Better Champion: JBL vs. Jinder Mahal | Wrestling With Wregret

It's been one year since Jinder Mahal shocked the world and became WWE Champion ... so how did the Modern Day Maharajah's reign compare to that of JBL's, the LAST guy who shocked the world in 2004? Brian Zane takes a closer look!
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@zmanbrianzane

[@brendonbaroody7397]

Before watching; JBL no doubt. He was actually good at getting heat. Also he had some really good matches whether or not they were his doing

[@dumbname939]

Well Jinder got booed too and heel heat vs go away heat is always debatable

[@rickyrosay33977]

As a kid I legit hated JBL he was a great heel his feud with Eddie is in my opinion JBL’s peak as a heel world champion

[@Randomperson-zt3il]

JBL was great. The only reason they made Mahal champ was to capitalise on the Indian market

[@ilrosso8612]

@@dumbname939 nah, nobody gave a damn about Jinder. Arenas had entire empty sections during his title run.

[@tryhardtrynot]

Name me two really good JBL matches…

[@MisterDrTran]

I wouldn’t have minded Jinder being a champion if they built him up slowly and have him build a streak against midcarders and working himself up so it would SEEM believable. But the fact that they SUPER pushed him which made him seem godlike in second flat was not believable. Also his promos were bad and only got slightly better but I can blame some of it on writing. He CAN be a good heel but man he really need some charisma. The Singh brothers have three times as much as he does unfortunately.

[@Xehanort10]

Yeah. Had they done a storyline where he worked his way up from jobber to title contender it would have been fine.

[@crylittlesister6377]

They literally did the same thing with Bradshaw before making him champion. The only difference was that Eddie made Bradshaw look like a main eventer.

[@PaddyFlatts]

@@crylittlesister6377 No they didn't, Bradshaw was always a solid mid-carder or part of a tag team. Mahal was literally a jobber who in his WWE career had only won 12 matches before becoming #1 contender for the WWE Championship.

[@crylittlesister6377]

@@PaddyFlatts A solid mid carder or tag team wrestler maybe, but he was NOWHERE near being a credible main event wrestler. He was in a throwaway 4 way tag title match at WM 20 before his push.

[@PaddyFlatts]

@@crylittlesister6377 He was still part of the APA at that point, and I wouldn't call a Wrestlemania match for the WWE Tag Team Championships a throwaway. But if we're going to talk about PPV matches, the only singles PPV match Mahal had before his WWE Championship was losing to Cesaro at Fastlane in 8 minutes.

[@tubey84]

Before watching; JBL by an absolute mile. I don't like him as a person, but he was an underappreciated heel champion with that gimmick. Whereas Mahal... god don't know where to even start with his reign.

[@tubey84]

Actually I welcomed his title win as wrestling needs unpredictability. Hell, if someone like Jinder out of nowhere won a Royal Rumble for example, I'd pop hard for that, as it'd give back the illusion that anyone can win a Rumble and change their career, instead of the winner being one of three or four guys nailed on every year. But the problem with Jinder was when he was champion he was booked too much as a cowardly heel and not in a good way - plus his promos were legitimately horrible. It's not that he wasn't given a chance; he just wasn't good enough. And that's annoying to say too as I've listened to Mahal interviews/shoots and the guy is a really good bloke, but he's not main event material, it's as simple as that. The experiment failed - you can't blame the fans for rejecting bad booking and a wooden antagonist.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

Lee K I really liked the Mahal run for one reason : his gimmick is old school and the guy is good in the role (facial expressions, look) but the fact it came out of nowhere for an obvious reason (Indian market) truly hurt his chances to get over. If he would have been given a proper progression (Andre the Giant battle royal, US title, WWE title at Summerslam) then fans might have given him a chance but WWE rushed the entire thing for greedy reasons and it backfired like a motherfucker on them. Too bad because Jinder got better with times.

[@Brony459]

You pretty much described Jinder to me. What I didn't like about Jinder cheating and being a coward in his matches is because it doesn't feel like it's part of his character, just an excuse because WWE can't accept that he was a failed experiment. The Miz is a cowardly cheating heel as well, but I actually liked him because he was a good heel. He knew how to get under peoples skin every week, both people who are just getting into the act and legitimately, the number of posts I read every week on how much of a cheating cowardly scum bag he is, only furthers the point. It works for The Miz, because it doesn't feel like an excuse to keep him as a champion, it feels like a natural part of his heel character, it doesn't feel like they are only letting him hold the title to see if he is a good heel, he is already a good heel and even has a good sized fan base. Jinder on the other hand "eh.... maybe we will let him hold it for another month..... maybe then the crowd will get around to him", their were already signs that it wasn't working, and they just kept going with it.

[@anysparecoochiemiss9408]

Hey Zeus jinder was a jobber for years and out of nowhere he wins the biggest belt? at least jbl had something going with APA and he was a damn good heel champ

[@megamarsonic]

What do you mean "You people?"

[@rogerbabin8175]

JBL without question. His gimmick was FANTASTIC at the time and the clothesline from hell turned out to be a fun finisher for something so basic. Having said that I really enjoyed both title runs. Mahal improved immensely during his run and the entrance along with celebrations were absolutely fantastic. Mahal is even pretty decent on the mic but he was written poorly. The major problem with Mahal's push in my opinion was two things: 1) No attempt to build him as someone who was motivated by the brand split to accomplish big things. 2) He looks like an absolute monster and yet he wasn't booked in matches like you'd book Braun or the Big Show. Mahal was effectively The Miz and that completely fails with the mans appearance and charisma. His wrestling style didn't match the gimmick which is a real shame. If its not already clear I'd love to see WWE do this periodically. I enjoyed both runs and I like the idea of putting the title on someone unexpected because they hit a hot streak. Its great storytelling in my opinion because it adds some welcome unpredictability to the typical story of WWE telling you who they are pushing...the push continues for a year...that person wins the belt in highly predictable fashion. Repeat.

