11 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Nov 13)

2. Styles Vs. Bryan III Delivers

WWE's pre-Crown Jewel clash between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles was one of SmackDown's best matches all year, with the world-class duo pulling out all the stops in a bout befitting their reputation, and last night's rematch lived up to it. One could argue that it was slightly worse than the last, but why bother splitting hairs? It was an excellent TV main event elevated by the bad blood between the duo, and with several call-backs to the original encounter, Bryan and Styles did everything in their power to make the title change a memorable one.

The closing stretch was particularly riveting. A series of submission counters culminated with AJ tossing his opponent into the 'buckles. Daniel dodged the Phenomenal Forearm, and the referee went down instead, so the opportunistic former General Manager summoned the spirit of Shinsuke Nakamura by kicking AJ right in the dick. Cue jeers, the Busaiku Knee Kick, the pinfall, and a shock new WWE Champion.

It's fitting that AJ's lengthy reign ended where it started: on weekly television. Though his run perhaps wasn't as exciting as it could've been (particularly in the early days), it successfully rebuilt the WWE Title's reputation following the Jinder Mahal debacle, and ended on a high. Salute to SmackDown's biggest in-ring standard-bearer.