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Jinder Mahal Teases Match Against John Cena

After his victory against Randy Orton at Sunday’s WWE Battleground event, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal spoke with Indian Express and teased a possible match against John Cena.

“I put the ‘vipers’ legacy to rest. I beat a fourteen time World Champion three times in a row. Whose legacy am I going to put to rest – maybe John Cena. He has a legacy of his own, I would like love nothing more than to use his legacy as a stepping stone and cement my own legacy.”

It’s been rumored for a while now that they may actually compete against each other over of the WWE Championship at this year’s SummerSlam. It should be known what direction they are going with the WWE Championship title at SummerSlam after this week’s SmackDown Live episode.

Former WWE Superstar Returning at Tonight’s WWE Battleground Event?

There is a rumor going around that former WWE Superstar The Great Khali is backstage in Philadelphia for tonight’s WWE Battleground event.

While Khali has not been confirmed to appear on camera tonight, it’s been speculated that he may appear in the main event match of Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship given his connection with the Punjabi Prison match. One of our readers also sent word that Khali posted photos of himself at the airport and on an airplane earlier this morning.

Khali last appeared for WWE on the October 31st, 2014 episode of SmackDown in a losing effort to Rusev. Khali left the company once his contract expired on November 13th, 2014th.

You can check out our full on-going coverage of tonight’s show at this link and also you can join us for our LIVE fan discussion on Ringsidetalk.net!

First Match Set for WWE SummerSlam

Natalya defeated Lana, Becky Lynch, Tamina and Charlotte in a Fatal 5-Way match at tonight’s WWE Battleground event to earn a shot at the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the upcoming WWE Summerslam event.

No other matches have been officially set for the event.

WWE SummerSlam will take place on August 20, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. As always, we will have live coverage of the event.

How To Book Darren Young Upon His Return

Darren Young is set to make his return to the company really soon. You all remember Darren Young right? He was one half of The Prime Time Players with Titus O’Neil, which I thought was one great tag team. Although he isn’t the greatest wrestler, he isn’t half bad either. We last saw him as a student of Bob Backlund, working hard and doing things the right way. He injured his elbow back in January and has been off our television screens ever since.

With a return nearing, one has to wonder how Young should be booked and portrayed in his return. It doesn’t make sense to pair him back with Backlund, but he could be used in another form.

Young is on the Raw brand, which is loaded with star studded talent. To get television time there, you have to do something impressive and shocking at the same time. Do something that draws ratings and garners attention for yourself. For Young to do that, he must turn on and destroy Bob Backlund.

It sounds harsh and inhumane in a way, but it makes perfect sense. Backlund is a sixty-seven year old man who isn’t physically the same as he was back in his prime. He may can defend himself, but not like a thirty-three year old Darren Young could. Young turning on Backlund would make the crowd feel uncomfortable, sad, and even disgusted at the sight before their eyes. So how should he do it?

Start out with Young making a surprise return to Monday Night Raw with Backlund by his side. They can do the skit where Backlund proclaims he’s going to make Darren Young great again. This is when Young turns on Backlund, hitting him with heavy shots and kicks. Young grabs a chair and hits Backlund across the back. As the crowd stares at the motionless body of Backlund, they will also see the sinister grin on Young’s face. A new heel is born, one with nothing to lose.

Young’s success after that moment determines how he performs in the ring and cut promos. Start him off against a Heath Slater or a Rhyno, a low-card babyface that can help put someone over. Eventually this will lead up to him getting a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. It may be puzzling, but if Young can put in the work then he definitely deserves a shot at the Intercontinental Championship.

Jinder Mahal winning the WWE Championship has opened the door for so many others. Mahal went from jobber to champ in a blink of an eye. If he can do it, then Young has the chance to do it too. Just put in the time and the work, then anything is possible.

Darren Young has had his fair share of success within the company. He is a former Tag Team Champion and knows what it’s like to perform in big time matches. The ability is there, he just needs the opportunity. Attacking his mentor could create just the perfect opportunity. Young as a heel will be a little fresh thing to help keep the fans interested and may get the notice of the powers that be. I wish Young all the best during his return to the WWE.