[@fro-zone2k]

He's a horrible champion

[@FullmetalNinja25]

The whole point of making Jinder Mahal WWE Champion was so that WWE could increase WWE Network Subscribers in India and boost ticket sales for their India Tour in September of 2017. It didn't work, Network Subscribers actually went down and WWE ended up only doing 1 show in India where Mahal lost to Triple H.

[@funkyweapon1981]

What American/Canadian/European WWE fan really cared about Indian fans?

[@adityanawani8134]

Sean Ashmead Well they are compelled to😂😂😂

[@MusicJustin15]

JBL has great entrance music, was good on the mic, was an expert heel, and had a finisher that looked devastating. His matches weren’t always the best, but was a good champion.

[@fro-zone2k]

He's a horrible champion

[@fro-zone2k]

@StuntmanGoat Constantly rely on his goons to do his dirty work, cringeworthy skits, chicle entrance and the fact he got the title due to him knowing ways to further finance money budgets.

[@fro-zone2k]

@@theragnarokmachine2251 I know that

[@fro-zone2k]

@@makeitthrough_ Shut up

[@jackcarraway4707]

@@fro-zone2k He's a chickenshit heel, of course he's gonna win virtually all of his matches due to Cabinet shenanigans. Was Ric Flair a crap champion because he always got help from the Horseman?

[@menapperdude]

JBL because he fought Godzilla, Jinder didn't 'nuff said.

[@TheNaturalPatHarris]

menapperdude he’s name is Barney...he’s likes pizza

[@JennaLeigh]

TheNaturalPatHarris gahhhhh you beat me to it!!

[@megathesimper4050]

"You're notin but a lizard on Stee-Roids" - JBL

[@menapperdude]

Don't forget the hello Kitty boxers!!

[@abas43091]

JBL stands for Just Beat A Lizard

[@MizfitZer0]

JBL was an incredible heel... I was never a fan of his but I cannot deny the guy could cut great heel promos and put on some really brutal brawls whilst he was champion. Jobber Mahal was abysmal in the ring and on the mic during his entire reign. Without question Jobber Mahal is the absolute worst WWE champion in history

[@mordecai3479]

Stray-Zer0 exactly

[@asiimwemwamwenda789]

Worse than VKM himself?

[@hamsand210]

Asiimwe Mwamwenda VINCE even put up great matches!

[@asiimwemwamwenda789]

hamsand210 I believe Vince was always carried by his opponents. He is an awesome promo and character, but a horrible wrestler. I'm not even saying this to shit on him.

[@johnmisiewicz1431]

Stray-Zer0 also he got bland as he won the same way every paperview

[@Lorenzo3K]

Sorry no contest here. Jbl had that real heel heat, i legit hated Jbl. Jinder i didn't really hate him or liked him. I think i can sum Jinder's title reign in 4 words: what else is on?

[@jerryhoffman4645]

Mr Kennedy drops Orton bad, Orton takes a swing and gets Kennedy fired. Orton drops one of jinder's pet on his head through an announcer's table. And it's just eee my bad, hope you're ok guy. Makes no sense

[@TAFARockWarrior97]

I think Kennedy was already on thin ice at that point. (Remember, he injured Cena right before a PPV and became the brunt of a PR nightmare during the Benoit fallout.) Orton was already an established veteran WWE wants to keep until he retires. (Remember, they practically modified their friggin' wellness policy just so they wouldn't have to fire him!)

[@I_Am_The_Social_Reject]

I was thinking that too!

[@ECW5320]

@@TAFARockWarrior97 IMO Cena injured himself with that hiptoss.

[@hardcoreking52]

Also Kennedy had a rep of being hard to work with. Wrestlers, two of which were Orton and Cena, told Kennedy to take it easy with some of his moves. He didn't listen and then eventually his career ended because he wouldn't listen.

[@ECW5320]

@@hardcoreking52 Same could be said about Orton and Cena being hard to work with.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

JBL by a billion miles. Hell, I thought JBL was the only reason to watch WWE in 2004. The product was so boring and so bland, he was the only legit entertaining character on the roster. Thank god TNA was getting really good, tough times for wrestling fans.

[@lzi9452]

Jonathan Turbide ...I got nothing to.. Batista vs triple h? But Aj styles was better.. ok

[@misterdoctor8234]

JBL actually carried the smackdown brand for several months

[@cerberus144]

Plus JBL is an actual Heel IRL.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

FCB 2513 I don’t know man...the whole Benoit being World champ thing flopped, they ruined Orton real bad by turning him face, Angle being a GM for months was dumb, Brock leaving in April hurt them, Eugene being the focus of RAW sucked, no tag teams, nothing real memorable...to me it was the start of a terrible era. 2004 to 2011 are in my opinion some of the worst years in WWE history, up there with 80-83 and 93-97. TNA was a thousand times more exciting and interesting as it felt fresh, while WWE was so predictable and stale. But we all see things differently, glad you enjoyed. Eddie winning in February was really cool, for sure.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

FCB 2513 Of course each year has its share of classic matches or good moments, but it takes more than that for a year to be memorable or amazing. It depends of what fans are expecting and what makes you tick as a fan so of course it's all debatable, me personally I consider these years to be incredibly bad but hey I'd lie if I said I hated everything about them. For example Flair vs HBK in 2008 is one of my all time faves so go figure lol 😉

[@edcap8029]

I became a massive fan during JBL's run, and I always love his heel work. I guess the main reason why JBL's reign is superior is because we actually had storyline writers making him look good. He had rivalries that actually could be edited down to a lengthy vignette before a match. Modern day WWE lacks storyline or any semblance of a good writer. I kid you not, get the guys writing for WWE back when JBL was champ, and have them write for Mahal's reign and it'll be ten times better. I mean, it'll rook better, I promise you that.

[@DashingChrisBey]

That championship JBL had though, that was the last beautiful looking WWE Championship. The spinner was cool, but the UD was the works. Random thought after seeing all these clips of JBL as champ.

