Jinder Mahal is creating buzz in WWE because of his sudden rise to fame from his win at the recent SmackDown Live event. Meanwhile, Lana will be replacing Emma in the "EmmaLina" gimmick in WWE.
Jinder Mahal, also known as "The Maharajah," won the WWE championship by being the last man standing versus Mojo Rawley, Sami Zayn, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and Dolph Ziggler in a Six-Pack Challenge on the April 18 episode of SmackDown Live.
Recently, Mahal stole the WWE championship from Randy Orton, along with The Singh Brothers. He also won against Bray Wyatt in the House of Horrors Match at Payback with the title "The Viper."
With all the noise Mahal has been making and with speculations of him becoming the WWE champion at Backlash, it is anticipated that his time under the spotlight is because the wrestling franchise has expanded to India, Sportskeeda reports.
Mahal is actually from Canada, though he was born of Punjabi Sikh origin and can speak the language fluently. If Mahal indeed becomes the new WWE champion, he will be the second superstar with Indian roots — following The Great Khali who was the World Heavyweight champion in 2007 — which might help expand the franchise in India.
Meanwhile, Lana will now be replacing the tandem that Emma was forced to resign from.
According to PW Mania, Lana will fill in the shoes of Emma by becoming the blonde bombshell that the latter could not fulfill. Lana will also be separating from her husband, Rusev, in terms of storylines, though keeping her Russian accent is still up for debate.
The 2017 WWE Backlash will be on Sunday, May 21, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. This will be the first pay-per-view of SmackDown Live and WWE's second event after WrestleMania 33.
