Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship victory against Randy Orton at the SmackDown-exclusive Backlash pay-per-view has to be one of the biggest long-shots in recent years. The odds weren’t astronomical, but most people expected Orton to retain the title.

Many were surprised at the fact that The Maharaja was crowned the number one contender in the first place. Not many would have ever assumed that the company would put the title on a relatively new face as opposed to The Legend Killer.

The hard work he put in to improve his look caught the company’s attention and Mahal was brought back to bolster the roster due to the brand split and it now a huge gamble seems to have paid off in a huge way.

While speaking with Indian Express, the newest WWE Champion spoke about his journey back to the company after his initial stint. Mahal also mentioned that a couple of huge names within the WWE played a huge part in his rise to the championship level he is at right now.

He explained: “(Gama Singh) taught me a lot with all his experience. A lot of other guys helped along the way; Vince McMahon has helped me tremendously. The Big Show and Mark Henry and even John Cena helped me along my journey. I want to repay their faith and hopefully this is first of the many WWE titles to come.”

With support from people like The World Largest Athlete, The World’s Strongest Man, and a 13-time WWE champion, it is easy to see why he was able to make his mark in the ring. Having the support of the man in charge is also essential to success in the business.

While Jinder is happy that he proved victorious in the main event on Sunday, it remains to be seen how long he will hang on to that belt. Various ideas for his reign and timetables have been thrown out, most agreeing that this is a “test run” to see how he plays with the crowd as champion.

It is no secret that SmackDown Live’s ratings have taken a bit of a hit ever since the Superstar Shakeup happened. Long established blue brand names moved from the show and there hasn’t been a key performer to step into that void yet and the Maharaja could be the one to do it.

WWE creative is hoping that Jinder can be the one to balance the scales a bit when it comes to their offerings on the SmackDown television side of things. Coming up with those extra eyes is going to be very hard for officials to figure out.

The company’s well-documented big expansion into India played a key role in Mahal receiving this push, considering the market is absolutely massive over there so he will get every opportunity to show his stuff before they make a final decision.