SmackDown! LIVE 4/18 - Who will be Randy Orton's next challenger?

[Lock Jaw]

Were those the Bollywood Boyz..... they are pretty bad too..... Hopefully the three of them together can turn this around.......

Jinder Mahal #1 contender..... wow...... outta nowhere......

[Lock Jaw]

Jinder pulling the wealthy foreigner card.....

[Lock Jaw]

Screw it. Give Jinder Mahal the title and have him, with the help of the Bollywood Boyz, always sneak out a win. Give him a JBL-like outta nowhere title push and reign.

I'm all in now.

[Lock Jaw]

Can Jinder's veins squeeze the life out of a viper

[Lock Jaw]

You may walk into the house of whores a boy but you will leave a man

[Lock Jaw]

The Artist Known as Shinsuke Nakamura..........

Second week in a row they have called him this......

[Lock Jaw]

Naomi grabbing herself Charlotte's booby..... nice......

[Lock Jaw]

Whoa, the champion lost the non-title match

Could never have seen this coming

Totally blindsided

[Lock Jaw]

Enjoyed that match, though....... think Naomi has "upped her game" recently.....

Will look forward to seeing it happen again next week.....

[Lock Jaw]

Think that next week Nattie, Carmella, and Tamina will run in and ruin the title match.....

[Lock Jaw]

Charlotte face turn definitely on the way....... in my opinion......

[Lock Jaw]

Primo/Epico need new gear if they aren't going to be called "The Shining Stars" anymore.....

[Lock Jaw]

Jason Jordan dropping the straps and going "crazy" to zero reaction

[Lock Jaw]

Primo/Epico with the "slowed down" heel remix theme....... except they were already heels.....

[Lock Jaw]

Weird how Jinder Mahal and Aariyah Daivari would both add "wealthy" to their "evil foreigner" gimmicks on the same night......

[Lock Jaw]

Lanalina coming soon..... in 12 more weeks.....

[Ruien]

"lol" at Jinder Mahal being in this six pack match.

Mojo Rawley also "bad"

WTF at Jinder winning

:lol:

[Lock Jaw]

Kevin Owens doing the "evil foreigner" gimmick now too...... lot of evil foreigners right now.....

[Simple Fan]

Kevin Owens doing the "evil foreigner" gimmick now too...... lot of evil foreigners right now.....

Rusev will return pro America and Lana won't be Russian anymore.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Also we should start calling Mahal's fanbase Jinder Benders.

https://am22.akamaized.net/tms/cnt/uploads/2016/12/Gender-Bender-02.jpg

[Ultra Mantis]

Decided to make a list of currently active members of the Smackdown roster who I would rather see in a main event world title match instead of Jinder Mahal:

AJ Styles
Fandango
Shinsuke Nakamura
Luke Harper
Big E
Kevin Owens
Dolph Ziggler
The Demon Kane
Tyler Breeze
Sami Zayn
Chad Gable
Jason Jordan
Tye Dillinger
Aiden English
Primo Colón
Jimmy Uso
Xavier Woods
Becky Lynch
Konnor from The Ascension
Erick Rowan
The Road Dogg
Jey Uso
Epico Colón
Viktor from The Ascension
Baron Corbin
Sin Cara

[Sepholio]

You forgot Ellsworth.

[Ultra Mantis]

If Ellsworth gets on the juice he can go in above Corbin.

[Sepholio]

I'll let him know. I mean it worked for Jinder.

[Ultra Mantis]

Ellsworth was way over before his main event run. If only he had that grotesque veiny physique, he could have been the next big crossover star.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Decided to make a list of currently active members of the Smackdown roster who I would rather see in a main event world title match instead of Jinder Mahal:

AJ Styles
Fandango
Shinsuke Nakamura
Luke Harper
Big E
Kevin Owens
Dolph Ziggler
The Demon Kane
Tyler Breeze
Sami Zayn
Chad Gable
Jason Jordan
Tye Dillinger
Aiden English
Primo Colón
Jimmy Uso
Xavier Woods
Becky Lynch
Konnor from The Ascension
Erick Rowan
The Road Dogg
Jey Uso
Epico Colón
Viktor from The Ascension
Baron Corbin
Sin Cara

You forgot Ellsworth.