[@undertakernumberone1]

yeah... the old wWE and WH Belts... they had this "simplistic" elegance, because o fthe lack of Bling bling on them.And they actually differenciated more than just strap colour

[@Optuhmist]

Chris Bey The spinner would have been cool if it had only been used like the brahma bull or smoking skull and was only used for Cena instead of passed around to everyone. Guys like Batista and Triple H looked fucking ridiculous coming out looking like gladiators wearing that ugly thing. It was around WAY too long.

[@Jnwboss]

undertakernumberone1 The WHC will always be my favorite and as far as the spinner wwe Championship? Eh I thought it was cool but the problem is it only looked good on certain people. Like If JBL beat Cena and he carried around that championship it would look weird. People that made that belt look cool. Edge John Cena (duh) Jeff Hardy Randy Orton

[@undertakernumberone1]

Yeah, though I also liked Edge Rated R belt. Too bad it got barely any screen time.

[@Jnwboss]

undertakernumberone1 yeah the Rated R Belt was cool but they only really did it until John Cena won the belt back. Like what they could’ve did was have Edge change the belt as soon as he won it the first time. I actually would’ve had Edge hold the belt until Unforgiven then lose the championship to Cena in the TLC match. Like John gets his rematch at Royal Rumble loses then Edge defends the belt at Wrestlemania against Mick Foley (so that way we still get that awesome Hardcore match) Backlash Triple Threat with Cena and HHH who had a standard one on one match at Wrestlemania RVD beats him at One Night Stand then loses the rematch at Vengeance Edge can then face a returning Jeff Hardy at Summerslam (since they teased that when Jeff Hardy came back in 2006) beats him finally John wins a no. 1 contenders match Edge beats Cena in some random match on Raw that way he can chose the TLC stipulation. Now a story that is being told in the background since after Wrestlemania leading into the Unforgiven match John can constantly go after Edge attacking him backstage and all of that but keeps getting hurdles put in front of him. Once Cena is No. 1 contender then throw Edge into the Long Island sound which creates the stipulation of if John loses he goes to Smackdown. The rest is history.

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

Jinder was fun for a minute, but I feel like his presence in the main event picture went on a bit too long without him evolving in any meaningful way, and with a roster as deep as what they have now (much deeper than 2005), it's hard to be into someone like that being at the top of the card.

[@itsthekid9815]

On the Stick so my problem is most people's problem. He didn't do anything before and won. As a midcarder I don't mind him. If they have had aj win it before and had a lengthy title run and hinder beat him after being in the us title picture I'd not even mind him being the wwe champ. It's just you have people like styles with everything he's done and keep saying what he's done and have him work his way up it's weird a random guy pops out of no where to win it. Have him win the nxt title idc what he does just the random jobber to champ is so bad and unbelievable for the viewer to believe.

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

focodoco I liked the idea that really anything can happen, you know? Like, whoa, this dude actually won?! Plus, he beat Randy Orton and Orton has sucked for a long time now.

[@GundamGokuTV]

Booker T, Kurt Angle, John Cena, Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero... Yeah 2004/2005 Sure was thin on talent. Oh sorry that's sarcasm.

[@SameNameDifferentGame]

Yep, those are six very talented guys. Nevermind that I didn't say the 2005 roster was "thin," I said the current roster is extremely deep. But sure, whatever gets you going, dude.

[@davidmustaine997]

This is unfair. It is clear he has the genetics of headline any event. He is of a healthy potent race. Was just written bad.

[@imverygerby]

Clothesline from Hell > Khallas

[@thomasjenkins7506]

the way JBL delivered it and the way people sold it, they made you believe that it could take someone's head off. it's probably one of the only striking finishers that actually looks believable.

[@imverygerby]

Thomas Jenkins I loved using it on "WWF No Mercy" it had a chance to ko your opponent

[@fayezfawzi3255]

Clothesline from Hell > almost every finisher ever.

[@thomasjenkins7506]

give it to me over the phenomenal forearm any day of the week.

[@imverygerby]

Thomas Jenkins that one to Roman through the announce table that one time was awesome

[@KAPTAINmORGANnWo4eva]

Bradshaw had match variety, was good on the mic, and was used as a launching pad for the biggest WWE success since Austin. Is this even a contest?

[@gabey4heal467]

From a jobber compared to a mid card tag team guy, yeah sure JBL win this one without a doubt. Not only he was acomplished stuff before his reign, but he actually had something and carried kinda alrighty smackdown on late 04. Pretty much better than 2 star maker jinder mahal

[@Hardcore-Productions]

The APA weren't doing much of anything when they split. Referring to them as a mid-card tag team leading up to JBL's push is a bit of an exaggeration. During the Attitude Era? Sure. But not leading up to JBL's push.

[@thehorrorhound6575]

Hardcore Productions well that’s not true because the APA had their last tag team title reign in 03 beating Eddie and Chavo to win and that’s a big deal and plus they were on the winning team of survivor series 04 they were still relevant before they split

[@ivaneurope]

The only reason JBL was champion at first place, because.........Triple H didn't want to work on Tuesdays. Even Paul Heyman said it. Imagine if Trips' ego didn't get the upper hand and went to SmackDown.

[@JesyofAura]

I mean with that logic Sin Cara has as much right as JBL did to a World title run

[@gabey4heal467]

Jesy Gato yeah kinda I made it dumb to get comments below I mean an suceseful and popular tag team on the attitude era

[@deadman3750]

I like how you referenced the internet in both years

[@michaelrivera8360]

JBL without thinking JBL was more entertaining and delivered better matches

[@fro-zone2k]

He's still a horrible champion

[@dooganchode9447]

Jinder Mahal literally cuts the same promo every single night. There is literally nothing different about any of his promos.

[@nickchislom9499]

doogan chode... Jinder has come a long ways since his main event heel run. Sorry, U can't see that...

