After SmackDown’s World champion Randy Orton won a hard-hitting no disqualification bout tonight (April 25) against Erick Rowan - a disciple of the Raw Superstar he’ll face on Sunday at Payback, the Viper grabbed a microphone to address the man he’ll enter a House of Horrors match in San Jose.
That was originally announced as championship match - before references to the belt slowly disappeared from WWE’s previews.
We may have a kayfabe explanation - courtesy of the official #1 contender for the strap, Jinder Mahal.
Mahal cut off Orton’s post-match promo to claim he was being disrespected, that Randy wasn’t paying attention to him and the American audience wasn’t taking him seriously. When that predictably broke down into violence, Jinder’s allies the Bollywood Boyz/Singh Brothers appeared to help him beat down the champ.
Then, they exited the arena - but not without a prize. Mahal has the World title, and according to a video shown later on in the broadcast, he left Des Moines, Iowa, with it.
#1Contender @JinderMahal seems to think he's already WON the @WWE Championship, because he just left Des Moines with it! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/O0L3itfey8
— WWE (@WWE) April 26, 2017
Now, there’s no official word that the Maharajah absconding with the belt is the reason WWE isn’t calling Sunday’s pay-per-view (PPV) tilt between Wyatt and Orton a title match any more, but... it could be. And at least they’re doing something to explain it, right?
And even if it’s not, this is a way to get more heat on Jinder - a guy who was elevated out of nowhere (sorry) from enhancement talent status just seven days ago.
We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, let us know what you think, Cagesiders.