And The Shockmaster.

[Ultra Mantis]

And The Shockmaster.

No.

[Cool King]

Fuck y'all who are shitting all over Mahal's push.

This is the freshest thing that's happened in such a long time. After having Raw be "The Triple H & Stephanie Show" for three years and having the show revolve around The Authority and whoever they were feuding with while SmackDown was being "Raw-lite" and a recap show for Raw, Mahal being number one contender is really refreshing.

There's been complaints in the past about how nothing really changes and how we're always treated to Reigns always looking good and another Orton title reign and there's even still complaints about Cena, but when a new face is entered into the title scene, these people that complain about the lack of change, complain about the change. The same thing happened when Jack Swagger became World Heavyweight Champion.

I think what's going on on SmackDown is great and refreshing. We have Mahal being number one contender, AJ Styles chasing the US title and I think he can do for the US title, what Miz did for the Intercontinental title and we also have something that the IWC has wanted for a long time, Primo & Epico to be a legitimate tag team and not some gimmick for "the kids". They're The Colóns now. This is something I've been reading on so many wishlists online for years now and it's finally happened. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Carlito did return and people bitched about that even though that's on the wishlist of some people too.

SmackDown is looking good right now and quite interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens from now until Backlash. Mahal has only been number one contender for three days now and there's people that are already ridiculing the decision or acting like it's the worst thing that has ever happened.

Mahal being number one contender could only last up until Backlash if he loses. After that, we could get a new number one contender, which would most likely be someone we've seen in the title scene before and I'm sure there would be complains about that, but it's only four weeks at the least that people who don't like the decision have to "put up" with Mahal. Y'all managed to "put up" with Cena when pretty much everyone didn't like decisions surrounding him and y'all are still standing. Four weeks is nothing.

However, if Mahal does win at Backlash and his push continues, I'm going to be very interested to see how opinions to Mahal change from now until his push ends but again, that's only if he wins at Backlash, which I really hope he does.

[Cool King]

I don't know where I've picked up this habit of saying "y'all" from.

[Evil Vito]

Orton/Jinder is, at best, the third most important feud on SmackDown. Owens/Styles makes the US Title look important and worth fighting over, and Nakamura/Ziggler will be hyped heavily for Nak's first on-screen main roster match.

Do you really want them to sacrifice a guy like Luke Harper on a tertiary feud for a minor PPV?

[Evil Vito]

Best case scenario, Jinder actually looks credible in this feud, his jobber past is put behind him, and he's somebody they can insert near the top of the card as needed.

Worst case scenario, they have a nothing match and WWE start building towards Orton's next proper program against Corbin, Owens, etc.

[Ultra Mantis]

Mahal is really, really shit though. He might be "fresh", but that just makes him a fresh shit. He is terrible and will forever be terrible.

If we're bringing back Carlito lets just have him in the main event instead.

[Cool King]

I really fail to see what makes him "shit" though.

When you compare him to another name that's been thrown about when the subject of "future main eventer" is brought up, Corbin, he's better than him in every way.

• Mahal's mic work is good, which is something that can't be said for Corbin. Mahal makes you listen when he talks. Corbin makes you sleepy when he talks.

• Mahal is entertaining in the ring, as his matches can be different depending on who he's facing. They can be fast, slow, stiff, technical, whereas most of all of Corbin's matches are slow as fuck, because he's slow as fuck. I'll give it to Corbin that he has "short bursts" of energy where some moves look devastating, like his clotheslines but waiting on those "short bursts" is like waiting for death.