[@aidandegg4176]

to be fair though that's largely true of JBL's promo's - very few of them weren't some variation on "I'm a rich piece of shit bully". Now quality of DELIVERY of said promos, yeah no doubt JBL takes that easily, but both kept to a fairly narrow set of character beats they'd hit in any given promo. The famous border crossing thing was a bit different though - or rather did something a little bit different with the JBL formula.

[@Xehanort10]

"Come a long way?" He's back to being the same jobber he was before it.

[@davidreyna6859]

doogan chode oof

[@whitty3210]

I love the JBL character. He was always an amazing heel that you really wanted to see get wrecked. Even after his title reign when he was in the mid card facing guys like Benoit and Matt Hardy, he was more entertaining than the main event heels

[@JM-pg2lw]

The TV ratings argument is a bit skewed. JBL had the title through the big TV boom times (WrestleMania season and Royal Rumble) while Cena had it in the down time where the lesser of the big 4 PPVs are and less people watch. The inverse is true for Jinder where he had the title in that down time between the must watch TV season. Not that I think it's close even saying that but it's worth noting

[@SAM-ru4vx]

the belt had no value that year it bounce around from wyatt to orton to jinder with little to no logic or rational used in any feud. the only champion that mattered for the time period was AJ Styles. the booking was shit. wyatt never really should of lost the belt. orton had the belt for a cup of coffee transition run only for token canadian to win the belt cause he is brown..

[@ruggie.74]

EXACTLY

[@nygma619]

Smackdown moved to Fridays in September so it's not an overall fair comparison on that end either.

[@chaosghost08]

I love the idea of the Singh Bros being the key to Jinder winning, especially when you consider that after one got hurt Jinder started losing more. But yeah, JBL has it by a mile. After his push he was a ready to go main eventer/upper mid guy. Jinder, even without the belt, still feels overpushed.

[@EmoEmu]

JBL was waaaaay better. I actually thought he was a pretty awesome heel and the PPV matches he put on were underrated. Jinder never felt organic because he ONLY won because of his henchmen. JBL actually showed up for his PPV matched, often bled like a stuck pig and took some big bumps. Brutal, physical matches that felt a lot more real than the cartoony crap we're served with no. IMO that's why a not that great wrestler was able to have a really underrated title reign. He wanted to give it all he had left in him before retiring and WWE actually let him.

[@jarrettpennington4579]

JBL had charisma and he could build himself some genuine heel heat, plus we were at the beginning of John Cena as a main eventer and his chase for the title against JBL was a good compelling story. As for Jinder Mahal......well, they just threw the belt on him and have him convincing wins against a future Hall of Famer Randy Orton hoping to get him over and the Nakamura but nothing they did could work. No one cared and that was Mahals downfall.

[@oldandbitter]

Thanks for tackling my idea, Brian. Great job as always!

[@RawHunterX]

I loved JBLs run, a very powerful heel. You actually wanted to punch the guy in the face.

[@codyssmith73]

Better champion: Gregory Helms v Neville?

[@TheeKingRayzor]

Cody Smith That's interesting.

[@codyssmith73]

It's another case were the reigns were quite similar in my eyes & technically, it'd be the man who held the OG cruiswerweight belt for the longest vs the man who held the new cruiserweight belt for the longest.

[@TheeKingRayzor]

Cody Smith I'll go with Gregory Helms I guess, I didn't really pay attention to any of the title reigns, but I do love Hurricane, Shane, Gregory, or whatever he goes by I love Helms period.

[@meko750]

Ooh, that’s a toughie…I’d lean ever-so-slightly to Neville, but that’s a great question.

[@jeftothes]

Helms beat the Rock. who has Neville beat?

[@Ulikecookies]

Woke up to take a piss and saw this was uploaded.. guess im up.

[@royalpain1403]

Zane sounds like a local news guy reading a teleprompter at the beginning lol

[@theneonchimpchannel9095]

I liked Bradshaw, but hated JBL. That really takes a bit of talent to make someone change their opinion of a character so quickly. I still thought that he did deserve a push as he'd been there for so long and had put in the effort. I liked Jinder Mahal when I first saw him, but hated the 3MB and everything he did after that. I thought he had some talent and liked his initial gimmick. I even thought his entrance where he'd take his turban off and put it in that glass case was cool as it was something different. The problem with 3MB was that it just wasn't believable, the problem with his heel turn and eventual title run was that he really isn't much of an actor. You can have him say things and do things, but how he says and does them are down to him. It always came across like he didn't mean any of it, there was no real emotion in his voice. At least JBL was believable as a total asshole, Jinder just came across as a guy who'd been handed a script when he arrived at the show.

[@jb2k2010]

I know someone who did it better, change the opinion and make it work.... Hulk/Hollywood Hogan... at a time he was the most loved wrestler of all time, and the most hated....

[@Lorenzo3K]

jb2k2010 maybe but also people started to sour on em i wasn't one those people btw. He still has the most legendary heel turn of all time.

[@jeremyhegg9367]

While JBL's push kinda came out of nowhere, like you said it felt more organic. Smackdown had just lost Brock Lesnar, while Kurt Angle and Big Show were taking time off for injuries, and they teased Triple H moving to SD before going back on it, so JBL kinda had to be the default heel. Jinder's push was more forced when they could've easily kept Bray Wyatt or Miz on Smackdown to fill that role or not relegated Kevin Owens to the US Title or actually done something with Luke Harper or Sami Zayn or Rusev instead of keeping them on the sidelines for months.

[@fro-zone2k]

Jinder Mahal was a welcoming addition by that point fans were sick of Cena, AJ, Orton, Ambrose and Wyatt in the main event scene so Jinder Mahal was a breath of fresh air.

