Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton for WWE Championship Announced for Money in the Bank

Randy Orton didn't wait long to invoke his rematch clause for the WWE Championship, with SmackDown Live commissioner Shane McMahon announcing Tuesday Orton will challenge Jinder Mahal at Money on the Bank on June 18, according to WWE's official Twitter account. 

Mahal defeated Orton Sunday night at Backlash to claim the WWE title.

Mahal's victory was a shocking moment considering a little over a month ago he lost to Mojo Rawley on the April 11 edition of SmackDown Live.

WCW in the early 2000s is an example that doing something simply because it creates a buzz accomplishes nothing for the long term. David Arquette winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship garnered national attention but did massive harm to the company's reputation among fans.

This isn't that. Mahal beating Orton could be a big moment for WWE in a far more positive way.

WWE often falls into the trap of essentially limiting its potential world champions and title challengers to a small handful of stars, and while that strategy makes sense, it can create matches in which the result is abundantly clear before the bell rings. It also creates a scenario in which it the same three or four guys are endlessly feuding for months on end.

As Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin argued, Mahal winning the WWE Championship creates a potentially new direction for the WWE title:

And even if Mahal's reign is in part about WWE building a bigger following in India, the company did a great job of transforming him into one of the top heels on SmackDown Live in the weeks before Backlash. He's rich, entitled and the Singh Brothers give him an advantage whenever he's wrestling.

In a time when fans often care little for whether a wrestler is a good guy or a bad guy, Mahal is one of the few guys in the company guaranteed to deliver an almost universally negative reaction. 

The WWE Championship picture is far more interesting with Mahal holding the belt than it would've been with Orton, and hopefully the era of the Maharaja continues through Money in the Bank.