Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal WWE Backlash 2017 Match Preview and Pick

The main event of WWE Backlash 2017 will see the top prize on SmackDown Live defended as Randy Orton puts his WWE Championship on the line against No. 1 contender Jinder Mahal in a match that is the talk of the wrestling world.

After all, Mahal has never been in the position he will be Sunday night. A career-long undercard performer, he has often been tasked with making others look good. On May 21, he will be at the center of the WWE Universe, the highlighted Superstar on a card with some of the most talented professional wrestlers the industry has to offer.

How did he get there, and what can fans expect from the marquee bout of Sunday's brand-exclusive pay-per-view extravaganza?

Background

Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 to capture the 13th world title of his career. The victory, for the WWE Championship, re-established him as the face of the SmackDown Live brand and set him up to be the Superstar around whom the top programs are built.

On April 18, Mahal defeated five other Superstars to earn the right to challenge Orton at Backlash.

It was a stunning upset that created a buzz about the SmackDown brand, for better or worse, and Mahal's championship opportunity. Paired with Sunil and Samir Singh, formerly The Bollywood Boyz, he was instantly pushed as a headliner despite a lack of experience in that role.

He was booked to defeat Sami Zayn then, on the May 9 episode, scored a clean pinfall victory over Orton in a major six-man tag team main event.

In between, he stole the WWE Championship and took a few photos with it, giving fans a taste of what it would look like after Backlash when he defeated Orton.

On the May 16 episode of SmackDown Live, he defeated AJ Styles with some assistance from Kevin Owens. To cap off the show, he beat down Orton and left The Viper lying in a heap before holding the WWE title high overhead.

The Match

The main event of Backlash will be an interesting one in that both Orton and Mahal wrestle a very basic, no-frills style. They do not break out big dives (right, Randy?) or take unnecessary risks. They are crisp, fundamental and technically sound professional wrestlers.

Orton understands the value of sticking a specific move in a certain spot to generate the reaction he desires, while Mahal is still finding himself as an in-ring presence. He has all of the tools but has yet to put them together to deliver an inspiring performance that convinces fans he is ready for the spot he finds himself in.

Maybe that comes Sunday night against Orton, who has a history of finding freaky good chemistry with the least likely opponents and delivering superb matches with them.

Or, at worst, the match is a boring slugfest that inspires doubt about Mahal and supports all criticisms of Orton as an interesting main event talent at this point in his career.

There is no in-between.

Prediction

All signs point to Orton retaining the title. He has taken numerous beatdowns at the hands of The Maharaja and is poised for one big RKO to put a cap on the first chapter of their story.

Yet, as the show draws near, it feels like there is a groundswell of support for Mahal winning the title.

According to Cageside Seats, there is even the potential for Mahal to win the title Sunday night and embark on a one-month trial run of sorts to see if he is ready for the pressure that comes with the title.

With that and John Bradshaw Layfield's meteoric rise of 2004 in mind, expect Mahal to defeat Orton through some means of chicanery and win his first WWE Championship at Backlash.