Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton
Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton at WWE Money in the Bank, once again with the help of the Singh Brothers. During the match, it was all Mahal early going. He was able to ground the former champion, apply headlocks and some other submission moves and paced himself to hit a few nice moves in a row. The pacing of Mahal is really similar to Orton, almost to the point of seeing identical wrestlers in the ring. The crowd was fully behind Orton, as well as the legends at ringside. This would come into play when Orton knocked Mahal down with a hanging DDT and the Singh Brothers getting kicked out. They stopped and grabbed at Orton’s father at ringside. Orton erupted in anger, taking out both Singh brothers on the outside and laying waste through a table. Randy got back into the ring and was kicked in the knee and Mahal finished him off to retain the WWE World Championship.
The championship match tonight considerably longer than their encounter at WWE Backlash and for good reason. Tonight was more about showing Mahal’s strengths in the ring and overcome the offensive attacks from one of the most methodical and athletic guys that have been world champion. I really appreciated the match, the booking and the final decision. I was nervous that WWE would give it to Orton and then have a third and final match at WWE Battleground. They still might get one more match, but a lengthy run for Mahal is the right choice right now. SummerSlam is still two months away and I would not be surprised to see more than one person try and take the title away from the Modern Day Maharaja in a championship match at Battleground in July. It is a really strong heel booking right now, with an Indian champion who can actually work. Sorry, Khali.
If Randy Orton moves onto another feud, there are plenty of guys he can work with. I would still really enjoy him interacting with someone like AJ Styles or Shinsuke Nakamura, but Smackdown Live has a ton of good faces and realistically only 2 main event heels.
Naomi defeated Lana
It was not a long bout or one that will be remembered forever. Naomi defeated Lana in a decent outing. There was nothing that told me Lana could not wrestle. She was protected in what she can do and it showed, but it was not a bad thing. Lana is going to get better and better and she has the fans already stirring about her booking on Smackdown. She has the reaction of an Eva Marie, but can actually wrestle. That is a good thing.
Naomi being Smackdown Live Women’s Champion has not helped anyone else. That is my only gripe about her. We saw Charlotte work with Sasha, Bayley, Becky and Nia. Three of those four became champions, but everyone that is facing Naomi seems to not get the right treatment. They do not need to beat her, but I am not seeing Naomi elevate her game and others following suit. It is all very simplistic.
