5 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Oct 17)

2. Save Us, AJ

AJ Styles Jinder Mahal
WWE.com

Jinder Mahal challenged Brock Lesnar with a bland promo towards the end of last night's SmackDown, but things took a significant upturn when AJ Styles arrived on the scene. 'The Phenomenal One' was quick to point out that while 'The Maharaja' had defeated Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura, he had never overcame him, and that made him worthy of a title shot.

Jinder, of course, dismissed this. He called Styles a loser, prompting AJ to challenge him to a match, but the champion's abuse continued. Fortunately, Styles struck before Jinder and The Singh Brothers could swarm him, dispatching all three with relative ease, and standing tall as the segment closed.

If there's one man that can save Mahal's torturous title reign, it's AJ Styles. Sure, he might not be the best talker in the company, but he's definitely the best wrestler. Jinder's matches have been characters by slow resthold exchanges, clunky movement, and shenanigan-filled finishes thus far. Nakamura and Orton weren't able to drag a great bout out of him, but Styles is on a different level to both, and if WWE let AJ do his thing, perhaps we'll finally get a Mahal title match that's less painful than self-flaying.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.