7 Gimmick Changes WWE Tried In 2017
2. Jinder Mahal
Think back to Jinder Mahal's Raw return on August 1, 2016 alongside Heath Slater. After both threatened to put the 3MB group back together (without Drew McIntyre), Mahal turned on Heath before adopting a 'Man Of Peace' gimmick. He did this without leaning too heavily on Indian stereotypes. That's remarkable in itself.
When Jinder was later drafted to SmackDown as part of the Superstar Shapeup last April, nobody thought much of it. His random team with Rusev had come to an end anyway, and Mahal would be able to fill some TV spots as enhancement talent on Tuesday nights. Then, in the mother of all shocks, he was booked on the fast track to WWE Championship success.
It wasn't until Mahal had beaten Randy Orton to win the title that he started cutting anti-American promos again, just like he had back in 2011, touting his Indian heritage. The 'Man Of Peace' was gone, and in its place stood an egotistical 'Maharaja' who believed his own hype.
He was alone in his assessment.