Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles for WWE Championship Announced for SmackDown Live

AJ Styles will have an opportunity to regain the WWE Championship on SmackDown Live on Nov. 7.

WWE announced Thursday that Jinder Mahal will put the title on the line against Styles next week. The decision comes after Mahal attacked Styles Tuesday night on SmackDown Live.

Styles beat Samir Singh, which prompted the world champion to get involved after the match.

The next SmackDown Live certainly got a lot more interesting, and WWE's decision to schedule a title defense for Mahal is surprising since he's already in the middle of a Survivor Series feud with Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman delivered a fiery promo against The Modern Day Maharaja on the Oct. 23 edition of Raw:

A clash between Styles and Lesnar would be infinitely more interesting, and WWE pay-per-view cards are always subject to change. However, it's hard to see how the company would do a 180 and sub out Mahal for what's going to be the biggest match of his career.

More likely, Styles vs. Mahal will help set up WWE's plans for Styles at Survivor Series. Styles seems a logical addition to Team SmackDown Live for the five-on-five elimination match against Raw, but he may feature in a marquee singles match instead.

Either way, Styles' future will begin coming into focus next week.