10 Stages Of The WWE Championship’s Devolution: From Prize To Prop
1. Jinder Hinders The Prestige
Jinder Mahal became WWE Heavyweight champion at Backlash on May 21, 2017.
He was a categorical jobber before he captured it under the flimsy premise of SmackDown existing as the "Land of Opportunity"; in reality, WWE is now a risk-free enterprise which can allow itself the luxury of experimenting into emerging markets incompatible with the wants of established territories. There is no longer a Sammartino, a Hogan, an Austin. There's barely a Cena. WWE, a safeguarded publicly traded entity bereft of real competition, is the draw. One constant remains: McMahon's love of supernatural physiques and cheap heat, between which Mahal is the perfect marriage. This love has incited a maelstrom of hate within the audience - but McMahon's greatest trick is convincing his public that there is no other game in town. Look at the Dave Meltzer Tokyo Dome jokes for proof of that.
None of this is Mahal's fault. He was a gifted grafter in his role as comedy jobber in 3MB. And that, on the face of it, is it. His 2017 matches are tedious, his promos derivative and repetitive - and yet, his reign continues despite critical condemnation and empty arenas. The prestige of the WWE Heavyweight title has been tarnished because McMahon either cares nothing for it, or feels he can always restore it later. He's probably right. WWE is the only game in town.
We wanted to see if Hulk Hogan could surmount the Ultimate Challenge in 1990. We wanted to see 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin restore its identity as the barometer for legitimate superstardom in 1998. We wanted to see CM Punk escape with it and reshape it in his iconoclastic image in 2011. Nobody wants to see Jinder Mahal wear it in 2017 because the mentality behind it is years older than all of those classic moments.
It's the work of a disconnected autocrat indulging himself with retrograde thinking.