Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton: Mistakes to Avoid from Past Punjabi Prison Matches

Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton are not entering an enclosure that has created classics. The Punjabi Prison has been as much a punchline as a source for spectacle.

Their WWE Championship match at Battleground, though, can easily top the first two trips inside that bamboo structure. When they meet at the July 23 SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view, WWE simply has to avoid the pitfalls from previous Punjabi Prison matches. 

Its pace, ending and presentation will be key to Mahal vs. Orton outdoing the past. 

Big Show battled Undertaker at Great American Bash 2006 in the first Punjabi Prison match. The Great Khali and Batista followed that clunker at No Mercy 2007. The second use of that stipulation was better, but it was still largely a disappointment.

To maximize Mahal and Orton's fight on that little-used battlefield, WWE has to learn from what didn't work the first two times inside the Punjabi Prison.

The Show Doesn't Have to Go On

Khali was supposed to be the man terrorizing Undertaker in the Punjabi Prison in 2006. The giant had stalked and attacked his prey for weeks. The battle in the bamboo structure was set to be the ultimate test for The Deadman against his new monstrous rival.

WWE, though, had to change its plans dramatically at the last minute.

As Lewis Howse of WhatCulture reminded us: "The company had a mini crisis in July 2006 when three wrestlers had to be removed from the Great American Bash pay-per-view due to 'elevated liver enzymes.'" Khali was on that list. WWE pulled him from the event and replaced him with Big Show.

The new pairing felt random. The alternative clash felt meaningless.

Should Mahal get injured in the days and minutes leading up to Battleground, WWE can't go that route again. The only choice is to scrap the match.

Sliding in Luke Harper or some other SmackDown heel in The Maharaja's place would be a mistake.

Downplay the Spikes

One of the supposedly imposing elements of the Punjabi Prison is the "razor" spikes that line the top of the structure.

Those spikes are not convincing. They don't look particularly sharp or dangerous. Undertaker swatted them away in his 2006 bout like they were pests.

Credit: WWE.com

The announcers should avoid trying to sell the audience on how hazardous those things are.

The Punjabi Prison offers plenty of spectacle without focusing on the spikes. And there are other elements inside the enclosure that are better tools for violence, including the leather straps hanging inside.

Mahal and Orton can actually whack each other with that weapon and produce a smacking sound that speaks the pain it causes. They can't impale anybody with spikes.

Avoid a Glacial Pace

Undertaker vs. Big Show was a slog.

The action dragged. The behemoths slowly and methodically traded shots, and the bout had little energy because of it.

"Overall, a real slow, boring match where the wrestlers involved couldn't produce a match that lived up to the hype," Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch wrote of Undertaker vs. Big Show.

Mahal and Orton can't follow those big men's lead.

They both employ a plodding style at times. The Viper is famous for lengthy chinlocks and Mahal has the same habit. At Battleground, it would be best to avoid those moves and that pace.

The Punjabi Prison match should be an intense slugfest, a fiery climax to an increasingly personal feud. That should lead to a faster pace than we've seen in these contests in the past.

Create a Clear, Climactic Ending

The 2006 Punjabi Prison match ended when The Deadman hit a crossbody on Big Show and Undertaker fell through the bamboo gates for the win via escape.

That ending was flat, to be kind. It wasn't obvious at first who won considering Big Show left the structure at the same time. And when the referee raised Undertaker's hands, there was not a spark to be found.

A year later, Batista's victory came in a much better ending—a race to escape between the two rivals.

That's more what Mahal and Orton should go for. A finish that is preceded by anticipation and a conclusion that is definitive should be the goals at that PPV.

And it's a smarter move to have The Maharaja win that night.

Khali lost his own specialty match in 2007. That hurts more than a standard loss. He was supposed to have home-field advantage in the Punjabi Prison. 

This time out, Mahal chose this structure partly as an homage to Khali. It should be presented as a place where he thrives, where he looks like the spider who has trapped a fly.

All those elements provide the blueprint of an improved trip inside the Punjabi Prison, giving Mahal and Orton a clear path to creating the best match we've seen in that bamboo cage.