WWE Clash Of Champions: WWE Championship - AJ Styles (c) VS Jinder Mahal

[Jack-Hammer]

On tonight's SD Live episode, Jinder Mahal invoked his rematch clause to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions next month.

Simply put, AJ Styles should retain and have another good run as WWE Champion while leaving Jinder behind in his rear view mirror. We know this will be a good match as Styles has the ability to pull good matches out of just about anybody. What doesn't need to happen is Jinder regaining the title as Jinder's run of 5.5 months was a barren void in the main event picture for SmackDown Live.

It wouldn't surprise me a bit, however, if Vince, in his twisted logic, somehow thought that putting Jinder over Styles in a hard fought match would somehow make people invest in Jinder due to Style's performance against Brock Lesnar. You know, some sort of transference type of thing. It shouldn't happen, so just move Jinder on down the roster, move him to Raw so he can get whooped on by Roman Reigns or whatever, just don't put the title back on him.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Simply put. AJ should keep the belt all the way to Wrestlemania and get the main event match he deserves. Last year, he got placed in a match with Shane O'Mac, while Orton and Bray fought for the title in a horrendous match.

The WWE title can't afford a second horrendous match and that's exactly what a Jinder Mahal will be.

Give me Styles vs Owens, Styles vs Zayn vs Owens, Styles vs Nakamura, Styles vs Orton, Styles vs Cena IV. I don't care. I'd welcome each and every one of them. But not Jinder vs Cena.

IC Champ Reigns vs UN Champ Lesnar and Cena vs Mahal, like it's WM 6 and 7 together in one show.

 

[JoeMallard]

Send Jinder back to Jobberville, we need a champion that can talk, wrestle and draw an audience.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I know most want to see AJ walk into Mania ass WWE champion but I think he's going to drop it back to Jinder at Clash of Champions. It seems like the only reason they had AJ win the title was so he could face Brock at Survivor Series which was a bigger draw than Brock vs Jinder. I think Jinder wins it back and holds the title until Mania.
John Cena likely be winning the title sometime in 2018 and beating Ric Flair's record for title wins. They need a credible heel and a fresh feud for Cena and Jinder fits the bill. They are going to want the all time record for World title wins be broken on the big stage that is Wrestlemania.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I know most want to see AJ walk into Mania ass WWE champion but I think he's going to drop it back to Jinder at Clash of Champions. It seems like the only reason they had AJ win the title was so he could face Brock at Survivor Series which was a bigger draw than Brock vs Jinder.

I love that the WWE decided for Junder to drop the title to Styles and win in back after Survivor Series because Styles could draw and Jinder can't. Isn't the point of being champion is because you can draw?

 

[Aeon Mathix]

This doesn't sound like an exciting match on paper. Then again has any match involving Jinder Mahal garnered interest? I want more than anything for AJ Styles to retain and go on to have a great title run possibly ending at WrestleMania. There's a much better opportunity for great matches than there would be with Jinder as champ. Personally I really want a Styles vs Rusev program, I get some Shawn Michaels vs Vader vibes from that and I think they could tear the house down with 20 minutes or so.

On the surface and the fact that this is even after the India tour, I see no reason for Jinder to win. Basically every aspect of Styles continuing his run is a positive compared to Mahal winning it again. No one cares to see Jinder vs Cena at Mania or really anyone against Jinder. We've seen it before but I would even be fine with AJ vs Cena taking place at WrestleMania. It's a match that certainly deserves that type of spot. However I will settle for AJ vs just about anyone on the Smackdown roster as long as Mahal is away from it and in the battle royal or something.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

On a personal level, i kinda i'm excited about this match because i'm starting to like Jinder's work as a old school cowardly heel. He's getting better at it every day he'S been put in that position and i applaud him for that.

As for the match, i kinda want Jinder to win the belt back and hold on to it until mania. I think they're more money to be made with Him vs Cena then with AJ vs pretty much anybody it this point plus AJ really doesn't need the belt to be over anyway so let's give the belt to somebody that really needs it in Jinder.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I love that the WWE decided for Junder to drop the title to Styles and win in back after Survivor Series because Styles could draw and Jinder can't. Isn't the point of being champion is because you can draw?

