Yes, Jinder Mahal is your new WWE Champion. Still. His title reign has even brought a ratings bump to Smackdown Live. It’s amazing. It’s now several days later and everyone is still talking about it. Even the Canadian government. And wouldn’t you know it, this whole thing has already been such a runaway success that the dude finally got his own shirt. That’s how you know it’s real.
Now that Mahal’s status as the 50th WWE Champion has sunk in, we’re going to start hearing from everyone in the industry about whether this was a good situation. And one opinion that everyone is sure to sit up and take notice of is Stone Cold Steve Austin’s.
Austin talked to guest Shane Helms about the new champ on the latest edition of the Stone Cold podcast, and guess what: the Texas Rattlesnake is a fan. (Transcript via Wrestling Inc.)
“He’s got a great look, a great body. Oh dude, [the ‘Maharaja’ nickname] has cool factor written all over it. Plus, if you play that with arrogance, it works for you. But, dude, down the road, I think that it spells money. I think the kid [has] got a great look. Like [Helms] said, he’s got the great facials. And [Helms] know[s], dude, you’ve got to bring a few things to the table, whether it’s appearance or size, looks, handsome, ugly, are you a flat-out bad ass worker, just unbelievable talker? This kid has bits and pieces of the things [one needs to be successful]. And all of these things can be graded on a scale of one to 10 on what you’re bringing to the table. But, at first, one of the big things you’ve got to bring, dude, for Vince to get in that big spot, size helps and it just does.”
Austin’s on board! Come on, everybody else. Climb aboard the Jinder train. Come one, come … Mahal.
