5 Reasons Jinder Mahal Should Remain WWE Champion Until SummerSlam

4. Something Familiar

As much as a Jinder Mahal world title run is something different and new, there’s also a touch of familiarity attached to it. Problem is, it’s not really the greatest kind of familiar feeling.

It’s a very simple story that Jinder fits in – the “evil foreigner” who is anti-America – partly because it’s so stereotypical. There’s a lot more to Jinder Mahal than “foreign guy.” He’s got talent, ability, the look – take his history in WWE out of the equation, and he’s everything a WWE Champion should be.

But the problem comes from WWE’s antiquated creative process, where “foreign” equals “evil.” How many non-North Americans have been saddled with an evil foreigner gimmick at some point in their career? Rough estimate, I’d say 80%, if not more. And part of the reason is that the story is so easy to tell.

Here’s how it plays out – the evil foreign superstar sneaks his way into winning the WWE Championship. He uses underhand methods to retain over and over, until the time a real American hero can prove, once again, that America is the best country in the world. (It worked a lot better in the 70s and 80s, in fairness.)

Randy Orton is not a true American hero – going AWOL kind of takes that distinction away from you. But SmackDown does have someone on the roster who can step into a pair of red, white, and blue sneakers and jean shorts if need be. A match like that would need a big stage, like SummerSlam.