Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal: Why WWE Championship Must Stick with the Champ

As much as WWE may be tempted to crown Jinder Mahal to complete his recent transformation, the WWE Championship needs to stay in Randy Orton's hands.

Mahal is in the midst of a hurried rise to the top of WWE SmackDown. He has a date with The Viper for the title at the Backlash pay-per-view on May 21, the next step in a surprising trek out of midcard purgatory into the spotlight.

Ending that journey with a WWE title win would be a mistake.

That climax will be a hollow one thanks to The Maharajah's long history as a bottom-feeding grappler. It would be another quick turnaround with SmackDown's top championship and an unnecessary move in an effort to change Mahal's fortunes.

As much as WWE sells fans on the idea that anything can happen on any given night in the ring, some results simply don't make sense.

You can't have Epico win the Royal Rumble. Bo Dallas can't knock off Braun Strowman. A wristlock can't suddenly be used as a finishing move.

Mahal going from perennial tomato can to champion at the pace he's on is in that same hard-to-swallow category.

If he proves himself worthy of a top-tier spot and continues to be treated as a formidable force for months and months, then a WWE title reign could work. As it stands, there isn't enough space between Mahal's low-rung days and his current stretch as a contender.

Per CageMatch.net, Mahal was 5-14-1 in the 20 matches before his upset win on April 18. His winning percentage in 2013 before WWE released him the next year was a paltry .063. Even with the latest push, his winning percentage this year is .400.

Audiences will struggle to buy into him as a legit titleholder as a result.

Besides, WWE would be better off being patient with Orton's reign. Too many title changes makes it easy to forget who was champ and diminishes the magnitude of championship wins and losses.

The gold currently in Orton's possession has changed hands 12 times since 2015, per WWE.com. We've seen reigns last just 49 days (Bray Wyatt), 15 days (John Cena), two minutes (Seth Rollins) and 10 minutes (Roman Reigns) in that span. Orton is approaching 40 days with the strap in hand.

Is WWE really going to move the belt this soon?

Rather than have him fall at Backlash, extending Orton's reign well into 2017 will make his eventual loss mean more. The stronger he looks as champ, the more he fends off the Mahals of the world, the bigger deal it will be when he falls. That way, AJ Styles reclaiming the championship, Baron Corbin winning his first or even Mahal rising back up to fell The Viper down the road would be more of a major moment.

The Maharajah has already benefited from stepping up to Orton. WWE doesn't need to give him the gold to change his fortunes anyway.

Mahal earned the No. 1 contender's spot for the first time in his career. For the past few weeks, he's been a prominent part of SmackDown, antagonizing its top champ and briefly stealing the title. He's on a winning streak that saw him pin Orton in tag team action.

As Miami Herald columnist Scott Fishman pointed out, that alone is big news:

Pushing Orton to his limit on May 21 will be a career highlight for Mahal. A victory for the former member of 3MB doesn't need to follow that.

WWE should instead view that Backlash bout and the build leading up to it as a test for Mahal.

With more spotlight than he's had to this point, this is the heel's shot to make a statement the company can't ignore. How much his tale resonates and how convincing he is as a top-tier foil now should determine what his career arc looks like moving forward.

It need not be a part of a fast track to championship status done for shock value.