Tables, ladders and chairs in 2017. AJ Styles and Finn Balor wrestled for the first time in history. and it was nothing short of spectacular, both unexpectedly stealing the show and showing what fans have come to expect from them in the ring for years. However, during the last episode “WWE Retrospective” Styles revealed that his match with Balor at TLC wasn’t supposed to happen in the first place, sharing that he flew from South America to Miami, Florida that same day to fill in for Bray Wyatt, who fell ill and was unable to wrestle “The Demon.”
“They said, ‘AJ, you’re on the first date of the show now. You’re going to wrestle and go straight to the airport, get on a plane, fly to Miami. We’ll pick you up on the WWE plane, fly you to wherever we are, and then you’re going to wrestle Finn Balor that night. That’s how fast it happened,” he explained. “Not only did we get this match when we were still hot on people’s minds that these two guys were in the Bullet Club, I got to wrestle Dev… I was excited to get in the ring with him, I’m being honest. And I know people are going to enjoy this moment of these two guys in the ring together.”
Styles went on to praise Baylor for his work ethic over the years, explaining that every match he’s had with him has been a “piece of cake” and that there isn’t a match he hasn’t enjoyed with the Irish star.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit “WWE Vault” with ah/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.