WWE Rumors: AJ Styles' Injury Is '100% Legitimate' After Match Stopped at Live Show
Dec 30, 2022
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 21: WWE professional wrestler A.J. Styles visits Fox 29's 'Good Day' at FOX 29 Studio on July 21, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
AJ Styles could miss time after suffering an ankle injury during a WWE house show on Thursday night.
Per Mike Johnson of PW Insider, the Phenomenal One's injury is "100 percent legitimate" and not part of the storyline for the match between the O.C. and The Judgment Day.
"Styles was having issues putting weight on his left foot after the match and was walked out by WWE officials," Johnson wrote.
B/R's Erik Beaston posted a picture of Styles sitting on the ground outside the ring, with Karl Anderson and Mia Yim by his side.
Beaston also noted the referee put up the "X" signal that is used to indicate to the back a legitimate injury occurred and requires medical assistance.
According to Johnson, Styles is expected to get the injury examined as soon as possible. His status won't be determined until after a diagnosis is made.
The O.C. and Judgment Day recently wrapped up a feud that began in October when Anderson and Luke Gallows returned to WWE to team up with Styles.
Styles defeated Finn Bálor at Survivor Series: WarGames, while Yim was on Bianca Belair's team that defeated Rhea Ripley and Team Bayley in a WarGames match.
Most recently, the O.C. has been working against Baron Corbin, Chad Gable and Otis in a six-person feud. Styles defeated Sami Zayn in a singles match on the Dec. 19 episode of Raw.
If Styles has to miss time, it could force WWE to alter its plans for WrestleMania season. It's unknown what his role is going to be at the Royal Rumble, though he would presumably be in the men's Rumble match.
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AJ Styles Defeats Finn Bálor at WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2022
Nov 27, 2022
AJ Styles represented The O.C. with a victory over The Judgment Day's Finn Bálor at WWE Survivor Series WarGames on Saturday.
After a long back-and-forth battle, Styles finally put away the Irishman with a Phenomenal Forearm.
Both The O.C. and The Judgment Day were at ringside early in the match. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson chased Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest through the crowd and to the back after Mysterio tripped Styles when he was standing on the apron.
Styles has been at odds with Bálor and The Judgment Day for some time due to his refusal to join the group, and it led to him bringing Gallows and Anderson back to WWE for backup.
The Phenomenal One teamed with Gallows and Anderson to take on Bálor, Priest and Mysterio at Crown Jewel on November 5, but Rhea Ripley was the X-factor, costing The O.C. the win with her outside interference.
It was at that point that Styles and Co. knew they needed to employ the services of a female Superstar to cancel Ripley out, and they did that by bringing Mia Yim back to the company.
With the sides evened out, Styles felt empowered to challenge Bálor to a singles match at Survivor Series WarGames, and The Prince accepted.
While the two men have faced each other many times in tag team matches, especially recently, Saturday marked only the second singles bout they have had.
The first came at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2017, and it wasn't even supposed to happen originally, as Styles was a late replacement for the ill Bray Wyatt.
That encounter was a friendly one, as Styles and Bálor were both babyfaces at the time, and they had great respect for each other due to their roles in the advancement of Bullet Club in Japan.
The Prince tried to use that connection to his advantage when recruiting Styles for The Judgment Day, but he refused to give up his freedom and join the cult-like faction.
Styles and Bálor may have settled things in the ring once and for all at Survivor Series WarGames. And with The Phenomenal One picking up the victory, it may finally pave the way for him to move past the heel stable and on to bigger and better things.
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Mia Yim Talks WWE Return; AJ Styles Praises John Cena; Natalya Undergoes Surgery
Nov 8, 2022
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Yim Talks Returning to WWE
Mia Yim made her surprise return to WWE on Monday night's episode of Raw, backing The O.C. in their rivalry with The Judgment Day.
After AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson fell to Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio at Crown Jewel due primarily to interference from Rhea Ripley, The O.C. found themselves an equalizer in the form of Yim.
After Yim took out Ripley with a kendo stick on Raw, she discussed her return to WWE in an exclusive interview for WWE's social media channels:
Yim noted that she is ready to "get my retribution," which was seemingly a nod to the group she was involved with prior to her release from WWE last year.
After enjoying success in NXT for a couple of years under the moniker "The Head Baddie in Charge," Yim was called up to the main roster as part of Retribution and given the name Reckoning.
Yim also had a far different appearance as Reckoning, as she wore a Hannibal Lecter-style mask to match the unique look of her stablemates.
Retribution ultimately flopped, and Yim was released from her WWE contract almost exactly one year ago. She returned to Impact Wrestling, where she previously held the Knockouts Championship, and enjoyed success before getting the call back to NXT.
