Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal: WWE’s Right Feud at the Wrong Time

Roman Reigns appears to be heading for a new program with Jinder Mahal. The Big Dog and The Modern Day Maharajah brawled on the May 14 edition of Monday Night Raw and their problems continued later in the program.

It has the makings of a good rivalry. Reigns is the big and tough power player, working to protect his yard against all challengers. Mahal is the arrogant new face on Raw, seeking respect and a shot at the top. Both men match up well together and the feud itself should be good.

But this one is rife with problems. In any other era, this rivalry would click on every level. But in today’s WWE, Roman Reigns versus Jinder Mahal has an extremely slim chance of getting over. It could even be said that the feud was doomed from the beginning.

Of course fans could say that about any feud Reigns is involved with. He’s hated so much, that anyone working him has a hard time gaining any ground. The same is especially true for Mahal, who has no redeeming qualities at all.

Against anyone else, Mahal is a heel. He’s done nothing to endear himself to the WWE faithful. He’s not popular like Rusev. He’s not charming like The Miz. He’s not entertaining like Kevin Owens. Jinder Mahal is a villain, pure and simple.

He doesn’t mind wearing the black hat and he’s extraordinarily good at it. Mahal does not work for cheers because that’s not his job. His job is to spew venom and vitriol in an effort to make the crowd hate him. He generates heat every time he opens his mouth and just one glance at the crowd is enough to turn everyone against him.

Jinder Mahal knows who he is and he knows what his strengths are. He may not be Seth Rollins in the ring but he’s much better than he was. He’s a character heel and he plays his part better than he ever has before. Mahal is a good heel that could become a great heel against the right babyface.

But Roman Reigns is not that babyface. Mahal needs a strong protagonist however Reigns continues to receive hate from the crowd. Fans won’t give Mahal a chance here because they’re not giving Reigns a chance either. Fans should want Mahal silenced and they should want to see Reigns be the man to shut him up. But in this feud, there is no babyface. How does that help anyone?

Mahal is the self-entitled former WWE champion that believes he deserves to be in the upper echelon of Monday Night Raw. Just the mere mention of a Money in the Bank opportunity should cause fans to rally against him. But it’s all white noise because of Roman Reigns’ involvement.

But if the crowd response was taken out of the equation and if Roman Reigns was the beloved babyface, there’s no question that this would have been a top notch feud. Mahal may not have the size of Braun Strowman or the ferocity of Brock Lesnar, but he wouldn’t need either. Jinder fits well with Reigns because Mahal is a different kind of challenger.

They do match up physically and they look good against each other. If Lesnar were not in the picture and Reigns was the Universal champion, he and Mahal could perhaps even trade the title back and forth. Fans resented Mahal when he rose to prominence on SmackDown Live. But now that he’s firmly  in the upper mid-card, he earns his spot. There’s no reason why he and Reigns couldn’t have a great rivalry.

Of course that is not reality right now. Mahal is merely just another heel in Roman’s way. Jinder is all bark but will have no bite because of The Big Dog. Reigns doesn’t really need a new opponent; he needs a new distraction. Each distraction is temporary until the day that Roman Reigns gets his hands on Brock Lesnar once again.

Reigns’ inability to defeat The Beast Incarnate is the underlying theme of Roman’s WWE career to this point. It’s the narrative that drives Reigns every time he steps into the ring and it’s the one thing that’s keeping him motivated. Everything and everyone else is just a momentary roadblock on the highway to the hell of Suplex City.

Mahal however is a man of no direction. WWE shows no signs of elevating him beyond his current station though he’s still regularly on TV. He did not compete in the Raw main event because of his backstage brawl with Reigns and as a result, Jinder is in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Unless something changes before June 17, Mahal will not have an opportunity to pull down the MITB briefcase.

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But if past events are any indication, WWE is likely not yet finished with Reigns versus Mahal. Their heat will probably continue in the weeks leading up to Money in the Bank. Mahal will keep heeling out while taking every conceivable cheap shot at his disposal. Roman will keep fighting back though the crowd is raining hate down on him the entire time. WWE will believe there’s no problem with any of it. The fans believe differently.