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What's the story?
Shane McMahon announced on Twitter that AJ Styles will face Jinder Mahal next SmackDown Live for the WWE Championship. He was previously scheduled to face Rusev to determine the final participant of the SmackDown Live Men's team.
This announcement means Rusev will no longer face AJ next SmackDown, and he reacted to the news breaking on Twitter. He was very happy with the announcement and talked about how he was looking forward to joining the SmackDown Live team.
In case you didn't know.....
Rusev beat Big E last SmackDown and expected to be put into the SmackDown Live team. That turned out not to be the case, and Shane McMahon told him that he had to beat AJ Styles on the next episode to be a part of the team.
Rusev was not happy with the decision at all, and he spoke up about it.
Also Read: Rusev sends a message to AJ Styles
The heart of the matter
This new decision change the match had made Rusev more than happy, as it appears that he will be automatically added to the match. He responded to the announcement by mocking AJ and expressing his pleasure at no longer having to compete for the spot.
He said that he was so good that AJ had already quit. That may not have been the actual case, but his confidence was evident from his response. He cheered on team SmackDown and said that 'Rusev Day' was going to come to Survivor Series.
A shock may be awaiting him, however, if Shane finds another opponent for him to face to qualify for the spot.
What's next?
AJ Styles is set to face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Title on the next episode of SmackDown Live. Rusev's spot on the team will also be finalised possibly.
Author's take
The last-minute decision for the title match could have been made for a variety of reasons. It could be simply to pull in more crowds for SmackDown Live, to combat the horrible ratings.
Another possibility is WWE did not receive the expected reaction to the Lesnar vs Jinder announcement that they had been hoping. This might have prompted them to make this match and change the prospective opponent for Lesnar.
The other possibility remains that Jinder is hurt and they need to get the title off him. Whatever be the case, this may mean that Rusev gets a free ticket into the SmackDown Live's men' team!