[@jeremyhegg9367]

@@fro-zone2k Cena and Orton I can understand, but I didn't hear many complaints about AJ, Ambrose or Wyatt. AJ and Ambrose got brought down by James Ellsworth being a too much of a focus in their feud, and Wyatt's reign was a long time coming and should've gone longer than a month and had a better match with Orton than the one with bugs being projected on the ring. Jinder spent 3 months beating Orton pretty much the same way each time, then making stupid (if not racist) jokes about Shinsuke and beating him twice pretty easily. JBL was at least an established midcarder and former multi-time Tag Team Champion by the time they made him WWE Champion, he narrowly escaped with wins over Eddie Guerrero, Undertaker, Booker T, Kurt Angle and Big Show, it just felt more believable than Jinder losing to Mojo Rawley one week then being number-one contender the following week, but to each their own. I think both could've done with a US Title reign before being hot-shotted to the WWE Title though.

[@babyfaceaviator7862]

2:09 the moment that made me give a like. You deserve more subs

[@VinnieGer]

I kind of miss when you had guests doing openings like this. Was there ever a specific reason you stopped? (I think it was covid but I don’t want to assume)

[@claymathewselevator8121]

It was my introduction to a lot of independent wrestlers\wresters before AEW and TNA

[@kingskaggs5521]

Jinder was argubly the worst WWE champion of all time, I say "argubly" because we still have to remember Diesel.

[@kingskaggs5521]

Rodycaz Cocaine is a powerful drug.

[@mattlarsen4970]

Nah Jinder is by far the worst

[@rabasi8330]

The Miz in 2011 and perhaps Sheamus in 2015 and Roman since their reigns were bland.

[@dougbarrett619part2]

you must hate AJ then

[@dougbarrett619part2]

yea Rodycaz is most likely a wwe fan only

[@ramdomdude7257]

Gosh, I still remember the boring reign of Mahal, Jesus... I mean, god... It was so boring, JBL wasn't much better, but the matches were better, we have Mahal and Orton 3 times... Sure, he faced Nakamura and AJ, but JBL faced Undertaker, Booker T etc... There is no comparison, for me, JBL is a better heel and had better matches, Mahal made the belt less important, because you can't have a jobber that almost never won a match became wwe champion, let alone the fact that it was his FIRST championship victory (I know that Sheamus won the wwe championship in 2009, but that was a botch, if the match went like the script, his career would be different), at least JBL won some belts in the past and he wasn't a jobber. And THANK god he lost the US title because we would have Mahal and Orton 2.0 if he stayed champion

[@JSchaffer214]

ramdom dude I would hope you'd remember it, it's only been a freaking year!

[@ramdomdude7257]

T. Riley Roo I know, it's only been a year, but I'm trying to forget this garbage

[@SAM-ru4vx]

not sure which racist feud was worse JBL vs Eddy or Jinder vs Nakamura

[@adrienwolfenstein3287]

The amount of people that I see every now and then saying that Sheamus won the belt for the first time in a botch just reminds me of how WWE can really blur the lines in the most subtle of ways. It's a shame they don't that very often.

[@ramdomdude7257]

@@adrienwolfenstein3287 Are you saying it wasn't a botch? Maybe it wasn't, but is weird that a guy who was in the company for 6 months beats the main star of the company who has been for years.

[@hadsbros]

I 100% agree! Jinder and JBL alike were entertaining and were rooted for by us hardcore fans hands down game over man game over!

[@damnrapunzel8130]

JBL was a _fantastic_ heel champion. His character was so loathsome. I feel like he genuinely did a great job and got heel heat for his character, and not heat because he was a bad choice for champion. I remember thinking "What the fuck? BRADSHAW?" when he became WWE champion, but he really rose to the task. Jinder was just a character that belongs in the 80s and the writing for him was bad. He could have been great, though.

[@fro-zone2k]

No he wasn't.

[@fro-zone2k]

Jinder Mahal is not a bad champion

[@sheriffkimbo]

Just finished watching. Yeah, I get what you was trying to do. I didn't need to watch the video to know that JBL would be better, but yes, I completely understand why you made this comparison. I think people have forgotten how much of a surprise it was when JBL won. I didn't like it at the time, but comparing it to Jinder, well it's not even a contest - as the video proved!

[@jking2552]

there is a big difference JBL was never a jobber just a midcarder, where Jinder never won

[@bernhardalan3613]

@allàh jeśùš mullo aur chiŕstiano ke baap aapkeseho Nothing he wrote implied that he does not know that wrestling is scripted... But you probably used all of your brain cells in making your stupid name.

[@mikeking4349]

Dude jbl was an awesome champion,u hated his guts.Every month i bought the ppvs just to see him lose the belt only to see him get by by the skin of his teeth.He's the last heel i remember truly despising

[@fro-zone2k]

He's a horrible champion

[@adamlennard1828]

JBL easily. He had real heat and his character was better. He could also be entertaining his massive neck brace still cracks me up. Plus I think his matches were slightly better. The bull rope match was at least brutal where he won it. Mahal had go away heat not heel heat, no good matches and was just boring. Plus JBL was at least a tag team champion and had more credibility then Mahal.

[@robertcarione6288]

JBL and Jinder Mahal, no comparison............the only reason we got a JBL WWE Championship reign was to build up John Cena as the next big star whereas Jinder Mahals title reign was to spread the WWE into India which it failed that's why when he lost the belt to AJ Styles it was not at a PPV but an ordinary episode of Smackdown

[@rakkjack]

6:12 to 6:14 is the "shit hope i didn't commit manslaughter" face. Funniest and scariest thing i've ever seen.

[@jordanfrost25]

JBL, no question. I hate the guy as a person but damn he was a great heel

[@TheeKingRayzor]

Jordan Frost absolutely.

[@beatricemoore7785]

@@TheeKingRayzor because he's such a bully but I like as a person SO SO SO SO SO SO much

[@ztm999]

Brian got The Bootyman, Zodiac, The Disciple, Brother Bruti, Brutus Beefcake in one intro?!

[@jazzygeofferz]

The Man With No Name or Face: Ed "Dizzy" Boulder. No gimmicks needed.