Given how poorly her first main roster run went, Yim has plenty of unfinished business, and she is seemingly now in a much better position to establish herself.
Triple H is now the head of creative, and he was chiefly responsible for signing Yim in the first place and pushing her in NXT. Triple H has already placed her in a significant storyline, which bodes well for her moving forward.
Styles Praises Cena's In-Ring Acumen
John Cena is one of AJ Styles' greatest in-ring rivals, but The Phenomenal One wasn't too sure about Cena's wrestling ability until they went at it for the first time.
During an interview with the Halftime Show (h/t WrestlingInc's Phil Hall), Styles divulged that Cena "surprised" him with his in-ring performances since he was "not known for being a technical mastermind in the ring."
Styles added: "[Cena is] just good—there's no way to say it. He knows what he's doing. Again, it's just one of those things where you thought, 'I'm the superior wrestler in the ring.' But once you get in there with John Cena, you realize, 'Well, okay, I didn't know that. Let's keep going.' He's pretty good."
When Styles arrived in WWE as a surprise entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble match, his reputation preceded him as one of the best pure wrestlers in the world thanks to his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.
At that time, there was no denying Cena's status as the top dog in the business, but a large portion of the WWE fanbase tended to criticize and question his ability to have great matches.
Cena's series of bouts went a long way toward changing the perception, as they had universally praised clashes at Money in the Bank 2016, SummerSlam 2016 and Royal Rumble 2017.
Those matches helped Styles get over as a top star in WWE as well, and it can be argued that they still stand as the best matches he has had during his WWE run.
Natalya Undergoes Surgery on Nose
Natalya announced Monday that she underwent surgery to reset her nose after suffering a dislocation:
We moved my dislocated nose back to the center of my face where it belongs!! I love the shape of my nose and it will stay the same, thank goodness! Can finally breathe again🙏 Pain is beauty! LFG! 😂 pic.twitter.com/V6zZTivjHQ
John Pollock of Post Wrestling later reported that the injury was a work and part of a storyline, meant to allow Natalya to undergo pre-planned nasal surgery.
After years of speculation regarding an alliance between Baszler and Ronda Rousey on WWE's main roster, it finally came to fruition a couple of weeks ago when Baszler attacked Nattie backstage, much to the delight of Rousey.
Baszler then faced her former tag team partner in a match on SmackDown last week, which was when the broken nose angle took place.
Since Triple H took over as head of creative, he has seemingly been hard at work re-establishing Baszler as a threat.
While Baszler has had success on the main roster in tag teams, her greatest success occurred in NXT as a singles wrestler. The Queen of Spades was a dominant force, holding the NXT Women's Championship twice for a total of 548 days, which is the longest cumulative time as women's champ in NXT history.
Rousey and Baszler are both former UFC fighters and close friends in real life, so it makes sense to move forward with them as a dangerous heel pairing.
As for Nattie, she is seemingly in line to miss some time, which will leave SmackDown without an important veteran presence in the women's division.
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Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles Loading?; WWE Rumors on Candice LeRae's Return, Bobby Fish
Sep 27, 2022
Roman Reigns celebrates after defeating Bill Goldberg during the 2022 WWE Elimination Chamber at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Amer HILABI / AFP) (Photo by AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images)
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
WWE Planning Reigns vs. Styles Feud?
Speculation is running rampant that AJ Styles could be in line for a feud with undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns in the near future.
According to WrestlingNews.co, talk of a Styles vs. Reigns feud is born from the fact that they wrestled each other at a house show on Saturday in Vancouver.
It is typical for wrestlers to face each other on house shows in anticipation of a televised rivalry, and since Reigns doesn't work many house shows anymore under his current schedule, it could be significant that Styles was chosen as his opponent.
The Phenomenal One has had some involvement with The Bloodline on TV as well, facing "Honorary Uce" Sami Zayn on Monday night's episode of Raw after Styles poked fun at Zayn on Twitter for his excitement over Reigns giving him an "Honorary Uce" shirt.
Zayn beat Styles with some help from Solo Sikoa, and Styles was attacked by The Judgment Day after the match due to his refusal to join the group.
Styles and Reigns have some history, as Reigns was in the ring when AJ made his WWE debut as a surprise entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble match.
Reigns was also one of Styles' first major opponents in WWE. They had a well-received rivalry in the weeks and months after WrestleMania 32 in 2016, including a highly regarded match at Extreme Rules.
Styles and Reigns have not worked together much since then, which could make The Phenomenal One an ideal opponent for The Tribal Chief now.
Reigns has already run through many of the top contenders on the WWE roster during his more than 700 days as world champion, but Styles is not on his list of victims, and may be one of the biggest opponents left for him.