Yeah. Well, AJ is a better draw but we'll just have Jinder as the world champion heading into Wrestlemania. Their logic kills me.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Only thing that baffles me as that having Jinder as Champion was to get Indian market. And now before tour in India Jinder is not Champion at all. So what was the point of experiment if you could do that without even strapping title to Jinder at all? If it is that they admitted how experiment failed, way to go, you did good job with that.

Styles winning would make sense. Though I am somehow still convinced that they are going with Jinder vs Cena for title at Wrestlemania so this could be just the way to get to that.

 

[roipdh123]

I'll start by saying before anything that I say - that I am a big AJ fan.

I think Jinder not only WOULD but also SHOULD win the belt.
AJ does not need the title heading into Mania season. If he would have the title it would basically have his match with Nak or anybody else not involve around a story - which is important for good quality AJ matches (look at Shane, Jericho, Cena..).
On the other hand Mahal vs Cena has money written all over it (if we all forget that they fought on SD leading up to Summer Slam).
It will be best for both sides if Mahal wins the belt back here or at the rumble - possibly with someone (not the singhs) costing AJ the belt (maybe a heel turn by bobby roode?).

 

[Macho Mans Beard]

On a personal level, i kinda i'm excited about this match because i'm starting to like Jinder's work as a old school cowardly heel. He's getting better at it every day he'S been put in that position and i applaud him for that.

As for the match, i kinda want Jinder to win the belt back and hold on to it until mania. I think they're more money to be made with Him vs Cena then with AJ vs pretty much anybody it this point plus AJ really doesn't need the belt to be over anyway so let's give the belt to somebody that really needs it in Jinder.

I completely agree with this. Mainly because I want to see AJ in the Rumble match and actually win. Maybe have him come out 1 or 2 and go the distance. Not like how Roman Reigns did it with the BS injury and then come back in the last part of the match, but have AJ got the entire distance in a very grueling match. This will make AJ that much more appealing going into WM Main Event.

You can have Cena win the title during that timeframe. Maybe have Cena beat Mahal at Rumble or Fast Lane. Yes it isnt the big stage like Mania will be but it will be just as special. Im not mad at a AJ/Cena match. Even though it has happened in the past 2 years, having a Distance Royal Rumble winner vs the All TIme Greatest Champion match has GOLD written all over it. Plus it is a great way to put AJ in Elite Status in WWE.

So back to Mahal, have him win the title back and lose to Cena at RR or later. Cause Cena going over on a heel makes sense. That way AJ wont have the whole 'Buried by Cena' stigma that usually comes from a loss. It protects a long term investment in AJ to have him win over Cena.

 

[ShinChan]

Ugh. I hope that Jinder doesn't get the title back to boring. AJ Styles is so much better than him and should be the champion. The Jinder Experiment has failed so let's move Jinder to a place which is suitable for him.

At least, this match will be watchable, thanks to AJ. Not boring like other Jinder matches.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I fell like their more money to be made with JInder as champion then AJ.

AJ Styles is one of those wrestlers that doesn't need a title to be over or have an important match. Anything he's going to be involve in during mania season and at mania will be one of the top match on the card.

With JInder as champion, while I agree he's boring in ring, is still a great old school heel that fans truly want to hate which is rare in this day and age. So having him win the title at clash and keep it until mania where you could have cena take the belt from him and have his big celebration of winning his 17th title would be a big money match for mania. So I could see JInder winning for that reason especially if the rumor is true and that they are looking in bringing in bigger guys to be jinder's sidekicks.

 

[Eyebrows]

I fell like their more money to be made with JInder as champion then AJ.

AJ Styles is one of those wrestlers that doesn't need a title to be over or have an important match. Anything he's going to be involve in during mania season and at mania will be one of the top match on the card.

With JInder as champion, while I agree he's boring in ring, is still a great old school heel that fans truly want to hate which is rare in this day and age. So having him win the title at clash and keep it until mania where you could have cena take the belt from him and have his big celebration of winning his 17th title would be a big money match for mania. So I could see JInder winning for that reason especially if the rumor is true and that they are looking in bringing in bigger guys to be jinder's sidekicks.

Hasnt viewership dropped since Mahal won the title? I don’t see how there’s money in Jinder when’s he clearly isn’t drawing? He’s not good enough on the mic to draw real heat.

