Punjabi Prison Expectations > 23 July pay-per-view
 

Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: WWE Punjabi Prison Match Will Be Underwhelming Climax

Bleachers Report, 29 June 2017.



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Punjabi Prison III


When Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal collide in a Punjabi Prison match at WWE Battleground, audience members will be best off setting their expectations waning-tide low.


The WWE Championship match will be a spectacle, but one marked by obscured views and a concept that will trip up the SmackDown stars. The third chapter of the Mahal-Orton trilogy will stumble because of its surroundings. Its uniqueness won't outweigh its failings.

Orton demanded another title shot on Tuesday's SmackDown, and commissioner Shane McMahon said he would grant him one, but the champion had to pick the stipulation. Mahal chose a Punjabi Prison match for the 23 July pay-per-view.


The bamboo cage match will be only the third of its kind in WWE history.

It features a set of two cages with sharpened sticks lining the top of the structure. The wrestlers can use the weapons strewn about the ringside arena, and the winner is the man who escapes both enclosures. There are four doors that will stay open only temporarily that will become locked if no one goes through in time.

As Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet pointed out, it's quite the convoluted concept

It's also a bout that's hard for the fan to take in. The abundance of bamboo bars surrounding the ring force one to squint to see what's going on.

Not surprisingly, the bout's short history is an unimpressive one.
Big Show took on Undertaker in the inaugural Punjabi Prison match at Great American Bash 2006. Batista battled The Great Khali in the second edition at No Mercy 2007. The second one was fine at best; the first was a washout.

PWTorch columnist of Khali vs. Batista:
"They made the best of their assets, but it still was a lot of lumbering, crawling, grabbing, clubbering, and climbing at slo-mo speed."


Dave Meltzer wasn't kind when handing out his ratings for the matches in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Khali vs. Batista earned 1.25 stars; Big Show vs. Undertaker garnered a -1 star rating, per the Internet Wrestling Database.

Now, Orton and Mahal will be subject to the same limitations that Big Show and others were.

Rather than end their feud in a balls-to-the-wall stunner of a No Disqualification match, they are going to do a lot of climbing and fight an uphill battle to put on a good show in spite of the stipulation.

The Punjabi Prison match's strength will be that it's something different, that the structure creates a striking visual. That won't be enough to hold fans' attentions. Orton vs. Mahal is poised to be a letdown as a result.