As soon as Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship, it could already be expected that some harsh words were going to be said by WWE fans.
Mahal won the WWE Championship off of Randy Orton at this past weekend's WWE Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) event from Chicago, Illinois in the main event of the evening. Mahal was able to hit Orton with his finisher after a distraction from the Sign Brothers, sending the WWE Universe in attendance into a frenzy.
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff took to his podcast, Bischoff on Wrestling, to share his comments on the matter and said that he absolutely loved the decision by the WWE to put the title around Mahal's waist (quotes via Wrestle Zone):
"I loved it. I loved it. Great move. I didn’t know he was actually going to get the title. As far as getting him featured and giving him a spotlight it makes all the sense in the world to me for all the right reasons.
"Business wise, strategically and also as a character. As a new character and as something that is fresh.
"He’s not the same kind of recycled cookie coming out of the cookie press with a little different flavor. I think this is really unique and that’s what WWE needs right now."
Some fans have been rather critical of Mahal being portrayed as the "evil foreigner" on television, but Bischoff told those fans to check their 'social justice warrior stuff' at the door and leave it out of wrestling:
"He should be a bad guy because right now he’s the hottest thing in the hottest company on the face of the Earth! I absolutely fricking guarantee you there is no one in India going,
“Oh! WWE is coming to India and Jinder Mahal is the champion and I’m not going to go see them because he’s a bad guy!” (Laughs)
"No. No. Stop, leave your social justice warrior stuff at home when you come into pro wrestling. It’s not applicable."
Mahal recently had an Indian style celebration on SmackDown Live to celebrate his title win, and again angled in his promo that fans hate him because he looks and speaks differently than all of them. While the gimmick is getting a ton of heat, it's hard not to agree with Bischoff that politics need to be checked at the door in the world of professional wrestling.
What are your thoughts on Bischoff's comments regarding Mahal's WWE Title win? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the third episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here!
Check it out via this link. https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-all-the-fallout-from-wwe-payback