Twitter Reacts to AJ Styles' Win, Other WWE Clash of Champions Highlights

WWE wrapped up its 2017 pay-per-view slate Sunday night with Clash of Champions. The SmackDown-exclusive event had fans flocking to Twitter to make their voices heard regarding the night's most unforgettable moments, most prominent stars and most historic championship changes.

How did the thoughtful analysts, keyboard warriors and fellow WWE Superstars react to AJ Styles defeating Jinder Mahal, Dolph Ziggler's United States Championship victory and the "curious" layout of Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn?

Take a look with this social media-fueled recap of the championship-centric extravaganza.

AJ Styles Retains the WWE Championship...But Does Anyone Care?

The good news for fans of The Phenomenal One is that he successfully retained the WWE Championship by defeating Jinder Mahal via submission with the Calf Crusher in the main event of the night.

The bad news? The buzz was focused on what The Maharaja's loss means for his future on the SmackDown Live brand and in WWE as a whole.

First, though, Bleacher Report's Chris Mueller gave Mahal props for his performance in the title bout.

However, B/R's Dave Schilling was much more pessimistic about Mahal's prospects after he lost his big title rematch, even using The Maharaja's recent trip to India and his interactions with Triple H to make his point.

The match itself was solid if somewhat unspectacular in its high spots and layout.

The official account of the Voices of Wrestling podcast was lured to sleep by the festivities, while celebrated wrestling writer Scott Fishman admitted it was difficult to get excited, even if there was nothing wrong with the match itself.

Total Wrestling magazine was quick to point out the bumping of Styles and the positive effect the commentary team had on the contest's presentation.

Finally, Alfred "Big Nasty" Konuwa of B/R summed it up as only he can, relating the match to a beloved holiday icon.

The polarizing reactions for the match and Mahal's performance, in particular, are fitting in that they reflect the the WWE Universe's split opinions on The Maharaja's push. Love it or hate it, he had his run as WWE champion and could still thrive atop the roster if WWE Creative chooses to keep him there.

Dolph Ziggler Wins the United States Championship

The night's festivities kicked off with Dolph Ziggler upsetting Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin to win the United States Championship for the second time in his career.

Earlier in the day, Ziggler tweeted a few lines that hinted at him leaving WWE.

Perhaps that is why so many were caught off guard by the outcome, including B/R's Graham Matthews, who did a little number-crunching to illustrate how few wins Ziggler has netted in 2017.

"

These wins include:
1. vs. Kalisto (1/24/17)
2. vs. Kalisto (1/31/17)
3. vs. Crews (2/28/17)
4. vs. Sin Cara (5/2/17)
5. vs. AJ Styles (5/30/17)
6. vs. Roode (10/17/17)
7. vs. Corbin and Roode (12/17/17)

— Graham "GSM" Matthews (@WrestleRant) December 18, 2017"

Playing up the tweet from earlier in the day, not to mention the new champion's well-known love for 1980s rock, WWE recapped his victory spectacularly with a nod to Motley Crue.

Finally, The Showoff promised to continue doing what he does better than anyone: being the absolute best.

Ziggler's win was monumental for him personally after a year of professional disappointment. After spending so many nights on his back, staring at the bright lights in arenas across the country, his story took an unexpected turn with a title victory that allows him to wrap up 2017 on a positive note.

Rusev Day is Here And it is...Over

The crowd reaction for Aiden English and Rusev ahead of the Fatal 4-Way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships told you one thing: The Rusev Day act is getting over.

Twitter was no different as Ball and Cageside Seats all took note of the acceptance of the act by the WWE Universe.

Konuwa, though, warned of the effects such popularity may have on The Bulgarian Brute.

There are certainly issues facing WWE Creative and the Rusev character as it continues to gain popularity that no one really prepared themselves for. Yes, he could very well become Sandow and fade out as quickly as he rose.

The Bulgarian Brute, though, can be rehabbed fairly easily with a return to the more serious and intense character he once played to great success, which is something Sandow did not have.

Either way, Rusev is an immensely talented performer and a larger-than-life character whose partnership with English has done wonders for the careers of both men.

Well, That Sucked Except For The Last 5 Minutes

The hottest program heading into Sunday's show was the one pitting Owens and Zayn against commissioner Shane McMahon, with general manager Daniel Bryan not necessarily having his superior's back.

With both McMahon and Bryan masquerading as officials, and a wealth of talent in Orton and Nakamura for Zayn and Owens to work with, the odds of a fantastic match were high.

Then, the overbooking and overreliance on the dueling referees gimmick sent the match down a slippery, fiery slope.

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet dug deep into the history of Spider-Man to best describe what Bryan and McMahon were going through as referees.

WWE Creative Humor, WrestlingInc.com, former WWE Superstar Sean "X-Pac" Waltman and renowned analyst and podcast host Kris Zellner all chimed in on how poorly mapped and executed the match was.

Sasha Banks had a well-timed tweet to describe the experience of watching what should have been a stellar match without all of the extracurricular schlock.

The only good to come out of the match was the continued decline of Bryan and McMahon's relationship. The former reprimanded his boss for refusing to count Orton down during a rollup, only for Bryan to later fast-count The Viper's shoulders to the mat, allowing Zayn and Owens to retain their employment with the brand, as captured by B/R.

The image of Bryan walking out of the arena with Owens and Zayn essentially acted as a line in the sand of the ongoing war for power in WWE, and it set up months of storytelling if WWE Creative is wise about its  approach.

Only time will tell.