To the shock of the WWE Universe, the WWE Championship changed hands on the past episode of Smackdown Live. The main event scheduled between Jinder Mahal and AJ Styles saw where the former champion defended his title against the Phenomenal One for the first time.
This match happened after last week’s vicious attack from Jinder Mahal to AJ Styles. As a result, we received this impromptu matchup on Smackdown Live. At the end of the match, a phenomenal fore-arm was enough to put away the modern-day Maharaja, as AJ Styles won the WWE Championship for the second time in his career.
The decision behind taking the title away from Jinder was indeed surprising, as the WWE Live event in India is less than a month away. He was scheduled to step foot in his homeland with the title in hand and defend the championship against Kevin Owens. For now, the bout is expected to be a non-title affair.
However, the rumours suggest that Jinder Mahal is still slated to face John Cena for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 34 which means he will get it back within a short span of time. It means AJ Styles will not be able to have a long title run, for now.
The main reason for taking the title away might be WWE does not want to make Jinder a weak champion by letting him go against the beast incarnate. With the WWE Live event in India just around the corner, facing humiliation at the hands of the beast incarnate will not be good for the status of a strong champion like Jinder. So, once Survivor Series is over, he might pick up the title, yet again before landing on his home turf.
The other reason for not keeping Jinder Mahal the champion is that he might be dealing with injuries, for weeks now. He was sporting shoulder tapes in his arms in-house shows which were a certain indication of it.
The former champion never acknowledged it, however. WWE wants to him to be fully fit before going to India, as he will be the marquee attraction during the entire tour. He might be given a couple of weeks off from the shows before coming back and claiming his title rematch.