WWE SmackDown Live: Examining The Best and The Worst of the Brand for 2017

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Worst Promo: Jinder Mahal Goes Too Far, Sept. 19

This one was bad. Like, really bad. Really, really bad. So bad, in fact, that the video at the top of the page is from a different promo – WWE is trying to scrub this one from our collective memory*. (Seriously, it was bad.)

To refresh your memory, in case you don’t remember how bad this was, try and think of the most offensive and racist thing you can. Got it? Good, now multiply that by 10. That’ll bring you close to Jinder Mahal’s promo in question.

Mocking the stereotypical “say R instead of L” Asian voice, calling Shinsuke Nakamura “Mr. Miyagi, it was a terrible thing for anyone in the company to do. The fact that it was the reigning WWE Champion? Even worse. And as one POC to another, it just comes across as so unbelievably tone deaf that it defies explanation.

It received coverage from several media outlets, and WWE was forced to issue a press release basically saying “Jinder Mahal is a character, he doesn’t really believe those things and neither do we.” All in all, it was a rough week.

* – Deadspin has the promo in question embedded on their site in an article covering the promo. Check it out here.

Honorable Mention: Sarah Logan Asks Daniel Bryan About, Uh, Something

I’ve watched this promo about a dozen times, and I’m having a hard time figuring out what Sarah Logan was supposed to be saying. Liv Morgan isn’t off the hook here, either – her Shatner-esque pauses were kind of strange. But Logan asking about granola and “lime game”? Sounds like someone needs a bit more time at promo class – nerves are a killer.