WWE SmackDown 5 Takeaways: Champ That Runs The Camp is Back

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1. AJ Styles Becoming WWE Champion Saves Survivor Series and SmackDown

Last night’s SmackDown saw a monumental changing of the guard that was six months in the making.  With Jinder Mahal’s stranglehold on the WWE Championship, many wondered when he would ever lose the title.

And the opportunity presented itself last night when The Phenomenal AJ Styles challenged Mahal for the gold.  The Modern Day Maharaja was set to battle Raw’s Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, but he had to get past Styles first, which proved to be difficult.

Mahal and Styles had a very solid match that likely ranks as the best match Mahal has had during his reign as WWE Champion and it’s no small coincidence it came with Styles in the match.  The ending was particularly great when Styles hit Mahal with the Phenomenal Forearm to win the WWE Championship for the second time.  It was a truly awesome moment, but the fallout from Styles’ title win is even more awesome.

Not only is the WWE universe finally free from Mahal’s lackluster title reign for the time being, it avoids having to sit through Lesnar vs. Mahal at Survivor Series, which many believed would have been a disaster.  Instead, fans get to see Lesnar vs. Styles, a dream match that many have fantasized about for years.  Styles’ win also marks the first time in WWE history the WWE Championship has changed hands outside of North America.

Next: WWE Raw 5 Takeaways From Nov. 6 Show

Being a world champion has always meant you were considered the best of the best, and that prestige has returned with The Phenomenal One taking the much-deserved reigns as WWE Champion.