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What’s the story?
WWE Champion AJ Styles defended his title against his Jinder Mahal in a WWE SmackDown dark match, days ahead of their match at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
In case you didn’t know...
Styles became the first man to win the WWE Championship overseas by defeating Mahal back in November on the UK episode. The Modern Day Maharaja invoked his rematch clause for Clash of Champions.
The heart of the matter
Styles returned to ring following the 205 Live taping and challenged Mahal for his blindside attack during SmackDown Live’s broadcast. As expected, The Phenomenal One bested Mahal and retained his championship heading into the Clash of Champions pay-per-view this Sunday.
Depending upon the circumstances, some pay-per-view main events are not used for dark matches and live events, but Mahal and Styles have already faced each other in various encounters so the company may not have felt the need to keep the sneak preview of the Clash of Champions world title match hidden from the fans at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Styles and Mahal will more than likely continue to wrestle on live events until their championship match this Sunday, but don’t expect the results to change.
What’s next?
The feud between Styles and Mahal seems like it's reaching its end and the Clash of Champions pay-per-view may be the last time both men wrestle for the world championship.
Following Mahal’s recent losses on the WWE India tour, many fans feel that the former WWE Champion’s days in the main event will be done if he doesn’t regain the title.
Author’s Take
While many fans are expecting Styles to retain the championship and head into WrestleMania as the WWE Champion, there is still a chance that Mahal could become a two-time champion.
Tune in to Clash of Champions to see what becomes of the WWE Championship.