[@ladjr.51]

I always found a lot of similarities between their reigns. JBL is my all time favorite and Mahal is my current one. > They had awesome celebrations > They were always dressed with suits > Most hated champions in SmackDown > Both loved and defended the honour of their respective country > Both had an outside help in almost every match they had (Orlando Jordan/The Cabinet, The Singh Brothers)

[@horrorfilm3884]

They dropped the ball by not giving Jinder a "Cabinet" like stable. The Singh brothers should've won the tag titles and added someone else. I loved how Jinder got the JBL push, even though this generation of fans don't see it that way. All hail Jinder Mahal!

[@ci7210]

JBL for giving John Cena his coordination

[@princeofddr]

C I THIS.

[@donteharris22]

C I Coronation* but I agree bruh

[@ItDoesntMatterReally]

JBL had charisma, in-ring talent, way more seasoning, and wasn't a joke prior to his rise to prominence. APA were bad asses. They were well liked bad asses who held gold. In an era of too many belts, JBL pretty much stacked up every title he was qualified to hold. I'm talking US, European, IC, Hardcore, and of course the tag belts. As left field as it might have seemed at the time, it wasn't like JBL was a loser with 'go away' heat prior to his ascension. The man's a grand slam champion. I'd also argue that the biggest difference is that after JBL lost the belt it wasn't out of the realm of possibility in the fan's eyes that he could get it back. You said it yourself: Jinder's a fluke champion. He came off as a jobber conman who found a way to crack the code into the world title picture. He can't talk, he's not great in the ring, and he has no credibility. Does he have a great look? Yes, but that's all he has.

[@freyjafirefly9201]

Hell yeah love this idea. Regular thing maybe??

[@b.j.morgan8175]

Yeah, I think this debate and discussion was over before it even started. JBL hands down. JBL's reign also helped elevate the guys around him. Orlando Jordan won his only title with the company. The Bashams captured the tag titles.

[@charleskeyton7903]

I loved JBL as WWE Champion he’s was great at being a heel

[@fro-zone2k]

He was a good heel but a horrible champion

[@EmoEmu]

Hmm. He's starting to look a bit more like Cartman yelling "BEEFCAKE!" Cheesy Poofs are a hell of a drug.

[@robertmoreno7881]

I really appreciate the attempt to defend the Jinder experiment. I'm a huge Jinder fan, unironically. I like his slower style, he's the shoot biggest underdog babyface of all time going from fired jobber to world champion in less than a year, and everything I've seen he's just a lovely guy. I feel so bad for the man behind the gimmick, and considering all the hatred he got personally he took it on the chin and carried himself like a champion. He had the look, he clearly put all he could into his work and I'm glad to see him have that success and continue to be featured even after the experiment failed. Thank you Brian for trying the very hard thing that is defending the Jinder experiment, and for pointing out the line that is this wasn't Jinder's fault. He didn't book himself to have this losing streak then sudden victories, he didn't book himself to had needless racist lines and he didn't book himself to have the same finish for most of his title matches. He put his all into in but unlike JBL who had a clear character progression, creative finishes to get him to crawl out champion (quite literally with that Big Show match) and the company investing everything into him...Jinder was just given a two other lads, a microphone, some suits and told to go out there and talk about people being racist. How would that get over...apart from with me and Brian apparently. He may not be the best world champion of all time but I think he's one of the nicest, like Test or Bryan just a genuinely nice guy...

[@blinkth3dog]

Robert Reegar I couldn't have said it better mate

[@Xehanort10]

He seems an alright guy in real life but he did once call people haters for saying he was on steroids even though he is.

[@Lycan_Jedi]

It's not even close. We're talking a mid-carder vs A Jobber. A guy who had actually won championships, against someone who'd never even won a tag team Championship. A guy who actually did moves against someone who did nothing but REST HOLDS. Someone entertaining vs someone I watched just to get to sleep. A guy who actually deserved his run vs someone who got handed it. Really who's making this comparison Brian?

[@TV247]

Definitely JBL, he actually got a reaction. Some of the stuff he did back then was hilariously messed up, like when he prevented Mexicans from crossing the border. I'm Mexican myself and I though that was really funny.

[@Nazrat84]

It all came down to what they did in their run. JBL was one of the best heels of his era in wrestling (and real life) where Jinder was... Jinder.

[@harshgharlute9524]

Wade Barrett always reminded me of Bradshaw!

[@BamaBoyJosh]

You sort of glossed over it but you really undersold just how random and out of nowhere Jinder's push came. He was squashed on Raw by Finn Balor in under 3 minutes and then the very next night squashed by Sami Zayn in three minutes. A week later he wins the 6-pack challenge to become #1 contender. He went from being a literal jobber to World Title contender in a week.

[@giovannitrejo3518]

Internet marks: We want new stars WWE WWE: Ok, here's Roman Reigns marks: OMG NO! you're shoving him down our throats, we want you to give someone else opportunities WWE: Ok, here's Jinder Mahal Marks: No, anyone but Jinder, he sucks --Steroids! WWE: *sighs*

[@Xehanort10]

They want people they like pushed. And only Vince McMahon, some women and some kids like Reigns. Mahal was pushed to sell merchandise in India not because people liked him.

[@shorewall]

They've got the talent that fans like. They aren't scratching their heads. They want to fuck with the fans.

[@shawnbrooks2081]

Even though JBL hadn't even sniff the world title picture before 2004, at least he was somewhat of an established name in the lower-mid card and tag team divisions. Jinder, on the other hand, was a straight up jobber until May 2017 where he won like three matches and became world champion. Also, in 2004 SmackDown was in desperate need of a heel main eventer since all of the established named were either injured or left the company and Eddie wanted to drop the WWEchampionship due to the pressure of being the top guy. In 2017, SmackDown had several guys that could have potentially been WWE champion that were far more established than Jinder.

