4 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE Clash Of Champions 2017

by Scott Carlson

1. AJ Continues As Champ

AJ Styles WWE
WWE.com

We knew that Jinder Mahal was not going to have a classic title match against AJ Styles at Clash of Champions, so we had to modify our hopes: a watchable match where Styles retained the WWE Championship.

Thankfully, that’s exactly what we got. Mahal got his offense in, was saved at one point by the Singh brothers, and hit the Khallas for a very close two count. But he was not to emerge victorious Sunday, with Styles locking in the Calf Crusher for a submission win.

The big “up” here is that this hopefully spells the end for Jinder in the world title scene. While he’s come a long way and would be a perfectly serviceable heel in the midcard, it’s safe to call the experiment with him as champion a flop and move on. AJ has become one of the most reliable wrestlers on the roster, and it would be great if he continues as champ for a while.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.