10 Biggest Beneficaries Of WWE Talking Smack
6. Jinder Mahal
Admit it: You couldn't help but chuckle when Jinder Mahal appeared on the 11 April edition of Talking Smack, fresh off his SmackDown Live debut, and claimed he was a future WWE champion.
Mind you, earlier that evening, he lost to Mojo Rawley in decisive fashion, but it was only one week later that he shockingly became the new No. 1 contender to the WWE title. It's unknown how far back it had been planned to push Mahal, but I'm sure his promo on that Talking Smack helped his cause. He came across like a real person for a change and seemed very determined to start anew on Tuesday nights.
Since then, his appearances on Talking Smack have gradually gotten better and better and have easily been the best promos he has ever cut in his career. Oddly enough, those mic skills have yet to translate to SmackDown Live, where he has been saying the same things over and over for months on end.
Again, perhaps it was the unscripted nature of Talking Smack that allowed Mahal to shine, making it all the more frustrating that he hasn't been booked properly as WWE champion thus far.