It looks like Sunday night’s Punjabi Prison match at Battleground may have been the final installment in a months-long feud between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton. Tonight, the WWE Champion and ‘Modern Day Maharaja’ made his presence felt on SmackDown Live, demanding an opponent for SummerSlam.
Mahal addressed the Richmond crowd, claiming in that Punjabi Prison match at Battleground he “crushed the legacy of Randy Orton, and the Legend of The Modern Day Maharaja was born.”
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Despite the interference of the Singh Brothers and surprise return of The Great Khali forming a full stable to Jinder’s advantage in the Punjabi Prison, Mahal said Randy Orton’s downfall was relying on hope, hoping to beat Jinder at his own game, and agreeing to face him in “his match, his terms, his turf.”
Jinder continued with his usual spiel that “just like the rest of you” his Battleground opponent underestimated the current WWE Champion, demanding that his next challenger for SummerSlam present themselves.
It’s not a huge surprise that it was John Cena answered the call, but the sixteen-time World Champion still got quite the pop as he made his entrance. Despite taking a beating at the hands of The Bulgarian Brute Rusev at Battleground, Cena came out on top, planting Old Glory in the end of their grueling flag match.
Cena responded to Jinder’s presumptions, saying “as a mind-reader, you’re a piece of crap,” but quickly turned to compliments and courtesy, saying he’s actually the one guy who would come out and congratulate the champion, despite his tactics.
After making proper introductions, he then gave Mahal a “heads up,” saying he would be that next challenger, and that no matter who Mahal brought, whether “Your mom, your dad, a magic carpet, a palace, a prison or a porta-potty!” at SummerSlam he’d be facing “Super Cena” for the title.
“Which means at SummerSlam I’ll be walking out 17-time champ! It was nice to meet you, You Can’t See Me, HIT THE TRUMPETS!” Cena barked confidently.
Cue “Flight of the Valkyries” and SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan’s entrance. Despite coming out as always to a chorus of “YES!” chants, Bryan dashed Cena’s big talk, reminding the former ‘Face Who Runs the Place’ that he doesn’t make the matches, and that on SmackDown Live, opportunities are earned, even if your name is John Cena.
The SmackDown GM then set the stage for exactly such a proving ground, making official a match for next week between Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura for the number one contendership to face Mahal at SummerSlam for the WWE title.
