For a few weeks, WWE officials pushed the Brock Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal matchup as the ultimate clash of champions at WWE Survivor Series . Lesnar vs. Mahal was intriguing, but their rivalry lacked something to make the WWE Universe invest in the match. After some time, WWE officials decided it was better for AJ Styles to reclaim the WWE Championship and move on to battle Brock Lesnar at WWE Survivor Series.
There are several reasons why WWE officials made the decision to replace Jinder Mahal with AJ Styles for the match with The Beast Incarnate. It has been rumored that Mahal has been suffering from some nagging injuries, but Jinder himself has refuted those claims. There have been reports that Styles winning the WWE Title back was a direct response to low ratings for SmackDown Live . Over the past few days, several logical reasons have come to light, but someone backstage may have been the one to change WWE officials minds.
It’s now being reported that Paul Heyman may have had some influence over the decision to have AJ Styles face Brock Lesnar at WWE Survivor Series instead of Jinder Mahal. Apparently, Paul Heyman was one of the biggest guys pushing for the change because Lesnar vs. Styles was a much more intriguing matchup for the WWE Universe. Lesnar vs. Mahal was also a heel vs. heel dynamic, which can be confusing for the fans.
A few months ago, it was reported that Paul Heyman has a lot of pull backstage regarding Lesnar’s booking on WWE programming. Apparently, Vince McMahon has given Heyman his ear to ensure that The Beast is being utilized properly when he’s on WWE television. At some point, this became an issue for some people backstage in WWE Creative because they didn’t want to do work for Brock that Heyman would just change.
It’s unlikely that Paul Heyman went to Vince McMahon and specifically told him to change Brock Lesnar’s match at ‘ Survivor Series .’ However, low ratings and the fans’ response to Lesnar vs. Mahal may have given Heyman the opportunity to state his opinion, which could have been one of many reasons why the decision was made to cancel Lesnar vs. Mahal and pull the trigger on The Beast Incarnate vs. The Phenomenal One.
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