrestling matches and propositions, discussed hypothetical odds for the upcoming World Championship match. As the author notes, he talked to an odds maker who suggested he would give Randy Orton odds of 1-100 as a huge favorite to win at WWE Backlash. Jinder Mahal would have odds of 16-1 to win the match, meaning a $100 bet would pay out $1,600 should Jinder Mahal become the next WWE World Champion.
Interestingly, WWE recently released its Top 10 Power Rankings for the past week, following WrestleMania and the “Superstar Shake-Up.” As of April 20, the rankings featured most of the top stars one would expect such as Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns to make up the top three. The Hardy Boys, Neville, Bayley, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and Dean Ambrose were all featured, as was Braun Strowman. However, Jinder Mahal was nowhere on that list. One has to think that he’ll at least pop up on next week’s list from WWE as they start to push him towards his big pay-per-view match.
Following #WrestleMania and the #SuperstarShakeup, which of YOUR favorite @WWE Superstars sits atop the latest #WWEPowerRankings?! pic.twitter.com/jLyNZoE19Q
— WWE (@WWE) April 20, 2017
From a predictions standpoint, it seems as if Jinder’s newest gimmick will involve his two helpers, the Singh Brothers, assisting him to get wins in his various matchups. So quite possibly, there will be a disqualification finish in the WWE Backlash title match or Orton will find a way to thwart the heels and successfully retain his World Championship. Still, one has to admire the latest attempt of WWE to build up a brand new heel, seemingly out of thin air, after he was jobbing for several months to other stars.
[Featured Image by WWE]