I’m from the UK though, so foreigner being against America does nothing for me. Other than Muhammad Hassan, it never has, and it’s a completely outdated and boring type of character, unless it’s done tongue in cheek.

Styles could win the Rumble. Or, if people can change brands and trade, maybe Balor or Samoa Joe win and then it turns out after Shane traded them prior to Rumble for Owens or Zayn. Then Styles could keep the belt and we have Styles vs Balor or Styles vs Joe. Who knows, anything is better than Mahal. Yeah, the trade could have some plot holes but if it gives us a decent Mania match I think it’d be worth it.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Hasnt viewership dropped since Mahal won the title? I don’t see how there’s money in Jinder when’s he clearly isn’t drawing? He’s not good enough on the mic to draw real heat.

Not that i'm aware of but i don't really follow this because i feel that ratings means nothing in this day and age since a lot less people watch cable tv then they did 10 years ago. When i'm talking about money that can be made, i thinking about the whole old school foreign heel vs patriotic babyface thing. The fact is, he watch Smackdown every week since Jinder won the belt and each week the guy got better on the mic, he got more confortable in his position and by the end of his run, he was getting real heat, not go away heat like some may want you to believe. Is he a great wrestler? No not by a long shot. Is he a great Promo? again no, he decent as best but who isn't in this company. But he does draw as a heel, fans want to see somebody beat him and that's what the role of a heel is.

I’m from the UK though, so foreigner being against America does nothing for me. Other than Muhammad Hassan, it never has, and it’s a completely outdated and boring type of character, unless it’s done tongue in cheek.

I think this is more of an north american thing then anything else, this as been the most overuse program in the history of north american wrestling but the reason it was done so many time is because it always worked. They're always money to be made with this type of old school storyline. Maybe some of the newer fans might not like it or don't get the appeal but older fans get it and kids do love seeing the american babyface beat up the foreign heel so i might not be for you, but others fans will get into this easily.

Styles could win the Rumble. Or, if people can change brands and trade, maybe Balor or Samoa Joe win and then it turns out after Shane traded them prior to Rumble for Owens or Zayn. Then Styles could keep the belt and we have Styles vs Balor or Styles vs Joe. Who knows, anything is better than Mahal. Yeah, the trade could have some plot holes but if it gives us a decent Mania match I think it’d be worth it.

Personally like i said before, at this point in his career, AJ Styles doesn'T need the WWE title or for that matter any title to draw. He a household name that fans will come and pay to see him wrestles no matter what. He's kind like Roddy Piper, Jake The Snake Roberts or Hacksaw Jim duggan just to name guys that never won a title but are still look at as huge draw in the industry. AJ Styles is in that class of guy. Whatever happens with him he will put but into seat so him being champion into mania or not doesn'T really matter because he's going to be one of the big matches on the card regardless. So why not use the WWE championship to have another big time marquee match on the mania card instead of having just one that for the title. What i would love to see is pretty much what as been rumored to happen for months now. Have Jinder win back the title at the Clash with his new enforcers, Have him go through everybody until mania, build him up strong and then have Cena beat him for the title and his record breaking 17th title reigns. If that happens, Fans will go nuts for that finish. As for AJ styles, have him do the dream match that pretty much every fans in the IWC have been wanted to see at mania and put him with Nakamura. You don'T need really a reason to build toward that match, it doesn'T really need a title either because fans will subscribe to the network to see that match and you get 2 big marquee matches on the mania card for the smackdown side instead of just one.

The more i read some comment about WWE the more i think that some fans are still under the impression that WWE is a wrestling company that should deliver actually wrestling matches and everything should be like in New Japan or ROH just to name these 2 company. The reality is that WWE isn'T a wrestling company, it'S a sports entertainment company and the focus is on entertainment. They could cares less about the actually in ring wrestling workrate and it'S been like this since vince bought the company from his dad. They are creating characters so that the fans either loved them or hate them and by fans i mean fans of all ages not just fans that writes on message boards and read the dirt sheet. Jinder might not be everybody cup of tea but he does work really well as a heel and he gets pretty good heat with his character and while he might not be the top heel on smackdown, he's still in the top 3 behind Owens and Zayn so again why not just continue the experiment and let it run until mania.

