It is time to officially hold your breath: AJ Styles is being evaluated by WWE‘s medical team.
PWInsider reports that WWE Champion, AJ Styles is already backstage for the Dallas episode of RAW. But don’t expect a cameo, instead, Styles is there to get checked out by WWE doctors.
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As it stands, the details of Styles’ injury remain a mystery but we do know that it’s serious enough for him to miss two SmackDown Live events over the weekend.
The RAW visit, while not cause to panic, is a little worrisome. If it were only a minor injury, Styles could maintain his regular schedule and simply not wrestle on SmackDown. But a visit to the doctor may be an ominous graduation.
It’s possible WWE is following a conservative protocol to ensure Styles is ready for his WrestleMania title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura, but at the moment, we can only offer speculation.
For what it’s worth, Styles did compete at March 16th’s Madison Square Garden show. However, when the WWE Champion was ushered to the back by medical staff during his match, the WWE Universe collectively gasped. Everyone realized when Styles made a triumphant return and it was revealed that his “injury” was part of the match’s story.
But now that it appeared that Styles is legitimately banged up, the MSG “injury” may have been a tactic to keep Styles in-ring activity limited.
While it’s a longshot, Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura have a chance to close WrestleMania 34. They’ll face stiff competition for WWE’s most hallowed real estate as Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, John Cena vs. The Undertaker and Ronda Rousey’s spectacle all could easily take that spot, but none of the above matches carry the expectations of brilliance that Styles and Nakamura can achieve.
We’ll keep our antenna’s up in the meantime, but expect to see less of AJ Styles in the coming weeks, even if his injuries are minimal.
