Did Jinder Mahal’s Promo on “Smackdown Live” Go Too Far?

A new article by the Washington Post has addressed a question that has been widely circulated amongst WWE fans: did Jinder Mahal’s promo on “Smackdown Live” cross racial lines?

The “modern day Maharaja” cut another promo against Shinsuke Nakamura this week, leading up to their match at “Hell In A Cell” for the WWE Championship. However, he referred to Nakamura as “Mr. Miyagi” from “The Karate Kid,” and also spoke in a broken Japanese accent for a part of the promo.

This lead to a very negative reaction from the WWE Universe, who referred to the promo as ‘racist’. According to the article:

“That’s racist,” spectators could be heard shouting as Mahal delivered the lines. Later in Mahal’s five-minute spiel, fans collaborated to chant, “That’s too far!”

“WWE should have never approved this,” 15-year-old Noumaan Faiz, who was in the audience, said in an email to The Washington Post, adding the bit left “a bad taste” in the audience’s mouth.

“Racism is definitely an idiotic way to get heat and not necessary,” said Faiz, who’s been watching WWE programming for more than a decade. “It also makes the writers look bad.”

You can view the promo below, although it should be noted that this is NOT from WWE’s official YouTube channel. In fact, the promo was not released by the company:

Jinder Mahal Promo on Shinsuke Nakamura - WWE SmackDown Live 9/19/17

However, not everyone was offended.

“I’m a longtime wrestling fan and I just saw it as a show,” Fernando Padilla said in a phone interview, noting that as a Latino he was just happy to see two minorities vying for a top WWE title.

WWE has released an official statement on the promo:

“Just like many other TV shows or movies, WWE creates programming with fictional personalities that incorporates real world issues and sensitive subjects.”

“As a producer of such TV shows, WWE Corporate is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.

What do you think of Jinder Mahal’s promo on “Smackdown Live?” Leave us a comment below, or post a comment on our Facebook page!

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