10 Worst WWE Gimmicks Of 2017

2. "Unhindered" Jinder Mahal

Jason Jordan Vegetables
WWE.com

Everything about 2017 vintage Jinder Mahal screamed "midcard!"

1991 midcard.

Which made his reign as WWE Heavyweight Champion - in 2017, a year defined by absurdly brilliant wrestling - that much more mystifying. Tedious, limited and repetitive in the ring, Mahal's title win at Chicago's Backlash was notable for its novelty heat - but elsewhere, the returns were as diminished as they were derivative. Virtually every marquee Mahal match ended with the interference of the Singh Brothers, which, if nothing else, deftly underscored the profound lack of imagination that led us to this point. The Singh Brothers were never deterred from this constant interference, proving that nothing matters - which, again, deftly underscored why Vince McMahon was allowed to go on with this farce for as long as he was: with no genuine competition opposing him, he can do as he pleases.

Mercifully, the mass rejection of the embryonic Survivor Series moved him from his slumber.

McMahon loves bellowing, alliteration, foreign heels, and bodybuilder physiques. The grotesquely-veined, cheap racial-baiting Modern Day MahaRAJA was his ugliest vision of sports entertainment, manifested.

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!