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AJ Styles could miss WrestleMania 36 with a separated shoulder

By Kevin Parvizi

WWE, AJ Styles (Photo by Che Rosales/Getty Images)
WWE, AJ Styles (Photo by Che Rosales/Getty Images) /
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AJ Styles suffered an apparent shoulder injury during last night’s Royal Rumble, and there’s a chance he could miss WrestleMania 36 in April.

Entering the Royal Rumble Pay Per View on Sunday, AJ Styles was in a program with Randy Orton on Raw. Leading the unified O.C. on Monday nights, Styles hasn’t played a major role in the main event scene and is reportedly poised for a move to SmackDown at the next Superstar Shakeup. But knowing how important he is to WWE, Styles should be a big part of Raw’s Road to WrestleMania.

That is, if he’s healthy.

Styles appeared to land awkwardly on his shoulder during the Rumble match last night and had to be eliminated quickly by Edge. Since Styles was eliminated before his stablemates Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows appeared, this was like a split-second call, indicating Styles suffered an injury of some significance.

Now, Dave Meltzer is reporting on Wrestling Observer Radio that Styles has a separated shoulder and is at risk of missing WrestleMania 36 in Tampa. [Hat tip to WrestlingNews.Co’s Paul Davis for the story.]

WWE is reportedly “hopeful” that Styles won’t miss WrestleMania, but all eyes will be kept on his recovery over the next couple of months.

It’s unclear who Styles’ scheduled opponent at ‘Mania would have been, as he already faced Randy Orton at last year’s show. Orton and Edge appear to be headed for a nostalgic clash at WrestleMania after briefly working together as “Rated RKO” during the Rumble match before Edge eliminated Orton to be one of the final three men standing.

Styles could be inserted into a Triple Threat match with Orton and Edge to put more wrestlers on the card and add to the veteran star power in the match.

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Hopefully, Styles can have a quick and full recovery. Every WrestleMania is special for him now that he’s nearing the end of his career, and there are still a few big-time ‘Mania matches left for The Phenomenal One. It’s always rough hearing about injuries, especially during this critical time of the year in WWE.