AJ Styles Botches Top Rope Move At WWE Live Event

WWE Superstars are on the road 300 days a year, and accidents often happen, even to the best wrestlers in the locker room.

AJ Styles was undeniably WWE’s Superstar of The Year in 2016, and even though there were no Slammys to officially give him the title he deserved, the WWE Universe knew he was the best in 2016.

That being said, he hasn’t started 2017 out as brightly, last night WWE’s SmackDown roster descended upon Bossier City, Louisiana and the main event saw a triple threat match between Baron Corbin, John Cena and current WWE Champion AJ Styles.

The match looked like a solid showing between the three stand-out SmackDown stars until Baron Corbin headed for the top rope and attempted a super-plex on AJ Styles.

Styles was already on the top rope and Baron only had AJ for support with both of his feet also planted on the top rope, but as AJ lifted his second foot up, the rope must have been slippery because he slipped back down and took Baron with him.

Baron managed to flip over in mid-air and land like he had taken a back bump and AJ managed to land on his feet on the apron. Baron then recovered enough to be able to finish the match, and so far there are no reports that The Lone Wolf suffered any serious damage.

You can watch the video here:

!!!!!!!!!!!! #WWEBossierCity pic.twitter.com/vhNJObQQl3

— WWEFanCam (@ProWresFanCam) January 8, 2017

Accidents happen, the WWE Universe knows that when WWE Superstars sign up for this job, they go into it knowing the risks.

This comes just weeks after AJ Styles saved James Ellsworth’s life when he changed the Styles Clash so that Ellsworth didn’t break his neck because he decided to bend forward at the last minute.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this was a legitimate accident, it seems that when AJ was on the top rope before Corbin came over to him, he could have sweat onto the rope and made it slippy or Corbin could have done it when he touched the rope afterwards.

This is often one of the biggest reasons for botches in WWE as many fans have seen high-flying stars slip off the top rope many times because their boots are slippery against them.

Luckily, this happened at a WWE Live Event, one that obviously wasn’t televised so WWE doesn’t really have to comment on it. It definitely looks much worse than it was, John Cena is sitting on the floor outside of the ring when it happens and he doesn’t even react when Corbin falls.

This could be another addition to the argument that WWE stars shouldn’t be doing high octane moves at live events, but fans pay to see their favourite stars perform the way they see them on TV. The only difference between a Live Event and Monday Night Raw or Tuesday Night SmackDown is the lack of TV cameras. There is no reason why paying members of the WWE Universe shouldn’t be able to see their favourite stars competing at full capacity.

Baron Corbin looks like he is set for one hell of a push in WWE over the coming weeks, especially since he is competing against the likes of AJ and Cena at Live Events. He also interrupted their contract signing on Tuesday night to proclaim that he was entering himself into The Royal Rumble match. Something that now has the WWE Universe thinking that he could well be the dark horse.

John Cena and AJ look set to rehash their famous rivalry from 2016, except this time the feud will be over the WWE Championship as John Cena’s record breaking 16 time Championship win hangs over his head as the WWE turns the final corner before The Road to WrestleMania begins.

It looks like it is going to be an incredible three months for these three superstars and a bad botch like this won’t fully bother any of them. Baron got up and recovered and he will dust himself off and move forward, AJ is a veteran, he’s been in positions like this before, he will also move forward. Wrestling is a dangerous business and if you’re not ready to put your body on the line on a daily basis, then you’re in the wrong business, and these three guys know this better than anyone.