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What's the Story?
Jinder Mahal shocked the world when became WWE Champion and the Modern Day Maharaja now has the chance to compete at WrestleMania.
WWE announced via Twitter that the United States Championship would be defended in a triple threat match between Mahal, Bobby Roode and Randy Orton.
In Case You Didn't Know
Roode became the United States Champion back in January when he defeated Mahal in the United States Championship Tournament.
Orton would win the title by defeating Roode earlier this month at the Fastlane pay-per-view.
The Heart of the Matter
WWE said the following about the United States Championship match booked for WrestleMania:
The Apex Predator will defend his hard-won United States Championship at WrestleMania against both the Superstar he took it from and the Superstar who’s been waiting in the wings for months. Even as Orton emerged as the challenger to then-champion Roode in a rivalry spawned from the first-ever SmackDown Superstar Top 10 list, Mahal — furious over not having been voted onto the rankings in the first place — claimed victories over both men. The Modern Day Maharaja made sure he wouldn’t be forgotten, either, dropping Orton moments after he dethroned The Glorious One at WWE Fastlane to win his first United States Title and become a Grand Slam Champion
The history between Orton and Mahal focused around the WWE Championship and dominated the summer of 2017.
Roode has no extended history with Mahal or Roode, but The Glorious One will look to regain his first singles title on the main roster.
This marks the second triple threat match booked for WrestleMania 34 following the announcement from Monday Night Raw that The Miz would defend his Intercontinental Championship against Finn Balor and Seth Rollins.
What's Next?
Tune in to SmackDown Live to see how the feud develops between Roode, Mahal and Orton.
WrestleMania is three weeks away and SmackDown has plenty of time to make this match feel important to the show.
Author's Take
The Modern Day Maharaja was chastised for winning the WWE Championship without proper buildup and for his lackluster performances, but the former champion now has a chance to showcase his talents in a role that won't upset the fans.
