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What’s the story?
Another champion will be in action on the August 08, 2017, edition of Smackdown Live as WWE Champion Jinder Mahal will face Randy Orton in a non-title match. A non-title match between Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi and women’s Money in the Bank winner Carmella was already announced for the show.
In case you didn’t know…
Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton have been feuding on the blue brand ever since Mahal won a six pack challenge to become number one contender to the WWE Championship, held at the time by The Viper. Mahal shocked the world when he pinned Orton at BackLash to become the new WWE Champion.
The two battled on two more occasions, once at the Money in the Bank event in Orton’s home town of St. Louis Missouri and then at last month’s Battleground pay-per-view in the third ever Punjabi Prison match. Former World Heavyweight Champion, The Great Khali made a surprise appearance during the conclusion of the match to help Mahal escape the structure and retain his WWE title.
The heart of the matter
Orton and Mahal have not crossed paths following their match at Battleground and this upcoming match could be the final match in their three-month long feud as both will look forward to new challenges heading into SummerSlam.
What’s next?
After his third consecutive PPV win over Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal was confronted by John Cena on Smackdown Live. Smackdown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan announced a blockbuster main event for Smackdown last week between Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura, with the winner challenging The Modern Day Maharaja for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. Nakamura pinned Cena and will face Mahal at SummerSlam on August 20.
Meanwhile, Rusev defeated Chad Gable last week on Smackdown and demanded an opponent for SummerSlam. Randy Orton answered the challenge and the match between the two was made for SummerSlam.
Author’s take
I don’t see this match ending without dispute. I could see it turned into a tag team match – Orton and Nakamura vs Mahal and Rusev - after interference from the Bulgarian Brute.
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