 

[kadroan]

I hope AJ wins. They can't drop the ball on Nakamura vs. AJ at WM. Have Nakamura win the RR match. AJ no longer in the US title picture. Best time to do it is now. Cena vs. Jinder is too predictable.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Not that i'm aware of but i don't really follow this because i feel that ratings means nothing in this day and age since a lot less people watch cable tv then they did 10 years ago.

While it's true that traditional TV viewership as a whole has changed dramatically, ratings are always going to matter to the networks themselves and it's something WWE also has to take into account as they'll start into negotiations for new TV deals around this time next year. And yes, SmackDown Live's viewership decreased significantly the longer Jinder was champion and overall viewership for the show has been up by an average of around 500,000, which doesn't include DVR viewership or those who watch the show via other means. For a show on cable that isn't the Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, half a million viewers is important.

Part of me would like to believe that Jinder could have worked out if WWE had gone this route with him a full year earlier, built him up and worked to erase the image of talent enhancement from him but they didn't do that. Frankly, they went for a Vince Russo style "I bet you didn't see that coming" type of scenario. The problem with Jinder possibly working out if a push had started much sooner is that he's still pretty mediocre in the ring and on the mic and that matters more than anything. I can only guess as to why Jinder's push seemed to stop but that guess is that Jinder being champion didn't generate the sort of interest among Indian fans as the company had hoped; I've read that they were originally going to have two shows this weekend but one was scrapped, I dunno why but my guess would be, again, just not that much interest. Given that Jinder lost in his match against Triple H, it's unlikely that he'll regain the WWE Championship next Sunday.

There's no money in Jinder, never has been. Jinder Mahal will be looked at as a failed experiment in the eyes of most fans, an experiment that most fans didn't expect to pan out in the first place. It wasn't entirely his fault, though his subpar abilities are highly important factors, and a lot of it has to lie with Vince McMahon. My belief, and it's just an opinion, is that Vince puts too much stock in some outdated views that he still holds onto and because he holds onto them, he expects them to work. Vince thought slapping the biggest and most famous wrestling championship in the world on a career jobber because he hoped that it'd generate increased interest in fans from India primarily because said career jobber is of Indian descent; that's it and that's all. It couldn't be due to in-ring ability, charisma, personality or promo work because there are plenty on the main or developmental rosters that simply have Jinder beaten in spades in any, and sometimes all, of those areas.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

While it's true that traditional TV viewership as a whole has changed dramatically, ratings are always going to matter to the networks themselves and it's something WWE also has to take into account as they'll start into negotiations for new TV deals around this time next year. And yes, SmackDown Live's viewership decreased significantly the longer Jinder was champion and overall viewership for the show has been up by an average of around 500,000, which doesn't include DVR viewership or those who watch the show via other means. For a show on cable that isn't the Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, half a million viewers is important.

Part of me would like to believe that Jinder could have worked out if WWE had gone this route with him a full year earlier, built him up and worked to erase the image of talent enhancement from him but they didn't do that. Frankly, they went for a Vince Russo style "I bet you didn't see that coming" type of scenario. The problem with Jinder possibly working out if a push had started much sooner is that he's still pretty mediocre in the ring and on the mic and that matters more than anything. I can only guess as to why Jinder's push seemed to stop but that guess is that Jinder being champion didn't generate the sort of interest among Indian fans as the company had hoped; I've read that they were originally going to have two shows this weekend but one was scrapped, I dunno why but my guess would be, again, just not that much interest. Given that Jinder lost in his match against Triple H, it's unlikely that he'll regain the WWE Championship next Sunday.

There's no money in Jinder, never has been. Jinder Mahal will be looked at as a failed experiment in the eyes of most fans, an experiment that most fans didn't expect to pan out in the first place. It wasn't entirely his fault, though his subpar abilities are highly important factors, and a lot of it has to lie with Vince McMahon. My belief, and it's just an opinion, is that Vince puts too much stock in some outdated views that he still holds onto and because he holds onto them, he expects them to work. Vince thought slapping the biggest and most famous wrestling championship in the world on a career jobber because he hoped that it'd generate increased interest in fans from India primarily because said career jobber is of Indian descent; that's it and that's all. It couldn't be due to in-ring ability, charisma, personality or promo work because there are plenty on the main or developmental rosters that simply have Jinder beaten in spades in any, and sometimes all, of those areas.

