AJ Styles pulled from this weekend's house shows

Mike Johnson at PWInsider.com reports that as of Thursday, AJ Styles has been removed from this coming weekend's house shows in order to deal with some nagging injuries as he prepares to challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in an Extreme Rules Match on May 22.

Johnson previously reported that Styles did not work Thursday's episode of SmackDown because he and WWE want to rest him and ensure he will be able to perform at Extreme Rules. The last thing the company needs at this point is yet another main event performer on the shelf.

Styles had been set to compete on three house shows this weekend: Greenville, NC on Friday, Raleigh, NC on Saturday and Columbia, SC on Sunday. No word on whether he will compete during Monday's episode of RAW, but odds are good he will be on television in some capacity since that will be the go-home show for Extreme Rules.