Jinder Mahal is WWE Champion. The era of the ‘Maharaja’ has officially begun on Smackdown Live. We decided to create a list of who we think are the 5 top candidates to (eventually) defeat him. Note: We did not include Randy Orton on this list as we are assuming Jinder will retain at Money in the Bank. 

Unlikely –  Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler

All 3 of these guys theoretically have a chance to win the WWE Championship (as they are competing in the Money in the Bank Ladder match). We think they are all unlikely.

Kevin Owens is currently the WWE United States Champion and will probably keep his title for a decent amount of time. Even though it would be great to see him holding the Money in the Bank briefcase.

WWE is clearly high on Baron Corbin, but it is probably too early for him to win the WWE Title.

Dolph Ziggler also has a chance to win the briefcase and cash in like he did all those years ago, but again unlikely.

All 3 guys are heels and we don’t think WWE plans to book Jinder against a heel anytime soon. After eliminating these 3, here are the guys we think have a chance:

5)  Sami Zayn

Based on the way WWE has been booking Sami Zayn throughout his career, it seems unlikely that he will be getting a WWE Title run anytime soon.

With Jinder becoming WWE Champion, it has made things very interesting. I think this is especially the case for Sami Zayn.

Sami Zayn vs Jinder Mahal would provide WWE with the perfect clash of babyface vs heel. Zayn being the beloved underdog against the (mostly) hated Jinder.

I would love to see a program between these two. WWE could even have Sami come extremely close to winning the title, only to be screwed over by Jinder and the Singh Brother’s. The heat would be fantastic.

Eventually, WWE could have Sami triumph for the feel good moment!

Use the buttons below for more on our list of candidates to take the WWE Title from Jinder Mahal.