AJ Styles Must Retain WWE Championship Through Jinder Mahal Feud

There's an electricity surrounding the WWE Championship picture now that AJ Styles is carrying the gold that simply wasn't there when Jinder Mahal was SmackDown's No. 1 titleholder.

The Phenomenal One needs to remain champion at the Clash of Champions and on into WrestleMania season. WWE may be tempted to put the heel back on top, but Styles is the more dependable and entertaining option.

He reminded us of that with a stellar performance against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series on Sunday.

That champion vs. champion bout whirred with energy. It engaged from bell to bell. And it was one of The Beast Incarnate's best showings in recent memory.

Mahal wouldn't have done anything nearly as captivating opposite the universal champ.

And the crowd made it clear that night how it felt about Styles. Forbes writer Blake Oestriecher pointed out The Phenomenal One and Braun Strowman appeared to be the two most popular acts on the roster:

After Sunday's brand war, it didn't take long for Styles to find out who would be facing him at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view on Dec. 17. On Tuesday's SmackDown, Mahal appeared on the big screen to challenge him. Styles welcomed the fight.

It's now officially on the card for next month's event.

That will give WWE a chance to restart the Mahal-as-champ experiment. And it may want to crown The Maharaja as a means to continue attracting viewers in India. At this point, though, he will be a big deal there with or without the belt.

Mahal is no longer the jobber he was. Pushing him to the main event picture upped his value. There's no need to muddy the WWE title picture with his underwhelming presence.

WWE will be better off showcasing its top performer as its top champ.

Styles will make the road to WrestleMania a lot more enjoyable. He's a stellar athlete who makes his opponent better. He comes through in the biggest moments as we've seen at SummerSlam, the Royal Rumble and elsewhere.

Daniel Bryan told Sports Illustrated that Styles is one of his favorite WWE wrestlers to watch. You don't hear that sentiment shared about Mahal. The Maharaja is a plodding, old-school heel who won't connect with the modern audience the way Styles can.

The best bet would be for Styles to finish off Mahal at Clash of Champions and eventually move on to kick-starting a feud against Shinsuke Nakamura. The Phenomenal One vs. The King of Strong Style for the gold will be stellar. That's a bout worthy of the WrestleMania marquee.

And WWE can't derail it by focusing in on Mahal again.