Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal battled for the WWE Championship at Battleground. The Singh Brothers were banned from the match but Mahal had a backup plan in place because he was able to get a former WWE Superstar to interject himself in the match. As Mahal made his way to the ring, they showed a small screen with the announcers from India talking about the match. Basically, they wanted to give them face time to play to the fans watching in India. The rules are that you have to escape both structures. The first structure has four doors. A wrestler can call for doors to open but each door will only be open for 60 seconds. After the time has elapsed, then the door will not open again. The second structure does not have a door so the only way to win is to climb it and land outside of the structure with both feet at ringside.
Here is a rundown of some of the key spots from the match:
Mahal called for the first two doors but could not escape and Orton called for the other two doors. There was one door left but Mahal was the one to escape when The Singh Brothers appeared out of nowhere (under the ring, actually) and pulled him out. Orton was able to climb out of the first structure and caught up with Mahal on the second structure. Orton was able to fight and get Mahal to fall off the structure but The Sing Brothers grabbed Orton’s leg and pulled him down. Mahal hit a superkick and then proceeded to climb the structure but Orton took out the Singh Brothers at ringside and then caught up with Mahal. Orton hit Mahal with several cane shots and then proceeded to climb the second structure but he was having trouble because his shoulder was hurt. Samir Singh was able to get out of the structure and climb it from the outside to prevent Orton from climbing. Orton fought back with punches until Samir fell off the structure through the announcer’s table as fans chanted “holy shit.” Mahal was able to climb up and pull Orton back inside the second structure but Orton hit a draping DDT on the floor. Orton had blood on his arm and shoulder and was clearly in pain but I’m not sure what spot caused him to get cut. Orton took out the other Singh brother with a chair to the back and then used the chair on Mahal.
We broke the news a few hours before the show about The Great Khali being spotted at the airport in Philadelphia. We speculated that he would get involved in the main event and that is exactly what happened. The Great Khali made his way down to the ring as Orton looked as he tried to climb the structure. Khali shook the structure and Orton lost his balance. Khali then reached through the bars and grabbed Orton by the throat as Mahal climbed over the structure. Mahal won and retained the WWE Championship.
For more on what happened on Battleground, including the results of the excellent Smackdown Tag Team Championship match, the weird ending for the United States Championship match, the Flag Match between John Cena and Rusev and more, then click here for complete results from the show.
Dear @SinghBrosWWE,
Bye-bye.
– @RandyOrton #WWEBattleground #WWEChampionship #PunjabiPrison pic.twitter.com/9IoLgN4xeI
— WWE (@WWE) July 24, 2017
.@JinderMahal has a GIANT surprise for @RandyOrton as The #GreatKhali comes to the aid of his fellow countryman at #WWEBattleground!!! pic.twitter.com/YeFs2o3kD8
— WWE (@WWE) July 24, 2017
THE GREAT KHALI?! The innovator of the #PunjabiPrison has emerged, and his target is @RandyOrton! #WWEBattleground #WWEChampionship pic.twitter.com/s54zkQlaXA
— WWE (@WWE) July 24, 2017
Here is your winner…and STILL @WWE Champion @JinderMahal! #WWEBattleground #WWEChampionship #PunjabiPrison pic.twitter.com/A3HIEqiTt6
— WWE (@WWE) July 24, 2017
The #ModernDayMaharaja @JinderMahal rides on…with help from the MONSTROUS #GreatKhali! #WWEChampionship #WWEBattleground #PunjabiPrison pic.twitter.com/kPdU9uxsI9
— WWE (@WWE) July 24, 2017
