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What's the story?
This week's WWE SmackDown Live did not feature either the WWE Champion AJ Styles or Number 1 Contender Jinder Mahal on the show. After 205 Live went off the air, Wrestling Inc reported that AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship in a dark match against The Modern Day Maharaja.
In case you didn't know...
AJ Styles and Jinder Mahal have been involved in a feud over the WWE Championship, with AJ winning the title off of Jinder in a match on the UK show of SmackDown Live, two weeks before the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
AJ went on to face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, where he was unable to win the Champion vs Champion match.
Recently it was announced that Mahal cashed in his rematch clause for the WWE Championship on the upcoming SmackDown Live pay-per-view, Clash of Champions.
Since then Mahal tried to use the Singh Brothers to gain an advantage over Styles, but after Styles defeated the pair of them in a handicap match, the Modern Day Maharaja turned on his lackeys and attacked them.
The heart of the matter
After 205 Live went off the air, AJ Styles faced Jinder Mahal in a match for the WWE Championship. The SmackDown Live show had not featured the two stars, with their feud being promoted with the use of a video promo instead.
The dark match saw WWE Champion AJ Styles successfully retain the championship after defeating Jinder Mahal. The Modern Day Maharaja was once again unable to put away the WWE Champion.
What's next?
AJ Styles is set to face Jinder Mahal in a WWE Championship match at the SmackDown Live pay-per-view Clash of Champions on December 17, 2017.
Author's take
After Jinder Mahal turned on the Singh Brothers last week, it will be interesting to see how the Modern Day Maharaja does in the WWE Championship match.
If Jinder wins the match at Clash of Champions, it will prove he does not need assistance to perform at the top level on SmackDown Live.
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