According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Brock Lesnar refused to work with Jinder Mahal back when he was WWE Champion. The two men were scheduled to compete against each other at Survivor Series in 2017. However, prior to the PPV, Mahal ended up dropping the title to AJ Styles.
Dave Meltzer noted that the reason the title change took place is because of Brock Lesnar. The Beast did not want to work with Mahal, therefore WWE switched up the plans, which led to AJ Styles becoming champion. His reason for not wanting to ace Mahal was not mentioned.
In the end Styles and Brock Lesnar had a great match at the PPV. However, Mahal’s title defeat meant that he didn’t head to WWE’s tour of India as champion, with that taking place shortly after the defeat. Jinder had held the title for 170 days prior to that defeat, meanwhile, AJ’s run would last 371 days.
AJ Styles winning the WWE Championship from Jinder was also a historic moment. That’s because it marked the first time the title had ever changed hands outside of North America. The match took place on an episode of SmackDown which was taped in Manchester England.
Brock Lesnar will be back on WWE television this Friday on SmackDown. The new WWE Champion will be heading to the blue brand in order to have a confrontation with Roman Reigns. It was confirmed today that Reigns will be at the show following his positive COVID-19 test, as he is now cleared.
Meanwhile, Lesnar’s next match is set to take place at the Royal Rumble later this month. He will defend the WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley in a dream match at the event. The Hurt Business start won a fatal four-way match this week on Raw in order to earn the opportunity.
