WWE SmackDown Live Division Power Rankings: Jinder Mahal Rises to Face Randy Orton

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The SmackDown Live World Title Picture

Highlights of the Division

The Six-Pack Challenge for the No. 1 Contender spot for the WWE Championship was randomly announced in a commercial package on Raw and nobody was a fan of the competitors involved in the match. One of those men who got the biggest hate from wrestling fans was Jinder Mahal and rightly so. Since coming back to the WWE last summer, Mahal was essentially an enhancement talent till this past Tuesday night.

The unthinkable happened and Jinder Mahal has a shot to become the WWE Champion at Backlash next month. I’m probably in the minority but I’m rooting for his success after watching his segment on Talking Smack with Renee Young and Shane McMahon. He seems like a guy who’s determined to get what he wants and the fact that he’s teamed up with the Bollywood Boyz should propel him to greater heights on SmackDown Live.

As for Randy Orton, he did exactly what he needed to do and confronted Mahal after his big win and laid down the gauntlet for their upcoming match-up. It may look like the Viper is poised to retain his title against Bray Wyatt at Payback and send him back to Raw for good.

AJ Styles secured a much-needed win against the “Lone Wolf” Baron Corbin in the main event of SmackDown Live. With Kevin Owens sitting on commentary, the Phenomenal One showcased to his potential opponent that he’ll be the one to claim the right to be the Face of America—and not his Canadian counterpart. It’s disappointing though that AJ isn’t competing for a deserved shot at the WWE title but SmackDown Live is the land of opportunity—so we’ll see how the title picture shapes up after Backlash concludes the next month.    

Let’s see the rankings for the division this week.

WWE World Champion: Randy Orton (8 Wins – 3 Losses)

Contenders

• No.1 Contender: Bray Wyatt (4 Wins – 4 Losses)
• Contender No. 2: John Cena (6 Wins – 4 Losses)

Pretenders

• Pretender No. 1: AJ Styles (6 Wins – 5 Losses)
• Pretender No. 2: Shinsuke Nakamura (N/A)
• Pretender No. 3: Jinder Mahal (5 Wins – 10 Losses)

Next: SmackDown Review, Apr. 18

What do you think of the SmackDown Live Rankings this week? Comment below!