It Had To End Sometime. AJ Styles Just Broke A Thirteen Year Old Record.

A record is made to be broken. Last November, AJ Styles won the WWE Championship from Jinder Mahal on an episode of SmackDown Live from England. Not only was this the first time the title had changed hands in England and the first time in over fourteen years that the title had changed hands on SmackDown, but it’s a reign that is still going to this day. That’s a record in its own right.

As of Wednesday, Styles is now the longest reigning champion in SmackDown Live history, with a title reign lasting 281 days. This breaks John Bradshaw Layfield’s record, which he set during his 2004-2005 reign and held it ever since. Styles’ reign is now the thirteenth longest in WWE Championship history. Should he make it through Summerslam, he would likely move up to eleventh all time, which he would reach on September 3.

Every record has to start somewhere.

Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles - WWE Championship Match: SmackDown LIVE, Nov. 7, 2017

Opinion: I love stats like these and it’s one of the more interesting ones as Styles could keep going even higher up on the list. There’s a chance he survives Summerslam as champion and that could put him into some very rare air. I doubt he’s going to get to CM Punk’s reign, but it’s not completely out of the question either. No matter what he does, it’s quite the accomplishment and something that isn’t likely to be broken for a long time.

What do you think of Styles’ record? How far can it go? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28 wrestling books. His latest book is the the Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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