5 Reasons Jinder Mahal Should Remain WWE Champion Until SummerSlam

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1. Honky Tonk Mahal

For the final reason Jinder Mahal should remain WWE Champion until SummerSlam, we need to take a quick detour into wrestling history.

Back in 1987, a young fellow by the name of Ricky Steamboat was the Intercontinental Champion. You may have heard of him. He lost the title to an Elvis impersonator, who called himself the Honky Tonk Man. Everyone assumed that this would be a very brief title reign, as Honky Tonk Man had never really been seen as a threat to anything.

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But lo and behold, it took 64 weeks for someone to dethrone the Honk. No matter who the challenger was, the champ found a way to leave the building with the title. Sometimes it was a strategic count out loss. Others a disqualification due to managerial interference. But the year-plus reign Honky had is still a record for the Intercontinental Championship.

What does this have to do with Jinder Mahal, you ask? Well, go read those last two paragraphs again, and find the parallels between Honky Tonk Man and The Modern Day Maharaja.

I’m not saying Jinder Mahal should hold the WWE Championship for 64 weeks (although that would bring us just about to SummerSlam 2018). But holding the Intercontinental Title for so long helped to get an Elvis impersonator over – 10 years after The King passed away.

If Mahal gets some time to run with the championship, he’ll likely continue to get the nuclear reactions he’s received since Backlash. And he’ll most definitely help create a situation where the superstar who finally dethrones him will get the loudest pop this side of Stone Cold Steve Austin. If that’s not something WWE would be interested in, they need to rethink their priorities.

Do you think Jinder Mahal should remain WWE Champion until SummerSlam – or beyond?

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