WWE SmackDown 5 Takeaways From Oct. 3 Show

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2. Jinder Mahal’s Momentum Heading Into Hell in a Cell Could Signal a Changing of the Guard

When will the Jinder Mahal experiment end? That has been on the minds of the WWE universe for months after Mahal’s shocking win over Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Backlash. But it’s October and Mahal is still the WWE Champion after several successful title defenses in the most heelish ways possible.

The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura, fell victim to these heelish ways at SummerSlam, but will get another chance at the championship at Hell in a Cell. Conventional WWE wisdom has typically always suggested that when a superstar goes into a pay-per-view with momentum on either Raw or SmackDown, that superstar usually will lose at the pay-per-view. And the same could potentially be said for Mahal after last night’s SmackDown.

Mahal got the upper hand on Nakamura and laid him out in the middle of the ring with the usual help of the Singh Brothers. Mahal then cut a brief backstage promo later in the night saying how he was going to beat Nakamura at Hell in a Cell. This could mean great things for those who want to see a changing of the guard as WWE Champion.

Nakamura has rarely lost a match since joining SmackDown in April and it seems unlikely he will lose to Mahal at two straight pay-per-views. That added with the momentum Mahal has going into Hell in a Cell could spell doom for Mahal’s hit or miss title reign.

The WWE could swerve us and have Mahal retain once again, but it seems inevitable the King of Strong Style will take the reigns as WWE Champion sooner rather than later.