10 Things You May Have Missed From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jun 18)
9. Jinder's Throwback
'The Modern Day Maharaja' was in rebound mode last night. He lost a dismal match to Roman Reigns at Money In The Bank, and found himself booked against poor old Chad Gable, who is now firmly positioned as an enhancement talent.
Jinder decided to get on the microphone beforehand, but it wasn't his usual generic foreign heel diatribe. Instead, Mahal said that he felt the "winds of change" after losing to 'The Big Dog.' In defeat, he experienced self-improvement, and unlike Reigns, he has found tranquility and inner peace.
It's a sharp left turn for Mahal, who has played a basic Indian boogeyman since his unlikely 2017 ascension. It's nothing new, though. Jinder's zen-like 'Man Of Peace' phase was entirely forgettable, as he was barely on television at the time, but the former WWE Champion worked a similar gimmick in summer 2016, claiming than he had replaced internal rage and anger with serenity.
This led into his short-lived tag team with Rusev, which was split after Fastlane 2017. Are WWE now reverting back to that character? Time will tell, but it certainly seemed that way last night.