WATCH: AJ Styles wins the title in Manchester
Last Updated: 14/10/18 10:27am
None of the fans in attendance at the Manchester Arena for SmackDown in November 2017 will ever forget the evening they had.
It was the night all of their dreams came true as a major WWE championship changed hands for the first time outside of North America.
When it was announced prior to the show that AJ Styles would be challenging Jinder Mahal for his title the common expectation was that Styles would win, but perhaps by disqualification or count-out, and thus the fans would be sent home happy but the Maharajah would be flying back across the Atlantic with the belt.
So when the referee's hand hit the mat for a third time after a Phenomenal Forearm had decked Mahal in the middle of the room, the noise from the crowd was ear-splitting.
"Judging by the reaction in Manchester last night after winning the WWE championship you'd think I was from the UK," Styles would later write on Twitter.
"Truth is, I've spent a lot of time in this part of the world and they have always treated me as one of their own."
It was a great British SmackDown moment. And one of the best the show has ever delivered.
Click on the video above to relive this SmackDown memory and don't forget to tune in for the 1000th episode of the blue brand live on Sky Sports Action at 1am on Tuesday night!
