WWE quietly changed the upcoming Payback match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton as The Viper’s championship will no longer be on the line.

Instead, the House of Horrors match will act as the final chapter in the saga between the two rivals, before the Eater of Worlds embarks on a singles career on the Monday Night RAW roster following his surprise move in the superstar shake-up.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP

That obviously means that Orton turns his attention to a new feud on SmackDown LIVE with his WWE Championship intact, and a shocking new contender emerged last week from a six-pack challenge.

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You’d be forgiven for assuming that Jinder Mahal would have stood no chance in the match which featured the likes of Sami Zayn and Luke Harper but with a little help from the Singh Brothers, The Maharaja managed to come out with the surprising victory and now heads to Backlash to take on Orton in his biggest match to date.

Part of the reason for this move being made is because WWE will be expanding into India very soon, and with other organisations doing the same they don’t want to be left behind.

WWE Shop is also opening there, so you can be sure that Mahal’s merchandise will be a top-seller and WWE is said to be giving him a big push moving forward and even though he may lose at Backlash, you can’t rule out a WWE Championship run just yet.

ORIGINAL PLANS

However, it seems as if the plans were put together quite recently as Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that plans for the upcoming SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view looked very different.

Meltzer was speaking on the latest instalment of the Wrestling Observer Radio, and claimed that WWE’s original plan for the match would have seen The Viper defending his gold against Baron Corbin.

However, WWE has decided to push those plans back for now to accommodate Mahal, but Corbin is still going to be getting his WWE Championship feud with Orton in a couple of months.

It’s been reported already that the company is looking to make slight modifications to The Lone Wolf’s character which will include new theme music as well as some other changes before they can place him in the main event scene for good.

While fans may claim that Corbin deserves the chance, you can’t blame WWE for extending it as Corbin is still getting his chance but SmackDown LIVE is still living up to its moniker as the land of opportunity because Mahal is also getting his moment in the limelight.

This year could be getting very interesting for the WWE Championship on the blue brand.

What do you make of WWE’s original plan for Backlash? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the second episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here! Check out the inside info from our coverage in Orlando. https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/givemesport-inside-wrestlemania-33

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