Mahal big winner in WWE shakeup
After the first full week with the WWE superstar shakeup, the big winner is Jinder Mahal.
Now in his second run in the WWE, Mahal was used as nothing more than a glorified enhancement wrestler on Raw since returning last year.
Now he will challenge Randy Orton for the WWE championship at Backlash next month.
His rise as a singles star picked up major steam this past Tuesday on Smackdown Live when he won the No. 1 contender鈥檚 six-pack challenge, albeit with help from the Singh Brothers.
While the WWE has tried to hot shot someone into instant superstardom many times, rarely does it work as the company hopes before the process begins.
The case that stands out the most to me within the last 15 years has to be JBL in 2004.
Then known as Bradshaw, he teamed with Ron Simmons as the APA at WrestleMania XX, and when they went separate ways in the WWE Draft, JBL was WWE champion less than two months later and held the title for almost a year before losing it to John Cena at Mania 21. So why has the WWE, or should I say, why has Vince McMahon gotten behind Mahal?
There have been several reasons given as possibilities.
WWE is trying to build its brand in India, where Mahal鈥檚 roots are from, so the company may be trying to build him as a star from that part of the world.
Another possibility is that McMahon is known for liking anti-American wrestlers, and Mahal, who lived in Canada for a good portion of his life, has the look of an anti-American.
Lastly, McMahon has always had a thing for guys who were built extremely well and Mahal definitely falls into this category.
Will WWE actually pull the trigger on Mahal winning the title?
My instant guess is no, but you never know what direction they may switch to and use.
The guess is that Orton would retain in the feud and eventually feud with either AJ Styles, Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura, but time will tell and only McMahon truly knows.
Mania main events locked in?
Speaking of Styles and Nakamura, the word is that Smackdown Live plans on building its Mania main event around a WWE championship match between the two.
Penciled in as Raw鈥檚 main event is Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns for the Universal championship.
Tag wrestler on IR
Dash Wilder, one-half of the tag team, The Revival, will be out for two months after suffering a broken jaw.
Currently, his jaw is wired shut.
Local fundraiser show
RYSE returns to Lemont Furnace when it presents 鈥淩YSE Salutes the Troops鈥� this coming Saturday at The Stronghold Arena.
All proceeds will go to the Vietnam Veteran Inc. of Fayette County.
The card is loaded and featured bouts include Dalton Throttle versus Christian Black, Tony Johnson takes on David Lawless, and the team of Lock And Loaded have issued an open challenge.
This week鈥檚 question: I know in other sports, athletes have taken a stand on issues like Ali and recently Colin Kapernick. In wrestling, Bruno took an issue with steroid use. Do you know of any other wrestlers who protested or took a stand on an issue? Phil Turlick, Monongahela.
There have been many pro wrestlers who have taken a stand on issues, but the one that came immediately to mind was the reaction to the Montreal Screwjob in 1997.
The back story was that then-WWF champion Bret Hart was leaving for WCW and had refused to lose the title to his real-life bitter enemy, Shawn Michaels.
So Vince McMahon came to the ring during the match and when Michaels put Hart in the champion鈥檚 patented Sharp Shooter, the WWE Chairman told the referee to call for the bell.
Michaels was awarded the win, and title, via submission although Hart never tapped out.
So over the next day, a lot of the wrestlers talked about boycotting Raw because of what McMahon had done to Hart and to take a stance.
Well, as bell time got closer and closer, wrestlers started showing up and decided not to protest.
That is, with the exception of Mick Foley.
Standing by his beliefs, Foley remained in his hotel room that night and was the only wrestler to take a stand.
More on Foley鈥檚 decision, and quotes form him about it, can be found at http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/18082924/mick-foley-montreal-screw-job-protest-dwayne-rock-johnson-president-2020.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III