[@threed7]

I mean I guess it’s just me but I absolutely love jbl as champion even if he bullied me I’d still love him 😂

[@asandovalhatchet]

Awesome video! I was also in that more “forgiving fan” category when it came to Jinder’s reign

[@arturtomczak636]

Well... it was so pointless, I even feel sorry for Jinder

[@jcam.hart8]

Let's see: Jbl beat Eddie Guerrero for the title at the Great American Bash 4/5 Defended it against Guerrero in a Steel cage match against Guerrero on Smackdown! 5/5 Jbl retained the title after disqualification against the Undertaker at SummerSlam 2/5 Defended it in a last ride match against the Undertaker at No Mercy 5/5 Defended it against Booker T at Survivor Series 3/5 Defended it in a fatal four way against Undertaker, Booker T, and Eddie Guerrero at Armaggedon 5/5 Defended it in a triple threat match against Kurt Angle and Big Show at the Royal Rumble 3/5 Defended it against Big Show in a Barbwire cage match at No way out 3/5 Lost it to John Cena at WrestleMania 21 3/5 Reign Ranking 3/5

[@Xehanort10]

JBL because he wasn't only pushed because he was on steroids and to sell merchandise in India. He'd been a long time tag team wrestler before his singles title run too unlike Mahal who'd only been part of a stupid storyline where he was The Great Khali's brother in law and a jobber the rest of the time. The India tour they made Jinder champion to promote got cut down to 1 show where he was beaten by Triple H. JBL had some great feuds when he was champion especially the one with Eddie Guerrero. But with Jinder we were supposed to buy the fact that the man who'd previously been beaten by Kalisto, El Torito and Mojo Rawley could suddenly beat the likes of Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. Mahal's generic foreign heel gimmick sucked and was a ripoff of Muhammad Hassan. JBL was hated because he was a good heel when he was champion. Mahal was hated because he just plain sucked. Losing to guys nowhere near the top meant he couldn't be taken seriously as champion. Mahal can't wrestle, his character sucks, the only promo he ever cut was basically "I am the Maharaja and you fans are racist and xenophobic because you don't like me", his matches were more predictable than Cena and Reigns's. Jinder gets the shit beaten out of him, the Singh brothers distract his opponent, Jinder hits his finisher from behind and wins. And now he's back to jobber status because WWE realised that his title run was a mistake because the India tour failed to the point where they cheered HHH over Mahal.

[@Jimmieadamsp]

JBL was such a natural at being a heel. He's right up there with Edge as being one of the greatest heels of the Era

[@A0042-s3z]

Jinders title reign collapsed with that awful feud with nakamura. They had no chemistry what so ever And nakamura being a great wrestler couldnt save it. I actually thought positively and gave it a chance during the feud with orton. But that nakamura feud just squashed the whole title reign for me. He could have had a better feud than with nakamura or they could have booked it properly. Thankfully he lost to aj styles.

[@chihollywood9379]

Nakamura shoulda won da belt

[@slashandbones13]

JBL got actual heel heat, not "go away" heat.

[@dougbarrett619part2]

JBL. Jinder made me stop watching wresting

[@lzi9452]

dougbarrett619part2 what do you like in wrestling? Sami zayn and nakamura?

[@dougbarrett619part2]

Nakamura yes as i watch njpw just like i watch roh and tna. sami not so much didn't like him in roh

[@dougbarrett619part2]

and before you ask Jinder is not the only wrestle i don't enjoy and that i hate in wwe that as killed the spot

[@dougbarrett619part2]

so what you saying is njpw roh don't have good wrestlers. so you must hate AJ Kurt Joe DB and others who wrestled they

[@dougbarrett619part2]

I would also point out you are part of the problem that thinks wwe does no wrong. as you calling me a smark just because i watch other wrestling shows

[@HardcoreGamer4Ever]

JBL and it's not even close. He had a great and underrated run IMO.

[@erickearney5260]

Make this series please

[@raspymorten]

JBL by a thousand fucking miles. Bradshaw was a good midcard act for years, and was trusted enough to wrestle with Austin against the fucking nWo. (BTW I'm not even started with this vid, but if you even try to make it sound like Bradshaw turned into JBL instantly after joining Smackdown, and won the WWE title after like a month. When in actuality, he was there since fucking 03, and won the title multiple months after debuting.)

[@VibrationPsy]

Jbl was a great heel champion, his feuds with eddie & cena were amazing

[@fro-zone2k]

He sucked as champion

[@SamoaRowe]

Currently marking out over a comment I made in 2004 being included at 1:35 of this video. The internet is truly forever.

[@Hardcore-Productions]

I don't think it was fair to give away the point on strength of schedule because the wrestlers JBL faced over the wrestlers Jinder Mahal faced were greater. Sure, the likes of Undertaker, Booker T and Eddie Guerrero are legends in the business, but who is to say the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles won't be down the line? And whether people like it or not, Randy Orton is a first ballot Hall Of Famer.

[@austinmeyer_238]

Hardcore Productions don’t worry, I like Randy Orton.

[@Hardcore-Productions]

Go on, enlighten me then.

[@codeword632]

undertaker booker and eddie have better talenet

[@Hardcore-Productions]

Sure, in hindsight. But again, who is to say the likes of AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura couldn't reach that level of legendary status in, say, five to ten years? Undertaker, Booker T and Eddie Guerrero had at least a decade worth of experience in the WWE when JBL feuded with them. Undertaker had at least two decades, in fact.

[@codeword632]

but taker also had a streak and at one time was called the final boss of the wwe and booker t was one of the best wcw champs and eddie was just good i mean watch the ladder match rey vs eddie

[@Powerhouse1]

JBL by a long shot. He at least was legitimately hated as a heel and the match with Eddie gurrero to win the title was really good. Plus there was really no top heels that weren't injured in 2004.

[@jazzygeofferz]

The crowd's reaction when they think Eddie's retained but JBL wins the title is fantastic. They managed to come up with enough finishes to keep that heat on him as well through the rest of the title reign. Crawling out under the ring to escape the cage against Big Show was my favourite finish.

