10 Main Event Wrestling Gimmicks That NOBODY Liked

5. Jinder Mahal: WWE Champion

Chris Jericho Painmaker
WWE

WWE spent so long taking the absolute piss out of its fanbase that they effectively created their own competition in All Elite Wrestling.

With as much contempt for narrative continuity as what the base audibly wanted, certain characters were forced onto the 'Universe'. What an ironic bit of Vince-speak this was; the audience did the opposite of expand, with babyface Roman Reigns on top, and Jinder Mahal represented the nadir. At least Roman was miscast, with his evident star appeal squandered. Jinder Mahal was a cosplay headliner, a pathetically anachronistic 'foreign menace' type pushed, transparently and with zero effort, because WWE fancied breaking into the Indian market.

It was impossible to take Mahal seriously. Vince thought you were goldfish who wouldn't care that Mahal began 2017 jobbing to Big Cass in four minutes because he didn't care, either.

Worse, the generic Mahal reigned as WWE Champion at the precise moment that the fashionable in-ring style boasted by NJPW exploded into a new stratosphere; plainly, WWE in 2017 was the literal opposite of what the hardcore fan wanted, and, enabled by the rights fees revolution, AEW was then able to exist as the pitched opposite of it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!