With
both the WWE Championship and the opportunity to clash
with Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series
on the line, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and AJ Styles
dazzled the rabid WWE Universe in Manchester by slugging
it out for the title in one of the biggest main events
in SmackDown LIVE history.
With
a chance to become WWE Champion for the second time,
The Phenomenal One was amped up, but Mahal was at
the top of his game, occasionally manhandling Styles
and viciously throwing AJ into the announcer’s
table. Methodical in his approach, The Modern Day
Maharaja attempted to wear down Styles, but the challenger
phenomenally fired back with a stinging barrage of
strikes and high-impact maneuvers. Styles’ offense
would often come in spurts though, as Mahal was able
to use his size and strength advantages time and again
to regain control.
In
the contest’s final moments, Styles’ appeared
to be closing in on the title when he connected with
a breathtaking springboard 450 splash onto the WWE
Champion, but the sneaky Singh Brothers pulled Mahal
out of the ring, and thus out of danger from being
defeated. This prompted The Phenomenal One to pummel
The Singhs on the outside, taking them out of the
equation. However, it seemed the distraction would
cost Styles, as it allowed The Modern Day Maharaja
to counter a Phenomenal Forearm attempt into Khallas,
yet AJ narrowly got his foot on the bottom rope to
break up the count.
Mahal
then horrifyingly attempted a Khallas from the top
rope, hoping to end the battle once and for all. The
ever-resilient Styles countered by stunning The Modern
Day Maharaja and dropping him neck-first on the top
rope, giving himself the opening to soar into the
skies and connect with The Phenomenal Forearm for
the incredible championship victory. A furious Mahal
took out his post-match aggression by bashing The
Singh Brothers while Styles celebrated with the WWE
Universe.
Styles’
win meant several things: The Phenomenal One was now
a two-time WWE Champion, Mahal’s much-discussed
reign was over, the WWE Championship had changed hands
outside of North America for the first time ever and
the Champion vs. Champion showdown was now AJ Styles
vs. Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. Wow, wow, wow.
