WWE's Most Controversial and Shocking Stories for the Week of May 26

This week in WWE controversy gave us everything from a shocking Jinder Mahal world championship victory to the Matt Hardy versus Impact Wrestling saga somehow getting even uglier. It's like WWE knows this article is published every Friday morning so it tries to pack as much drama into one week as possible beforehand.

Long Live the Maharaja

Jinder Mahal called his shot and shocked the world with an improbable victory over Randy Orton at WWE Backlash. WWE is quickly getting behind the Maharaja machine with an impressive celebration, which garnered an even more impressive 2.4 million views on YouTube, followed by a rollout of Maharaja merchandise.

Many pundits are skeptically dismissing Mahal's world championship victory as an India play, but this does a disservice to how hard he worked to transform his body, shake off an initial rough patch and return to WWE better than how he left it.

After an annual low, SmackDown Live's rating increased despite being up against a critical Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.

The key to the Maharaja's success is commitment, and protecting his win-loss record that very well may be the worst ever for a first-time WWE champion, per Steve Gerweck of Gerweck.net. 

Breaking Matt

Matt Hardy and Impact Wrestling continue to trade public barbs, this time with Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm firing back by releasing a series of text messages, emails and excerpts from Hardy's own Impact Wrestling contract to PWInsider (h/t Wrestling Inc) in hopes of proving the company's ownership of the Broken Hardy's gimmick.

Hardy has been champing at the bit to feature this character on television in all its "broken" glory, even using slight mannerisms whenever he can sneak them in.

And while WWE is condoning the limited use of Hardy's Broken gimmick, an email released by Nordholm revealed that the promotion has no interest in getting involved in the ongoing legal drama.

All signs point to this saga ending in some type of financial settlement that involves a handful of lawyers. It's a difficult situation in that Matt Hardy was certainly the brainchild for this gimmick, but it was fostered, cultivated and nearly perfected on Impact Wrestling television with the help of a creative writing staff.

Fans may be frustrated with Impact Wrestling's attempt to block the Hardys from simply taking this gimmick with them to WWE, but by not doing so, it would be setting a dangerous precedent.  

WWE Announces 32-Woman Tournament

WWE announced a 32-woman tournament, dubbed the Mae Young Classic that will feature female performers from around the world. The tournament is set to have a strong presence of females, from referees to broadcasters. WWE Hall of Famer Lita has already been named a color commentator alongside fellow Hall of Famer Jim Ross.

WWE has found success with niche tournaments, as its core subscriber demographic of hardcore wrestling fans have joined critics in praise of tournaments like the Cruiserweight Classic and the recent tournament for the United Kingdom Championship.

If the prior two aforementioned ventures are any indication, expect a women's-only show to debut on the WWE Network soon after.

Asuka Makes History 

There is a new record holder for the longest undefeated streak in pro wrestling history, and her name is Asuka. NXT has flawlessly booked the reigning women's champion, whose latest title defense saw her pin her two opponents simultaneously. She has won 174 straight.

Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and previous record holder Goldberg himself have weighed in to congratulate the Japanese juggernaut. Asuka has been so good in NXT, she's quickly approaching "how is Raw or SmackDown Live going to screw this up?" territory.

There is no precedent for Japanese wrestlers as major stars in WWE history, but with transitional talents like Asuka and Shinsuke Nakamura now in the fold, this figures to quickly change.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.