Jinder Mahal shocked the WWE Universe when he rose from jobber to the stars to the new Wwe World Champion by beating Randy Orton at "Backlash" this month. His next pay-per-view title defense will be against Randy Orton at "Money in the Bank" but some house shows in early July are advertising Jinder Mahal as defending his title against one of the biggest future stars in the WWE in Shinsuke Nakamura.
Understanding WWE house shows
The first thing that WWE fans need to keep in mind is that all WWE shows -- from house shows, to TV shows, to pay-per-view events -- can change matches at any time from what was advertised.
Another thing to understand is that WWE house shows and live events are used for talent to work with wrestlers they are either currently feuding with or will feud with in the future.
With that said, just because Jinder Mahal is advertised by the WWE to defend his world title against Shinsuke Nakamura at house shows in July, it does not mean it will actually happen. It also does not mean that Mahal will still be the WWE world champion by July. "Money in the Bank" takes place on June 19 and there is a chance Randy Orton wins his title back at the event.
However, that does not mean that Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura won't battle in the future, even if it is not for the title. Nakamura has only been on "SmackDown Live" for just over a month so there is a lot more time to go before he wins a WWE world title.
How long will Jinder Mahal be WWE champion?
While some WWE fans are assuming that Jinder Mahal is a short-term champion, there are heavy rumors that that scenario isn't the case. Much like JBL over a decade ago, the WWE took a wrestler no one expected to be a main event star, much less a world champion, and created a great character that made him a Hall of Fame superstar.
The rumors right now are that Jinder Mahal will hold the title until next January at the "Royal Rumble."
Of course, that could change if "SmackDown Live" ratings crash to earth. However, giving Jinder Mahal a long title reign could legitimize him as champion and set up a match with possibly John Cena at the "Royal Rumble," where Cena could finally break Ric Flair's world title record and hold it all by himself.
Jinder Mahal would need challengers until then. Having him in a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura and not having Shinsuke winning the title would be a mistake. However, having them fight on WWE live house shows could give Shinsuke a chance to help Jinder improve in the ring.
