WWE World Champion: AJ Styles appeared on Smackdown Live this week. Styles appeared in the opening segment of the show and also on commentary for the main event. Styles was not involved in anything physically and was only used in talking segments. His match against James Ellsworth was postponed due to Ellsworth being ‘sick’.
Postponing the match with Ellsworth is a way for WWE to allow Styles to recover fully from his recent ankle injury. It was reported that Styles suffered a minor ankle injury in his match against Dean Ambrose at the TLC PPV. This was evident when Styles showed up last week on Smackdown wearing a cast.
The good news was that the cast was off this week. Him not being involved in anything physical indicates that WWE is being very safe with his injury and return.
Styles has been removed from the advertising of all upcoming WWE live events for the Smackdown brand. The next show that he is scheduled for is the December 26th show in Madison Square Garden. He is also scheduled to face Dolph Ziggler the next night on Smackdown Live after Dolph won the number one contenders match for the WWE World Championship.
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It is not clear when James Ellsworth will get his match against Styles. WWE could continue to delay it as he recovers. On Talking Smack this week, Styles said that he “could go, if necessary”.
Certainly a bummer for fans attending live events over the next few weeks. Smart on WWE’s part to not rush him back. They are going to rely on AJ heavily as we head into the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania season.
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