WWE SmackDown: 3 Better Alternatives To Bobby Roode As US Champ

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1. Jinder Mahal

Okay so before you begin to question this choice, let me explain. Jinder Mahal is unlike any other heel you have on the roster right now. He is not very good in the ring with flashy moves. He does, however excel when it comes to slow burner matches that demonstrate a pretty good range of in-ring psychology. Mahal isn’t the best on the mic either. But he can hold his own, given the right material. But above everything else, unlike the ‘cool heels’ of this era, Mahal brings and old school heel aura that makes you want to boo the guy.

When Mahal and the Singh brothers attacked Roode after his second round victory, I had high hopes he would win the title. After all, we have seen Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler go at it for a quite a while. But Ziggler and Mahal? No. After Mahal’s WWE title stint, he does make up for a big name heel status. Hence, booking Mahal as the United States champion would have made it easier to bring back Ziggler as a babyface.

To make matters clearer, Mahal is exactly what Rusev used to be, minus the in-ring skill and Lana. He has constantly been portrayed as the foreign heel who demands the fans respect him as their true champion. He followed the narrative when he was the WWE champion. However, it would have suited him even better had he been the US champion.  With the newly crowned champion mocking the fans, it would be easier to execute a turn for Ziggler. Perhaps Mahal can claim he is the greatest US champion of all time and even name-drop Ziggler as a wanna-be who gave up on the dream.

This could bring out an irate and obnoxious Ziggler at some point in time, who still thinks of himself as the greatest to ever lace a pair of wrestling boots. Like I said, if creative wanted to bring Ziggler back as a babyface, the easiest way to accomplish this would be to have him cross paths with Mahal. Dolph would still need to explain himself though. If he merely comes out to beat up Mahal and then pander to the audience, then all of this would have been for nothing.

One of my favorite versions of Ziggler is when he is the confident Show Off who says ‘because I am that good’. This might be an ideal direction to proceed in this case. Just like how it would have been with Mojo Rawley, fans will opt to cheer for the cocky and confident heel Ziggler. The fact that Jinder Mahal is on the other side of the ring will make the cheers that much louder.

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Once Ziggler is done with this feud, he can continue as a heel or a face depending on crowd reactions. But facing off against any of these three guys would have been a more explosive way to book his return, rather than against Bobby Roode. Who would you have picked to be the new United States champion? Are you excited that the Glorious One grabbed the title and might be on course for another feud with Dolph Ziggler? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section.