Jinder Mahal joins WWE Raw, loses United States title
Jinder Mahal was the first wrestler to switch brands in this year’s Superstar Shakeup.
Tonight’s Raw opened with Mahal being revealed as the newest member of the show’s roster. He argued with Kurt Angle about the perks he would get, with Angle immediately making him defend the United States Championship against Jeff Hardy. Hardy won the title after hitting a Swanton Bomb.
Mahal then declared that he would be getting his rematch at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27th.
Mahal moved from Raw to SmackDown in last year’s Shakeup, becoming number one contender and going on to win the WWE Championship from Randy Orton. Mahal defending the US title against Orton had been scheduled for Backlash on May 6th.
The Intercontinental and United States titles swapped places last year as Dean Ambrose went to Raw and Kevin Owens joined SmackDown. Raw currently has both titles ahead of the Shakeup continuing on SmackDown tomorrow night.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.