How WWE Can Best Use AJ Styles Before Extreme Rules 2016 Despite Ankle Injury

AJ Styles' pained ankle is not just a reason for caution en route to WWE Extreme Rules 2016 on Sunday—it's an opportunity. WWE must use this time to let Styles rest along with revealing more of his character.

WWE has been cautious with The Phenomenal One in the last week. PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported that the company had him avoid stepping into the ring during the latest SmackDown due to nagging injuries and later pulled Styles "from this weekend's live events to allow him to rest up further."

Styles tweeted an update, saying that he is ready for Monday's go-home show:

There's little reason to have Styles wrestle on either Monday night or during Tuesday's SmackDown taping. Even if he can go, why risk his ankle flaring up just before he headlines a pay-per-view? The last thing WWE needs is to add him to a disabled list that already includes major names such as Seth Rollins, John Cena, Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt.

With Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson both at his side and this story also involving The Usos, this narrative has enough moving parts for Styles to sit out in-ring competition until Sunday's PPV.

The audience has already seen several versions of The Club vs. Reigns and The Usos. Styles has been on a tear in the ring and has ample momentum on his side. 

WWE should make him a bystander rather than an active participant until it's time to clash over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It should have him rest his ankle to avoid any chance of derailing the upcoming title match.

Let Gallows and Anderson do the in-ring work for now.

Styles can contribute instead by allowing the audience to get to know him outside of the ring more. He has thrilled audiences with a string of top-notch performances, but WWE fans don't have a great sense of who he is.

During an appearance on the Talk is Jericho podcast (h/t Wrestle Zone), Styles told Chris Jericho that Vince McMahon said of his character: "This is the way you need to be. You're not the tallest guy, you're not the biggest guy, but you're a pit bull."

Fans have yet to see enough pit bull tendencies from Styles. Some images of him pushing Reigns backstage or interrupting an interview by clamping on the Calf Crusher would help in that regard. WWE has instead established the idea that he has had a long career outside of the company and that he wants to prove himself on this new stage.

There is plenty of room to elaborate on his ethos and makeup beyond that.

Use Monday's Raw and Thursday's SmackDown to show him interacting with Gallows and Anderson. Let us see how much of a leader he is by having him calm Gallows or inspire Anderson. Reveal more of the backstory of this partnership. Film him spouting backstage about how much the WWE world title means to him.

All the while, WWE should tease that change is underfoot. 

One of the most powerful elements of this rivalry has been its ability to build anticipation. Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net called it "a delightful story with a little bit of mystery between A.J. Styles, Roman Reigns, The Usos and The Club." WWE should cultivate that mystery in the days before Extreme Rules.

Credit: WWE.com

Is Styles fully on board with The Club's unscrupulous actions? Is he going to prove too righteous in his allies' eyes and end up the victim of betrayal?

Those are the questions that most need playing with ahead of Sunday's show. And The Phenomenal One need not get into the ring to be a part of the process.

Rather than test Styles' ankle in unnecessary matches, WWE should use this situation to address the other elements of this tale and to provide more of a peek into the No. 1 contender's mind.