Jinder Mahal is loving life right now over on SmackDown LIVE, as he’s managed to overcome several hurdles and tests to remain the WWE Champion.
The initial decision to put the prestigious prize around his waist came as a massive surprise, as the WWE attempted to break Into the Indian market and even though they might not have gotten the results they wanted, they’ve decided to keep the WWE Championship on the Modern Day Maharaja.
WWE CHAMPION
Since then, Mahal has overcome Randy Orton and will now look to shake off the threat of Shinsuke Nakamura once more when they meet at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view next month.
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Despite the success he’s having, it’s clear that the day is approaching where WWE will pull the trigger and have him drop the gold, but the question is just who will step up to the plate and be the one to snatch the championship from him?
Based on the latest odds provided by WWE leaks, there are four strong contenders currently in the running to defeat Mahal for the gold, and the current favourite is the one who challenges him next; The King of Strong Style could be the next WWE Champion.
Nakamura has already failed on one occasion, and their Hell in a Cell encounter could be the final opportunity he has, for now at least, before Mahal moves on to a different opponent. Nakamura hasn’t done a great deal since making the transition to the blue brand, but a big win like that could change all of that.
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Just behind Nakamura is John Cena, with a feud between the pair already being teased on SmackDown before Nakamura defeated Cena in their dream match ahead of SummerSlam to become the number one contender.
It had been speculated that Cena would return to defeat Mahal and overtake Ric Flair’s record, but he’s busy on Monday Night RAW now where he’s set to battle Roman Reigns. Considering he’s a free agent, Cena would usually be a genuine option as he could simply switch back to the Tuesday night show.
However, Cena’s future is currently up in the air with multiple Hollywood projects on his plate, so maybe a clash with Mahal is not on the cards.
Rounding up the top four we have current United States Champion AJ Styles, and then Kevin Owens.
The Phenomenal One probably has to drop the US title before challenging Mahal, which is a likely option as he’s a face. Although, considering Owens is a heel, he might be in the WWE Championship picture but it looks unlikely that he’d be feuding with Mahal anytime soon.
Who do you think will dethrone Jinder Mahal to become the new WWE Champion? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the fourth episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here! Check it out via this link: https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-money-in-the-bank-fallout
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