5 bad booking decisions WWE must avoid at Clash of Champions

The final pay-per-view of 2017 will air this Sunday. While the card mostly seems like a sleepy one en route to the build to the Royal Rumble and the start of WrestleMania season, several decisions made at this event will be immensely important in setting the stage for the blue brand in New Orleans. As such, WWE can't afford to get this one wrong.

Some matches leave us with little doubt as to the outcome. Mojo Rawley will certainly defeat Zack Ryder and I have a better chance of being the first person to walk on Mars than Breezango has of toppling the Bludgeon Brothers.

Others aren't so certain and a lot will be riding on them.

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#5 Baron Corbin retaining the United States Championship

It's time for a GLORIOUS reign.

Baron Corbin's run with the United States Championship has been underwhelming, to say the least. What it has mostly accomplished is proving that he wasn't ready for a run with the WWE title and that taking the Money in the Bank briefcase off of him was the right call. The last thing SmackDown needed was another Jinder Mahal situation.

Although he's the oldest competitor in the match, Bobby Roode's ceiling is far higher than either Corbin's or Ziggler's at the end of 2017, and with his participation in the Mixed Match Challenge starting in January, which looks to be a big deal for WWE, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to add the United States Championship to the series, even if it won't be defended.

Though Baron Corbin is likely to retain, I can always hope that Roode wins and turns heel as WrestleMania approaches. It would certainly be the right thing to do.

#4 The Usos losing the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The penitentiary should receive 7 new inmates come Sunday.

The Usos have been one of 2017's standout acts, and as the year comes to a close, it would be a mistake for them to drop their titles. The challenging teams aren't exactly in the best position to have a good run should they win, either. Much as I like Rusev, he and Aiden English are probably only there to take the pin. I'm high on Gable and Benjamin also, but the time isn't yet right, and another reign for The New Day feels pointless at this juncture.

WWE has something special in The Usos. They should carry the blue straps all the way into WrestleMania, where a high-octane clash with The Bludgeon Brothers likely awaits.

#3 Charlotte losing to Natalya

The Queen's reign must continue.

Natalya is a good ring worker whose veteran knowledge will be instrumental in improving the Riott Squad, but she doesn't need a title to do that, and her reign from August to November was as underwhelming as Corbin's current US title reign.

Though the title change was haphazard in the build to Survivor Series, the decision to put the SmackDown Women's Championship on Charlotte was the correct one. She is the best that the blue brand women's division has to offer and, given the Ronda Rousey rumours, looks set to be a huge part of WrestleMania.

Whether that involves the title or not, it's the wrong call to take it off her only to put it back on Natalya.

#2 Daniel Bryan turning heel

Double turn is better than Bryan turn.

With the announcement of the Mixed Match Challenge, we more or less know the result of Sunday's tag team match. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will win, or at least not lose and get fired.

Part of that "not getting fired" result might involve a Daniel Bryan heel turn, as there has been a tease of that potentiality. For reasons I shouldn't have to explain, that would be a disaster. No crowd is ever going to boo Daniel Bryan. Ever.

The other possibility could be a double turn, with Shane McMahon plunging into darkness.

Much as I dislike that possibility either, as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have made for a fantastic heel duo acting as thorns in the side of SmackDown's authority figures, it would still be the preferable outcome, if a turn is needed at all.

Hopefully, no change in alignment happens, as the obnoxious heels vs. the face authority figure is a refreshing change from the done-to-death heel authority figure vs. face rebel dynamic. All that said, WWE must avoid the worst case scenario.

#1 Jinder Mahal regaining the WWE Championship

It's time for Jinder to go away for good.

Arguably, no decision matters at Clash of Champions except for this one. WWE must at all costs avoid the catastrophic mistake of another Jinder Mahal championship run.

There was nothing positive about Jinder's run. Its only reliability was producing some of the worst segments, matches, and feuds of the year, and unsurprisingly, it didn't move the needle on the Indian market at all. There would similarly be no positives to another Jinder reign. There wouldn't even be a good payoff, as we witnessed in England when AJ Styles finally liberated the blue brand from his opponent's odious tedium. There would be only one result in sight, and a WrestleMania featuring Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns II and Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena as its two title matches is a card only good for guaranteeing a cataclysm of fan anger.

AJ Styles must retain on Sunday and end this Jinder Mahal nightmare forever, putting him back to the low card where he belongs.