• Mahal's look is both "traditional" but "different". The dude looks evil and is pretty ripped. He actually looks intimidating whereas with Corbin, you've got someone who doesn't look intimidating in the slightest. You just have a tall balding man with spaghetti hair that has a torso that's so doughy that he was told to cover up and he's done that by wearing cheap ugly wolf T-shirts while wearing Braun Strowman's trousers.

Why do you think Mahal is so terrible?

[Evil Vito]

People are just trying to hinder Jinder

[Sepholio]

Bray is winning the title now. IJS.

[Simple Fan]

I like how Smackdown is booked kind of like a indy promotion. Its a good one off program that buys Nakamura time to get used to the main roster befor throwing him into the main event. Smackdown is stacked at the top and this builds up the weak mid card they have so it makes sense. With the US title having the former Universal and WWE champions fighting over it beefing up the mid card is definitely needed.

Mahal being in the main event at Backlash is fine with me and I hope he has a good showing. I dont expect him to win but the match should be used to legitimize Jinder to the point where him being #1 contender or the US champ doesnt feel like a joke. Him winning though would be a huge shocker but I wouldn't be against it if he can pull off the evil foreigner gimmick.

[Ultra Mantis]

He's really boring, both in ring and as a character. He's not the worst wrestler on the roster, but absolutely nothing he does in-ring looks great, the only thing about him that pops are his veins. His gimmick is uninspired, overdone and unoriginal. His post match promo was just growling off a checklist of things that should get heel heat. Blah.

I also think Baron Corbin is super boring and don't like him either, hence why he is so low on the list.

[XL]

I think that most people "get" the situation with Jinder; there's other strong programmes happening on the show/they don't want to burn through title/programmes with Orton/Nakamura, Orton/Owens, Orton/AJ, Owens/AJ, etc as they've limited pieces to play with on SmackDown.

I understand your stance CK, and I'm sure most agree that getting fresh faces in the main event picture is needed - even if they don't agree that that face should be Jinder Mahal. I think most people's criticism lies in the execution.

Jinder Mahal has a 17% WWE career win record.
He's lost his last 11 televised matches.
His last singles win on Raw/SmackDown/PPV was September 2016, prior to that August 2012.

And suddenly he's the #1 Contender to the most prestigious championship in the world of wrestling.

I can see why people might find that adjustment difficult.

[Simple Fan]

He's really boring, both in ring and as a character. He's not the worst wrestler on the roster, but absolutely nothing he does in-ring looks great, the only thing about him that pops are his veins. His gimmick is uninspired, overdone and unoriginal. His post match promo was just growling off a checklist of things that should get heel heat. Blah.

I also think Baron Corbin is super boring and don't like him either, hence why he is so low on the list.

I dont disagree, Mahal has never been real entertaining outside of 3MB and was probably the worst of the three. Im willing to see where they go with this and if it adds anything to Mahal's character. I like Corbin though, his character is a bit bland but I think he's solid in the ring and has gotten alot better in the last year working with guys like Styles and Ambrose. Really dont think the Lone Wolf gimmick is right for him though and he could use a valet or a manager.

[Simple Fan]

Jinder Mahal has a 17% WWE career win record.
He's lost his last 11 televised matches.
His last singles win on Raw/SmackDown/PPV was September 2016, prior to that August 2012.

And suddenly he's the #1 Contender to the most prestigious championship in the world of wrestling.


Welcome to Smackdown Live, the land of opportunity.

[Lock Jaw]

https://threemanbooth.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fc9a7-2355344-1351569694392.gif

[Big Vic]

Could have sworn Jinder just beat Rusev recently.

[#1-norm-fan]

I understand your stance CK, and I'm sure most agree that getting fresh faces in the main event picture is needed - even if they don't agree that that face should be Jinder Mahal. I think most people's criticism lies in the execution.

Jinder Mahal has a 17% WWE career win record.
He's lost his last 11 televised matches.
His last singles win on Raw/SmackDown/PPV was September 2016, prior to that August 2012.

And suddenly he's the #1 Contender to the most prestigious championship in the world of wrestling.

