Brock Lesnar, Jinder Mahal and the Era of WWE Cheapening Championship Titles

The Universal Championship and WWE title will be better off when Brock Lesnar and Jinder Mahal aren't holding those prizes anymore.

Lesnar's schedule makes it all but impossible to build around him. He is holding the universal crown hostage as a sometimes-star disguised as a special attraction.

Mahal's issue is not his attendance; it's his aptitude for the mat game. He's simply not good enough to be a top champion.

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But for much of 2017, those two men have been their brand's respective kings—the Superstars WWE has asked to serve as Raw's and Smackdown's No. 1 titleholders.

Those two wrestlers now appear to be on a collision course in what would be a dream match with different champs involved. The Maharaja called out the universal champ on Tuesday's SmackDown, challenging The Beast Incarnate to a match at Survivor Series.

It's worth noting that chants of "you can't wrestle!" echoed through Seattle's Key Arena in the early part of Mahal's announcement. As much effort as the former 3MB member has put into remaking himself into a top-tier heel, he has yet to prove he belongs on the marquee.

The initial stunned reaction to Mahal's challenge speaks to that.

Lesnar vs. Mahal would be a rare champion vs. champion battle—a clash between Raw's and SmackDown's supposed top stars. But much of the crowd isn't reacting favorably to this news.

Count NoDQ.com among those pushing back against the idea of this Survivor Series showdown: 

In the past, the WWE and world heavyweight champs meeting would be a dream bout. It would be a meeting of two stars with great momentum and ardent followings.

Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk, Randy Orton vs. Edge and Batista vs. Chris Jericho would all be met with more excitement than we've seen for Lesnar vs. Mahal so far. 

For Lesnar, that's largely a result of him being an inconsistent part of the product. He shows up on Raw one week and misses the next five. He wrestles on some pay-per-views and not on others, robbing events of universal title bouts.

Credit: WWE.com

Sunday's TLC Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV will be sans Lesnar. As was Payback and Extreme Rules earlier this year.

The Beast Incarnate has only defended the Universal Championship three times since winning it in April, per CageMatch.net. And he hasn't wrestled on TV since 2004.

This come-and-go approach does make each arrival feel big, but WWE can do that without making him a champion. With a title belt in hand, he makes Raw feel incomplete when he's not around. He prevents the show from delivering consistent title feuds. 

Imagine a film franchise where the biggest star only showed up every third movie.

It just doesn't work. And it makes the Universal Championship feel like an afterthought too often.

As for Mahal, it's nice to see the company commit to a guy, but he's not WWE championship material.  

The Maharaja is average on the mic. He's underwhelming in the ring. His overall skill set doesn't come close to what SmackDown stars like Kevin Owens and AJ Styles boast.

John Cena's father trashed Mahal on an appearance on BostonWrestling.com's YouTube Channel.

"I don't think he's a good champion. I don't think he's a worthy champion," Cena Sr. said. "I don't think he's the man for the job."

It's hard to debate him there.

Mahal's promo work since grabbing the belt has been flat and repetitive. His championship matches have fallen short of a main event level by a mile.

In response to the WWE title match at SummerSlam Joe Lanza of Voices of Wrestling wrote: "Look, Jinder Mahal flat out stinks. It's time to stop pretending otherwise or waiting for him to improve."

And after Hell in a Cell, where Mahal again did little to impress against Shinsuke Nakamura, Chris Walder of The Score expressed frustration shared by many:

The assumed reasoning for Mahal being champ is to boost viewership in India and have him headline the upcoming tour of that country with gold in hand. With Lesnar, the argument is that he draws.

The WWE Championship should be more than a marketing tool for a select portion of the audience. And how exactly does a universal champion draw when he's not around? In both cases, WWE is making misguided sacrifices to stubbornly keep these guys champs.

It's no coincidence that neither champ is the highlight of their show.

SmackDown has leaned on its tag team division, Breezango's comic stylings and Owens' character work. On Raw, Braun Strowman's destruction and The Shield being back together are what most intrigues from that brand right now. 

For the moment, we're not in an era where the most entertaining, most charismatic and most popular wrestlers are crowned champs. Something else is underway, and it's been hard to watch.