How WWE Kept LeRae's Return Under Wraps
Candice LeRae made a shocking return to WWE in Edmonton on Monday night's episode of Raw, defeating Nikki A.S.H. in a singles match.
LeRae's return was completely unexpected by fans, much like the return of her husband, Johnny Gargano, on the Aug. 22 edition of Raw in Toronto.
According to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, WWE went to great lengths to keep LeRae's return a secret, including listing Nikki's match as being against Doudrop internally.
Monday's match was Candice's first since the July 6, 2021, episode of NXT, which saw her and Indi Hartwell drop the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships to Iyo Sky and Zoey Stark.
LeRae announced soon after that she was pregnant with her first child with Gargano, and during her pregnancy, Gargano made the decision to let his WWE contract run out.
Gargano was out of action for about nine months before his WWE return, and LeRae made her in-ring return just seven months after giving birth.
There was a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the in-ring future of Gargano and LeRae during their hiatus, but a WWE return seemingly became a much more likely scenario in July when Triple H took over as head of WWE creative following Vince McMahon's retirement.
Triple H was primarily responsible for signing and pushing both Gargano and LeRae in NXT, and he figures to be inclined to push them on the main roster as well.
LeRae enjoyed a highly successful return this week, and she is already lined up for another match next week against Damage CTRL member and one half of the WWE women's tag team champions, Dakota Kai.
WWE Reportedly Didn't Try to Bring Back Fish
Despite speculation to the contrary, WWE reportedly never contacted Bobby Fish about returning to the company.
According to Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), there is no truth to the rumor that Fish tried to convince Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly to leave AEW and go back to WWE with him, as Fish never had conversations with WWE.
The 45-year-old Fish did not re-sign with AEW when his contract expired this month, and he resurfaced this past weekend at Impact Wrestling's Victory Road event.
Before showing up in Impact, there was talk among fans about Fish potentially going back to WWE since he had been there from 2017 to 2021 and conceivably had a good relationship with Triple H while he was running NXT.
During his time in NXT, Fish was part of the Undisputed Era stable along with Cole, O'Reilly and Roderick Strong. They achieved a great deal of success as a group, and Fish was a two-time NXT tag team champion.
There seemingly wasn't much of a plan for Fish after Undisputed Era disbanded, however, and he was released from his WWE contract in August 2021.
Fish showed up in AEW in October 2021, about one month after Cole had signed with the company. O'Reilly eventually joined them as well, and they reunited as a faction.
Things seemingly didn't go according to plan for the stable due to Cole and O'Reilly suffering injuries, and with Fish leaving AEW, the dream of an Undisputed Era vs. Elite feud appears to be over.
Triple H has brought back many Superstars who were released during his hiatus and recovery from heart surgery, but given Fish's age and the lack of availability for Cole and O'Reilly, there likely wasn't much upside in signing Fish from WWE's perspective.
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WWE Rumors: Rajan Husher Is Person Who Attacked AJ Styles During Raw
Aug 23, 2022
The mystery of who attacked AJ Styles during a tag team match on Raw appears to have been solved.
Per The Local Competitor, who often identifies local talent used on WWE programming, the man wearing a mask was Rajan Husher from Battle Arts PRO.
On the new @WWE RAW episode: Who was taken away by riot police during The Miz & Ciampa vs. AJ Styles & Bobby Lashley match? Rajan Husher was the man who attacked AJ.
Per the official Battle Arts website, the academy opened in December 2013 and hosts monthly shows at Don Kolov Arena in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada:
"There were two types of shows; 'Rising Stars” and “Battle Arts,' with the latter featuring only matches contested under Battle Arts Rules. Thus meaning victory could only be obtained by TKO or submission; no pin falls. This was an ode to the original BATTLEARTS which existed in Japan from 1995-2011 and was run by Battle Arts Academy’s head instructor, Yuki Ishikawa, who shares his vast, world-class knowledge and experience with his students."
The incident occurred near the end of a tag match featuring Styles and Bobby Lashley taking on The Miz and Ciampa. The masked man grabbed Styles as he was leaning against the railing on the outside of the ring. Security quickly grabbed him and dragged him away.
After Miz dropped Styles with a big boot on the outside, a man in riot gear appeared and took off his helmet to reveal it was Dexter Lumis. He put Miz in a sleeper hold and dragged him out of the arena, giving Miz and Ciampa the win by disqualification.
Even though Husher didn't get his face on television, being able to appear on Raw in front of a worldwide audience is great exposure for him as he continues his journey in professional wrestling.
The interference was also a clever way to continue the feud between Miz and Lumis, who made his return to WWE on Aug. 8 after being released by the promotion in April.
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