Lionheart was nearly paralyzed in 2015 when he had his neck broken by AJ Styles and his “Styles Clash” finisher.
The British star was only 32 when the devestating injury took place. He was viewed as one of the top stars on the UK indie scene, and was a regular in promtoions like ICW in Scotland.
However, he suffered a horrendous injury when wrestling against the former WWE Champion at a Preston City Wrestling event on March 1st, 2014. The pair battled for Lionheart’s PCW Championship, during AJ Styles world tour after leaving TNA.
He spent time in the US, Japan and the UK in this time. Despite having not had his run in WWE yet, he was arguably one of the biggest names in wrestling. His name drew huge crowds, especially in the UK where TNA was incredibly popular.
AJ Styles did get heat from fans after his match against Lionheart at PCW Road To Glory 3. He lifted the PCW Champion up for a Styles Clash, before slamming him to the ground.
However, the British wrestler tucked his chin, which is the opposite way to take the Styles Clash bump. His head jammed into the matt at a horrifying angle, breaking his neck instantly.
The match was called off, and the American quickly took charge of the situation. He mocked Lionheart in the ring, allegedly shouting out that he was “breaking necks and cashing cheques”.
This wasn’t the first time he had broken somebodies neck. Roderick Strong, