10 Most Over Wrestlers In WWE Today

10. Jinder Mahal

The true extent to which Jinder Mahal has connected with fans will only become apparent when the curiosity buzz dies down.

His WWE Championship win at Backlash was received with shock; the preceding match, when not bogged down by Randy Orton's trademark glacial pace, was very heated - but then, it took place in Chicago, the most molten WWE crowd there is. The metrics are geared in Mahal's immediate favour. WWE promised a "Punjabi Celebration" on the ensuing SmackDown - a different and thus intriguing sort of angle to which fans are accustomed. The gambit paid off; the rating spiked. That might be a reflection on the shocking booking decision more so than the man himself, an observation vindicated by the tepid chants of "USA!" to which Mahal was subjected.

The sight of Mahal in the headline slot, carrying around the WWE Title, is still totally bizarre. His heat might subside, along with the novelty factor. Then again, Mahal is a new breed of heel in that he mines a postmodern heat.

Fans perceive him as an average-at-best worker, and resent him because he has failed to meet their increasing expectations of excellent in-ring performance. How effective (and how lasting) that heat is cannot yet be gauged.