Ever since he was forced to drop out of multiple house show matches just over a week ago, speculation and concern regarding the health of AJ Styles has been running rampant in the online wrestling community.
It’s hard to blame them. Styles is the reigning WWE Champion and is about to enter WWE‘s biggest show with the company’s top prize to take on one of the most gifted Japanese wrestlers of the last two decades in Shinsuke Nakamura.
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Styles assured fans during an interview with For The Win on Friday that he’s still primed and and ready to go for WrestleMania 34 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on April 8. And while he appreciated the fans’ concerns, he was a tad bit bothered by all the anxiety.
“A little of nothing. It was just one of those… got hit in the back of the knee. I think it scared more people than it actually scared me,” Styles said. “I knew I was going to make it to WrestleMania, there’s nothing wrong with me. … Yeah, I mean it really does bother me because they don’t know the extent of it. They started worrying, more than anything, which I appreciate that, but it’s just one of those things where you’ve got to wait to hear the facts and information before you get so worked up about something. It is what it is, and we can’t stop this from happening, but why don’t we hear from the guy who actually has the issue before we jump to conclusions and get worried?”
Despite being 40 years old and having a long career in wrestling prior to joining the WWE, Styles has managed to stay consistently healthy ever since he debuted with the company at the 2016 Royal Rumble. His first bout at WWE’s grandest stage came at WrestleMania 32, where he disappointingly lost to Chris Jericho early in the show. A year later, after having turned heel, Styles was paired up with Shane McMahon for a match at WrestleMania 33 and won a surprisingly solid 20-minute match.
“The Phenominal One” has been on a hot streak ever since, winning the United States Championship twice in the last year and capturing his second WWE Championship by defeating Jinder Mahal on an episode of SmackDown Live in November. He managed to successfully defend the title in a handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at the Royal Rumble and held onto it in a Six-Pack Challenge match at Fastlane.
