Every 2017 WWE PPV main event ranked by in-ring value

15. WWE Battleground: Punjabi Prison Match for the WWE Championship

Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Randy Orton

In the first of what is way too many Jinder Mahal matches on this list (seriously, the fact that there are so many Jinder Mahal main events is a little disturbing), we come to the blue brand’s July pay-per-view, WWE Battleground, which served as the setting for the Punjabi Prison Match between WWE Champion Mahal and the challenger, Randy Orton.

I once thought that having another Punjabi Prison Match would be a good idea if the right competitors were involved but I was wrong — and not just because the competitors weren’t right for it but because the layout really is ridiculous. Just ask those in attendance that weren’t able to see much of the match due to the structure itself.

As for the match itself, it was an absolute trainwreck. The point of cage matches — or something that’s supposed to be similar — is to keep others from getting involved but as we’ve seen so many times in the past, and once again here, that isn’t always the case.

The storytelling was actually decent in the beginning as Mahal locked in on Randy Orton’s arm, which would make it harder to climb, but that’s about the best we got from the actual competitors in this match. Orton looked bored for most of the bout, which was kind of a pattern for him in 2017, and the only saving grace from this was The Singh Brothers taking some crazy bumps from the structure.

It was hard to think that this pay-per-view, which was one of the worst of the year, could get much worse after the Flag Match between John Cena and Rusev but Orton and Mahal were able to do just that. To make matters worse, the big swerve at the end of the match was the return of The Great Khali, who came back to help Jinder pick up the win and retain the WWE Championship. I think that just about says it all.