10 Big Questions About Jinder Mahal As WWE Champion
6. Will Morale Suffer Or Improve?
Attitude Era stars have often spoke of a fiercely competitive locker room during the late-90s that was in-part cultivated by Jim Ross' penchant for hiring potential stars with legitimate sporting backgrounds. Their naturally competitive fire meshed well with WWE's dog-eat-dog framework, which ultimately helped produce the best product overall for the company.
Steve Austin echoed the philosophy many held for their career in countless interviews and even his famed 'Desire' video package. Opining that if he wasn't in the business to be WWE Champion, why be in the business at all, the message was that everybody should constantly be working to be the best, not just slot in or fulfil a role on the show.
Times are different now, and from the outside looking in, it appears that a certain cordiality exists amongst the performers. Though far from being a socialist environment, there does seem to be a greater enjoyment of the shared pursuit of glory, rather than a feverish bloodthirsty battle for the top spot.
To this end, Jinder's friends and colleagues were possibly thrilled to see the perennial loser airlifted out of lower card oblivion and placed on the highest pedestal. A reminder that if the machine wants it enough, it really can happen to anybody, Mahal's meteoric rise will go down in wrestling history.
However, the shallow reminders of his race and sudden muscularity will remain an asterisk. This cynical (but possibly no less true) outlook may in fact instil a sense of failed acceptance in performers with less of a geographical or physical gift.