WWE's AJ Styles Reflects On Post-Injury Anxieties

Former WWE Champion AJ Styles has spoken about his recent injury, and how he was worried it could force him to hang up his boots. 

Styles suffered an injury in his match with Carmelo Hayes on "WWE SmackDown" last October, and feared the worst following the injury diagnosis.

"I knew I'd broken it because if you've broken it before, [it was the] same foot, I was like, 'I broke it again.' And I'm pissed because now I know how long it's going to take to get back. But, like, again, little did I know, it was much worse than a break," said Styles on "Insight." "It's tendons [which is why it is worse than a break]. And my doctor, who is also my friend, was like, 'Do not look this up.' I'm like, 'I'm gonna look this up,' and it's a career-ending injury."

Styles was informed by doctors that surgery could help heal the injury faster but could cause complications in the future. He instead decided to undergo therapy to fix his injury, which meant that he had to learn to walk and run again. Styles successfully underwent therapy, but was worried that he may re-injure the foot, which could've been the end of his in-ring career.

"Lucky for me, man, I was able to get the therapy that I needed. It wasn't easy — it sucked. It's so crazy that you have to learn how to walk again, to a certain extent. How did I forget how to run? You know, little things like that because I was in a boot for six weeks," he said. "I was like, 'This is it. How am I going to recover again?' You know? I was like, 'This might be it, really.' And it sucked because, like you said, I had just come back."

Styles clarified that he was fit after his feud with Cody Rhodes and was eager to get back in the ring, but suffered an injury upon his return match against Hayes. Styles eventually made a surprise return in the 2025 men's Royal Rumble match.