I believe that had they built Jinder up he would have just turnt into another Miz. Nothing more nothing less. He can still turn into the Miz, if they plan to run with him and Cena for Wrestlemania. Jinder will be midcard for life at best afterwards, constantly losing feuds to more important people than him, but the fact that he has couple of title reigns and a possible WM headliner will help push those people.

But I don't think he will become anything bigger than that. He's temporary. At least that's what the current situation shows.

 

[#hamler]

While Jinder certainly gained his supporters during his fairly long title reign, I can't call myself a fan of the guy. His matches are pretty formulaic and his promos are pretty cringeworthy. He's a typical heel and nothing is there that makes me care about the guy. He's completely average at everything he does.

Styles on the other hand is phenomenal — a total package. It would be foolish not to capitalize on Aj's popularity and put him in the forefront of this year's Wrestlemania. Jinder's year might have been a decent one, he's nowhere near ready to headline the Smackdown side of the biggest card of the year. Literally any match featuring Styles at Wrestlemania trumps any match involving Jinder Mahal. Jinder can't win here. Styles has the talents to get a good match out of a broom stick and I'm sure he'll carry Mahal to a decent title bout with Styles retaining after fighting off the Singh brothers.

Styles goes into Wrestlemania with the WWE Championship and we all live happily ever after.

Hamler's Prediction — Aj Styles will retain the WWE Championship

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I also thought about something else.. The plan was to have Cena vs Jinder? Which means a heel heading into Wrestlemania as the champ. I agree with that, that a heel should take the title into Wrestlemania and not a face. But not Jinder. How about Kevin Owens?

Kevin and Zayn are red hot right now and will be even more hot after they have beaten Nakamura and Orton at CoC. Have AJ retain and then re-begin the Owens/Styles feud, but shorter this time and have Owens beat Styles for the championship with Zayn's help.

So, AJ should retain here in order to drop the belt to another heel. That heel should not be Jinder though, it should be Owens. Owens vs Cena or Owens vs Orton sounds awesome for Wrestlemania.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I actually feel after last night that it not the last time we saw these 2 face off for the championship. I feel this match was the first time since they started to push him that JInder actually fell like he belong at the top of the card. The fact that they decided against having a almost straight up clean match with barely any interference from the Singh bros., tell me that they wanted to see if JInder could go in the ring and keep the audience heat throughout the match and he did. With the reaction he got throughout the match, he felt like a top heel. They told a really awesome story for what would be considered a generic match if you only look at the in ring stuff. By far this match surprise me and was my second favorite match on the show.

I feel like you could have them wrestle again on smackdown for the title or even at the rumble and it would make sense and would be as good. Aj styles as been what wwe needed to help JInder get to the next level and in the end, this was the turning point for JInder, now they need to continue on this path because they need main event heel and JInder is finally getting there.

 

[GOOZEKING]

It was the most boring AJ styles match ever but the best Jinder match ever. They gave Jinder 95% of the match and didn't let AJ do practically anything. It was like they tried to do a Brock lesnar match with Jinder playing the role of Brock but unfortunately for WWE Jinder isn't even half the star Brock is

 

[ISkye]

2017 has been nuts. I think the reign of terror by Jinder Mahal is over, but it's hard to believe it went on for a solid 6 months. It's done some damage on my perception on Smackdown. I didn't even want to watch this match or Clash of Champions after I had time to. AJ Styles hasn't been as hot and with ROH and NJPW putting on better opening matches than WWE main events there isn't even a reason to watch. Hope AJ and Orton, Nakamura, or someone who can actually put on a good match feuds next and all the way until Mania. This may be the first match that even the great WWE promo package people couldn't even make me shed an ounce of interest about.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Hilarious that when Jinder doesn't have the title and his main event run has to come to an end, he finally puts on a good match. AJ gave him perhaps his best match ever. Man, AJ really is the best in-ring performer of this 2010 generation. He can make anyone look good in the ring. They told a good story with AJ's ribs vs. Jinder's leg.

Jinder shouldn't go back to being a complete jobber though, he should get a run with the US Title.