Jinder Mahal Says He Sees Himself Main Eventing WrestleMania

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal recently spoke to PhillyVoice where he talked about his upcoming Punjabi Prison title match with Randy Orton at this Sunday on WWE Battleground. He also talked about the hardships he faced in his career, and how he overcame them.

Speaking of his upcoming Punjabi Prison match in Philadelphia, he said:

“I love performing in Philly. The fans aren’t scared to voice their opinions. Sometimes their opinions are split, sometimes half the crowd is chanting one thing, sometimes half the crowd is chanting the other. But, you know, I look forward to it. I really don’t know how they’re going to react. That’s what’s going to make the match exciting. I don’t know if they’re going to boo me out of the building or if they’re going to boo Orton out of the building.

I do definitely know for sure they’re going to enjoy the match. It’s a Punjabi Prison match and it hasn’t happened in 10 years, and the structure is truly a monstrosity. I brought the Punjabi Prison this week on SmackDown, and it’s a spectacle. You’ve got to be there live just to appreciate the sheer size of it. It is a very risky match – for example, I went a little bit earlier and climbed the cage; it’s high and I’m scared of heights – but I know the Philly crowd is going to be rocking that night and I gotta do what I gotta do. I’m going to take the risks that I have to take to retain the WWE Championship.”

Mahal said that he was focused on improving even before his return and that he has not even “hit his prime yet”. He also added that he sees he has more title runs coming up for him in the future and how he aspires to be a future WWE Hall of Famer. He also talked about his role on NXT and how Triple H worked hard to promote NXT as its own separate brand rather than just a developmental brand.

When asked where he sees himself in a year:

“In one year, I see myself as already main eventing WrestleMania, still WWE Champion, and you know what, I see Drew McIntyre being on SmackDown. I think that Drew McIntyre will be challenging me for my WWE Championship. That’s where I see myself in one year.”

When asked about his run as part of 3MB and what he thinks of Drew McIntyre’s journey so far:

Drew’s one of my best friends. We’re always texting back and forth. Just to think a couple years ago, we were considered a joke and failures. I’ll be frank about it. I considered myself a failure when I got released from WWE after 3MB just because I didn’t live up to my potential. I didn’t live up to the expectations that I set for myself. I was going to come back with redemption and that’s exactly what I did.

And I know that’s what Drew’s doing. He took [being released] very personally and when he was on the independents, he was the hardest-working man on the independents and the most-traveled man on the independents. And you know, now he has a shot at Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship on SummerSlam weekend. I know he’s gonna do great. He’s going to become the NXT Champion. He’s going to become WWE Champion. And, you know, there’s always peaks and valleys. Three years ago, that was a valley. Now we’re at the peak and we’re still on the rise.

You can check out the full interview here.

Sheamus Talks About His Relationship With Cesaro

On the recent episode of Talk Is Jericho ‘Sheamus And Cesaro’, one-half of the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Sheamus spoke about his relationship with Cesaro and how they got close after their team of Sheamus and Cesaro came together and how they found great mutual respect for each other:

“We had a lot of respect for each other. I don’t think we were super close or anything, but we’re both Europeans, kind of the same background, and we get here. From wrestling each other enough, we both definitely had a lot of respect. Do you know what I mean? I think there has always been a competition between us and that’s a great thing because you always want to try to one up each other.”

He also talked about how their characters evolved their relationship through time and the ‘odd couple’ kind of fighting their team did:

“It [has] definitely been an evolution from when we started, but even when we were tagging, there was that thing of like the odd couple kind of fighting each other and we wanted to push it. We didn’t get the opportunity to push it as much as we wanted because you have a segment and it’s taken away. Do you know what I mean? And so, like, people were enjoying it. Do you remember the boo/yay stuff? The boo/yay stuff was great!”

You can check the rest of the podcast here.