10 Wrestlers Lumbered With Dead On Arrival Gimmicks

9. Jinder Mahal

Maria Mike Kanellis
WWE.com

Jinder Mahal returned to WWE screens in 2016, ostensibly, to artificially cast the diluted, split RAW roster as bigger stars in contrast to him. He was there to stare at the lights in filler segments. That was about it.

But it wasn't enough. Before suddenly deciding they wanted to steal a march on Impact Wrestling and monetise their immense presence in India, WWE had Mahal announce backstage that he came to WWE "in peace". He came to an organisation in which its performers must do combat to advance, and he did so "in peace". Which, for those who cannot hack the density of Leo Tolstoy's work, is the opposite of the war WWE stars must wage as the primary responsibility of their role as professional wrestlers.

Mahal had apparently "trekked in the Himalayas" and "spent time in the monasteries" in order to find inner peace. This was such an eye-rolling amalgam of Indian cliche that it's a wonder some birdbrained writer stopped short of saying he'd worked in a convenience store.

This didn't get over, of course. It had no chance. Some buddhist subsets do practise martial arts, but it's not as if Mahal claimed this zen approach helped his in-ring balance or anything. He simply droned on about tranquility because he's foreign.

That was about the size of it.

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!