“The Modern Day Maharaja “ and now former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal lost his match while trying to defend the WWE Championship against challenger AJ Styles. The title loss came as a shock for Jinder Mahal was expected to be the champion for a long time until with the WWE's tour of India coming up in December. Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton at Backlash. He then managed to retain the title against Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura largely thanks to helping from the Singh Brothers. The loss of the title was a complete shock as it came on an episode of SmackDown Live, not at a pay-per-view event.

Several reports have suggested that the recently deposed WWE Champion was working through an injury, but Mahal denied. However, this title change has only given these rumours more credibility. WWE wants Jinder Mahal to be in good condition heading into the India tour as he is set to be a marquee attraction. However, they will not want to risk any aggravation to an already injured Mahal as that would hamper the tour. As a result of this title change, AJ Styles will face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series instead of Jinder Mahal. Brock Lesnar has never been the most careful worker on the WWE roster, and Mahal could've easily intense his injury while working with the Beast Incarnate.