I love when random midcarders get title shots occasionally. It's old school. Makes things feel fresh. Also, it's an easy way to just add to the champion's credibility a little without blowing through a bigger feud while there's other major things going on. Plus, even in a loss, the midcarder should come out more credible.

That being said, I don't even know if Jinder could be considered a midcarder. lol

He was a jobber even all the way up to a week before he became number one contender. Not to mention the absurdity of AJ Styles winning a #1 contenders match for the US Title, thus eliminating himself from a WORLD title #1 contenders match that was won by Jinder Mahal...

[Heisenberg]

Jinder's build to his shot seemed to boil off his Instagram promo where he shot down rumors of steroids and told the world no one out-diets/trains him. Plus, his post-match promo and Talking Smack appearance really explain why he's in that spot. The Land of Opportunity Maggal. white honkies who think Jesus is an actual person hate the Mahal

[#1-norm-fan]

Does DAMN iNATOR hate Mahal?

[XL]

Apparently they've just put Mahal into what was supposed to be Rusev's push which would halfway explain the sudden shift into the anti-American gimmick.

[#1-norm-fan]

The "You Americans hate diversity" line made me think of Muhammad Hassan. RIP

[Heisenberg]

Does DAMN iNATOR hate Mahal?



He sure as hell does, Mahal is going to make a lot of people upset and it's money. I'm all in for Heath Slater getting the Universal Title, Drew getting the NXT strap and Mahal hoisting the WWE title just to say they are the 3 Man Brand

[Shadrick]

I like Jinder as no. 1 contender. I haven't seen it before. It's fresh. Good to see what he can do when put into that position. Looking forward to it.

[erickman]

He sure as hell does, Mahal is going to make a lot of people upset and it's money. I'm all in for Heath Slater getting the Universal Title, Drew getting the NXT strap and Mahal hoisting the WWE title just to say they are the 3 Man Brand

and ryno is there roadie eating crackers and cheese

[DAMN iNATOR]

Does DAMN iNATOR hate Mahal?

Not the man himself, just how roided up he is. I mean, you'd think they wouldn't make him do so to a point where it wasn't so obvious, but it might just be a condition of this push he's receiving.

Frankly, if he takes the title from Orton @ Backlash a little under a month from now, I'm all for it.

[mike adamle]

Yeah nobody can get jacked without the use of steroids

[Mr. Pierre]

Mahal was awesome on Tuesday. Legit heat, whatta concept.

I'm all for this push. Guy looks great, and has good delivery in his promos. He seems hungry for success to me.

Was his promo oldschool and done before? Of course. But it generated legit hate boos, which is so rare these days.

I know it's early, but he seems like he's a heel that's not interested in being cool and selling t-shirts. He's a character that people will pay to see lose and help every babyface in the process.

I hope it works out for Mahal, big fan

[mike adamle]

At first I thought this might be a reward for being one of the few guys to accept the return offer last year but then I remembered Curt Hawkins lack of success

[DAMN iNATOR]

Yeah nobody can get jacked without the use of steroids

You don't look the way Mahal does just from "working out". He's juicing big time.

[mike adamle]

I forgot you were a bodybuilding expert.

I have a friend who doesn't juice who is in the gym 24/7 and is jacked like that. Like I said, not everyone needs to cheat. Just because you can't get your ass in the gym and look like that doesn't mean everyone has that problem.

[Vastardikai]

He also has severe backne.

[mike adamle]

So does my 30 year old brother

[Ruien]

You don't look the way Mahal does just from "working out". He's juicing big time.

Are you living the character of being a dumbass now?

[Cool King]

You don't look the way Mahal does just from "working out". He's juicing big time.

You're right, you don't look the way Mahal does just from working out. You look the way Mahal does by also reducing your body fat, which is what Mahal has done, big time.

He's also completely changed his training regime and completely cut out alcohol.

He's pretty much now a bodybuilder who also wrestles.

[mike adamle]

Maybe by juicing damninator is trying to say jinder is dieting since juice is healthy