[@Powerhouse1]

Geoffrey Walsh Yeah they booked him pretty well as he always found a way to squeeze out a victory. I was booing at the TV when Eddie lost.

[@purplehairedwarrior]

could you do all 3 sheild members next

[@730F-Sport]

purple hairedwarrior good idea.. but Rollins wins by a mile

[@purplehairedwarrior]

he could do eddie vs chris

[@JDotWill]

JBL had a better run as the champion & his ascension to the Main Event made more sense at the time. He had better matches with better opponents. Plus he was a damn good heel. & if it wasn't for his back injury he was going to be the World Champion again. The only issue I had with Jinder winning is that he didn't win any matches leading up to the number 1 contender match. If he had been on a role for at least a month prior it would've made more sense. But on the flip side it does make it feel like a more spontaneous thing. On any given night anyone can win any match. That makes it feel more real in a way. But I didn't have a major issue with Jinder as champion. He had good matches with Nakamura & his match with AJ was great. Jinder has improved in ring immensely, & I think that he will be World Champion again before his career is over

[@EmpireGamingWynter]

I liked both title reigns if I'm being honest but I have to say your first point was very one sided. JBL was a mid carder in a time when the company's titles that weren't the world title were hot shotted around like they were going out of fashion. If Jinder was around in 1999-2002 I guarantee he'd be a multi time Tag Team, Hardcore and European champion too

[@twig8523]

Wow. There was a lot more "meat" to the comparison than I'd originally assumed. I was pleasantly surprised; well done, Z-man. With the benefit of hindsight, I too am finding myself appreciating JBL's run on top more than i did at the time it was going on. Tip use the common parlance: I was so triggered by JBL's heel work. They effectively reeled me in and worked my (s)mark ass.

[@ThirdRateNerds]

JBL easily won this one. Jinder Mahal was basically the worst thing on television for the ungodly long reign they gave him. He's about as concrete an example I can think of (besides the obvious one that will never change) that shows if an experiment isn't working, just cut your losses and try a different experiment. Instead of trying to keep the Indian guy who couldn't even move tickets in India, maybe swap to a more interesting and talented guy so the fans have a reason to care. JBL may not have been the greatest champion ever, but at least his reign was kinda fun, always new ways to weasel away with the title, better promos, an actual air of undeserved inflated ego. Jinder felt forced, sucked the heat out of every room he was in and had the same match whether it was Smackdown or a PPV and it showed.

[@RoyStantz]

0:56 God bless Eva Marie for creating that awesome name for the Modern Day Maharaja.

[@quothetheraven79]

You forgot to compare who’s stories of bullying gave Vince raging hard ons

[@walker1984]

Thank you for finally doing this comparison.

[@MrLatrunks14]

No one gave Jinder Mahal a chance. Period. You can thank social media.

[@Gravewhisper]

He's not entitled to one.

[@MrLatrunks14]

Cyanideperfume I bet you would be saying different if it was A.J. styles or Nakamura.

[@Gravewhisper]

Yeah, probably. Because they are just overall way better at their job.

[@MrLatrunks14]

Cyanideperfume That is a Matter of opinion. Because all their hyped up matches sure have fallen flat. I'm calling it now: You are gonna blame Vince McMahon for Styles and Nakamura's hyped up matches falling flat. Even though it is on the performers. Or you are gonna say they didn't have motivation because they weren't in the main event. Like Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3 didn't need the main event. Or Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 10

[@cuttingcards88]

Lenard Williams fans just didn’t give it a chance is a failure of an argument because it’s up to the performer to EARN a chance.

[@RSMario128]

JBL's run was funny I still remember JBL accidentally getting hit with the tranq dart getting high and fighting a inflatable dinosaur thats just one promo.

[@Dim4323]

Honestly JBL was my REGIN OF TERROR.

[@Makainternational]

How dare you! JBL was one of the greatest heels of all time. At the time of his reign he was the longest reigning champion in smackdown television history....the wrestling Gooooooood JBL

[@Skrogansauce]

JBL was worse Because he didn't have THE WEIGHT OF 1.3 BILLION PEOPLE ON HIS SHOULDERS.

[@barrymk400]

At least JBL was a great heel and champion.

[@fayezfawzi3255]

It isnt even close lol. JBL is a true legend and one of the greatest heels of all time. Jinder is a joke.

[@YellaGuyCaveman]

I was Entertained by the salute, thats great heel work!

[@DANISEVIL]

Don't hinder the jinder

[@nickchislom9499]

Troy Wallace... Tru. Tru. Tru. Don't Hinder the Jinder...

[@EmoEmu]

JBL was far superior. Part of why everyone was universally cheering Eddy was because JBL was a real heel. And JBL worked his ass off to make his matches special while he had the title. People gave a damn and that's what it's all about. Jinder is a much much much muuuuuch nicer guy, but few people gave a damn during his title run. Mostly it was just groans and boredom.

[@gablefanproductions01]

everyone can agree that Jinder Mahal as WWE champion was the best thing in 2017 *several people are typing*

[@ShakShak1999]

Antnony GableGate and disliking

[@nickchislom9499]

I'm all in on Jinder...

[@gablefanproductions01]

+Nick Chislom same, I had no problem with him as champ

[@Xehanort10]

You misspelled "worst."

[@ShinRyojin]

JBL was built up to be a aggressive badass and was over with the crowd with the APA gimmick. You could take him seriously as a legit threat. Jinder was booked as a joke from day 1. Even with the title you couldn’t take him seriously and you can tell that there was some sort of shenanigans with him getting the belt.

[@Noobie2k7]

I enjoyed JBL's title reign. He was a real true heel champion in a time when there were so little really pure despicable heels. Plus he still delivered a killer Clothesline from Hell so yeah.

[@TheSBleeder]

JBL. No hesitation. He was a good heel. Maybe even a very good heel. He could pull off the Ted DiBiase (Sr.) "I'm better than all of you slobs" attitude.