10 Times WWE Got "The Guy" Wrong

Making genuine, world-beating stars is one of the biggest challenges WWE faces these days.

Anyone the company does try to elevate to the position of 'The Guy' is inevitably held up to the standards of generations past, a comparison from which they almost always come off second best. He's good, the fans say, but is he really Stone Cold Steve Austin-level good?

Speaking of the fans, it is they who decide whether to accept a potential heir to the main event throne as a credible top-level star. And when they decide that they aren't up to the task, things can turn very ugly, very fast.

All of this is to say that it's a tough job choosing who should be given this chance of a lifetime. The company can leave it completely down to crowd reaction, of course, but the crowd have a tendency to lionise some of its more unreliable employees.

Should they then bow to the pressure of audience demand? Or stick to their guns and continue to push the musclebound guy with the chiseled jaw who will work 300 nights a year and look good on the side of the tour bus?

Whatever they do, there's a good chance they'll get it wrong.

The received wisdom that putting the WWE Championship on Jinder Mahal's shoulder would drive new commercial opportunities in India seemed like a sound one, on paper.

Until now, though, we're yet to see any evidence that it has worked, and since the company felt the need to enlist the help of The Great Khali - for one night only - to help him get over at Battleground, there's reason to believe it hasn't (at least not to the extent they'd hoped).

As for the wrestling side of things, Jinder has shown tremendous improvement since taking the mantle of SmackDown's leading man - there are few who can match him when it comes to an intense promo, for example - but he continues to disappoint in the ring.