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What's the story?
The fans are still reeling from Jinder Mahal's shock title loss and in the midst of the aftermath, various speculations are doing rounds.
When it comes to the decision to make AJ Styles champion, Vince McMahon made the call a week before the title change after the company got some concerning news at the end of last week's SmackDown episode.
In case you didn't know...
AJ Styles ended the Modern Day Maharaja's surprisingly lengthy title reign on this week's SmackDown from Manchester in what ended up being Mahal's best match till date.
The move to crown a new champion too many by surprise as Mahal was expected to India as the WWE Champion for the live events in December.
However, the boss himself stepped in and revamped the plans for the PPV.
The heart of the matter
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Live, the big drop in last week's SmackDown ratings forced WWE to take the strap off Mahal.
Vince Mcmahon seemed to have panicked at the dismal figures and realised the drawing power of Styles vs. Lesnar could save the day.
And we're sure it will!
What's next?
As of this writing, the former WWE Champion's role at Survivor Series is up in the air with no room left in SmackDown's Survivor Series team.
Another report from WON states that Mahal could win the title back after Survivor Series right in time before the India tour. A local advertisement in India mentioned Mahal as a 2-time WWE Champion, sending the fans into a frenzy.
For now, let's all wait in anticipation for The Phenomenal One vs. The Beast Incarnate.
Author's take
It would be criminally unfair to pull all the blame on Mahal for the dwindling ratings as WWE's booking all throughout the blue brand has been poor barring a select few angles.
However, a big-four PPV needs a marquee match and no offence to Jinder, but his match with Lesnar just didn't cut it.
The fans deserved a Phenomenal Survivor Series and WWE obliged. The job's only half done though as WWE would need to back up all the hype on November 19th.
Will this year's offering outshine last year's incredible edition? Sound off in the comments below.
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