Backlash 2017, Backlash 2017 results, Jinder Mahal, Randy Orton, WWE champion, SmackDown
Jinder Mahal.Wikimedia Commons.

The Maharaja era has begun in the WWE as Indian origin wrestler Jinder Mahal shocked the world as he defeated Randy Orton at Backlash to become the new WWE Champion. This win for Mahal also makes him only the second Indian descent to win a title in the WWE with The Great Khali being the first.

Mahal made his in ring debut for the WWE way back in 2011 and was never considered a top superstar in his initial years but this year the WWE decided to give him a shot at the big stage. It all started at WrestleMania 33 where Mahal finished as the runner-up in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal out of the 33 participants and could have won if Rob Gronkowski had not interfered.

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After WrestleMania 33, Mahal was transferred to SmackDown as part of the WWE superstar shakeup and was put in a six-pack challenge against Mojo Rawley, Sami Zayn, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and Dolph Ziggler to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship.

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With the help of The Singh Brothers (Sunil and Samir Singh) Mahal won that match and became the number one contender for the WWE Championship and the rest is history. While Mahal winning the WWE Championship is great news for WWE fans in India and young Indians who are aspiring to get into Wrestling, the rest of the world did not react so well.

It was a huge shock for everyone around the world when Mahal pinned Orton considering he is one of the most experienced wrestlers out there at the moment having been with the WWE since 2002. However, despite all the hatred, it will be interesting to see how long Mahal can hold on to his first title or will Orton win it back in his rematch.

Apart from the shocking result, the other results saw Kevin Owens defend his United States Championship against AJ Styles via a count out. The SmackDown Tag Team Championship were also on the line and The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) defeated Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) via pin fall to retain their title.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Dolph Ziggler via pin fall to mark his long-awaited main roster debut with a win. The Welcoming Committee (Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina) defeated the team of Naomi, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch with Natalya locking the Sharpshooter on Lynch forcing her to tap out. The final two matches saw Sami Zayn defeat Baron Corbin via pin fall and Luke Harper finally get one over Erick Rowan.

Here is how twitter reacted to Jinder Mahal's win over Randy Orton at Backlash 2017.