In front of his hometown fans in St. Louis, Missouri, "The Viper" Randy Orton challenged Jinder Mahal for the WWE World Championship. The match was part of the 2017 WWE "Money in the Bank" PPV card and was a rematch for Orton after he lost the title to Mahal at the WWE "Backlash" pay-per-view. Not only was Orton in his hometown area, but his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, was in the crowd to witness the match on Father's Day of all days. Would Randy Orton defeat Jinder Mahal to regain the championship or would "The Modern Day Maharaja" reign supreme?
Orton vs. Mahal recap
Not even a minute after the match started, "The Viper" attempted to strike with an RKO. However, Jinder wisely got out of the ring, escaping Orton's clutches. The two would eventually grapple, with Orton taking control and slamming Jinder's head against the announcers' table. Back in the ring, Orton had the draping DDT set up, but The Singh Brothers were ringside to distract him as they got on the apron. This allowed Jinder to toss Orton over the top and to the outside. While Randy landed on his feet, he seemed to tweak his left knee, which became Jinder's target in the match.
Even though it's @RandyOrton vs. @JinderMahal, @SinghBrosWWE seem to be getting the brunt of #TheViper's frustration! #MITB #WWEChampionship pic.twitter.com/ULHKx7z6hA
— WWE (@WWE) June 19, 2017
Watching the match from the crowd were Sgt.
Slaughter, Ric Flair, Greg Gagne, Baron Von Raschke, Larry Hennig, and Randy's dad, Bob Orton Jr. That came into play during the match as Jinder taunted him at one point, yelling "This is for you, Bob" and attempted a superplex on Orton. Randy fought it off and eventually came back to hit the hanging DDT from the ropes and an RKO for a pinfall attempt.
The Singh Brothers got ejected by the ref after they interfered by putting Jinder's foot on the bottom rope during an Orton pinfall. Despite being tossed out, the Singhs went over to Bob Orton and taunted him, then grabbed his collar. Randy came to the outside and attacked the Singh Brothers, tossing one into the timekeepers' area and the other onto a broadcast table.
Who is World Champion?
Randy Orton would continue to attack The Singh Brothers on the outside. He grabbed one from the timekeepers area to continue beating up and then RKO'd one Singh Brother on the floor. The other received an RKO for harassing Orton's dad.
Your winner...and STILL your #ModernDayMaharaja (and @WWE Champion) @JinderMahal! #MITB #WWEChampionship pic.twitter.com/Ady71IQpma
— WWE (@WWE) June 19, 2017
When Orton finally returned to the ring, Jinder Mahal was ready and kicked his bad knee. From there, Mahal hit his finisher, the Cravate, and made the winning pinfall to retain his Wwe World Championship. Commentator JBL mentioned that Orton had just been defeated in front of his dad on Father's Day.
With that, "The Modern Day Maharaja" continues his reign as the champion. Will the latest "Money in the Bank" briefcase holder be waiting to cash in on him soon, or save the opportunity for another time?