The latest episode of WWE Smackdown was originally supposed to mark the beginning of rebuilding AJ Styles’ legacy after a much-anticipated return. In a changed circumstance, he might have to head onto a hiatus now that he’s seemingly injured during his return match on Friday’s show.
In the opening segment of the latest episode of WWE Smackdown, AJ Styles said that he missed the fans so much, and “it’s only fitting that I’m here in Nashville, Tennessee tonight. This is where it all started for AJ Styles.” For those who don’t know, this was the place where he built himself as one of the great wrestlers of TNA promotion.
Not willing to dwell on the past, he was there to rebuild his legacy on WWE Smackdown, and the locker room members needed to be reminded that this is the house that AJ Styles built. This was followed by Carmelo Hayes coming out to confront him. LA Knight also came out and Hayes wanted to take the US Title away from him. AJ tried to talk some more with Hayes but he didn’t want to take advice from “quitters.”
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WWE Smackdown: AJ Styles landed badly on his feet to pick up an injury
AJ challenged Hayes to a match which the latter didn’t want to accept. However, Knight then told Hayes that if he can beat AJ Styles, then he’ll give him a US Title match. This led to Styles vs. Hayes in the opening bout of WWE Smackdown.
The match thus began with high stakes, but things took a sudden negative turn when Styles appeared to have injured his foot midway through the match. Carmelo won by forfeit after AJ landed awkwardly on his knees while performing the lion assault. LA Knight delivered a post-match BFT to send a message on WWE Smackdown.
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Commentary is saying AJ Styles injured his leg and this is where it happened…#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/eZ1B7bahL7
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) October 5, 2024
There’s no update on whether this is a legit injury suffered by AJ Styles soon after his return but it happened at an interesting time after reports claimed that his WWE contract is about to expire. Before this hiatus, he expressed his desire for another major title reign, specifically targeting the Undisputed WWE Championship before he retires.
