10 Ways The WWE Title Can Rebuild Its Tarnished Legacy
A long road to recovery for SmackDown's "top prize."
The WWE Title is in a terrible state.
Current champion Jinder Mahal was given the belt as a means of prompting growth in the untapped Indian market, but has only succeeded in killing his home brand. SmackDown is the pits at the moment, and while this is down to a multitude of crippling creative problems, Mahal, as the brand's figurehead, must take a share of the blame.
A career-long enhancement talent, 'The Maharaja' has stunk up the joint as champion, with his tasteless promos and dull, repetitive defences derailing many a show since he won the belt. Its deterioration started long before that, though: John Cena's 16th World Title win got the year off to a rocky start in January, and the less said about the Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton feud, the better.
The belt is but an old, dented trinket, and its prestige has evaporated. WWE now face the stern task of restoring what should be their top prize: fortunately, they have all the tools needed for such a repair job.
Whether WWE even want to rebuild the title is another matter entirely, but while righting 2017's wrongs won't be straightforward, it's far from impossible...
10. Get It Off Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal's rise from enhancement talent to WWE Champion was unprecedented. 'The Modern Day Maharaja' came out of nowhere, first winning a contender's six-pack challenge, then unseating Randy Orton at Backlash on 21 May, thus commencing PG Era's worst World Title reign.
The belt was already struggling under Orton, but has since sunk to staggering new lows. Jinder's heat-less feuds, screwy finishes, clear in-ring deficiencies, and occasional racism have rendered SmackDown's title scene unwatchable. It's a mess, and it's becoming increasingly apparent that the belt cannot recover until it's removed from Mahal's waist, which must happen immediately.
It's been five months. Ratings are as bad as ever, live attendances are tumbling, and Jinder still isn't getting over. There's no clear evidence to support the idea that his reign is popping business in India, with Network subscriptions actually down in the country since 'The Maharaja' took the gold. The experiment has failed. It's time to move on.
Almost anything would be an improvement on Mahal at this stage, but with Shinsuke Nakamura now out of the picture, WWE should take the next opportunity to pass the belt to Kevin Owens or AJ Styles.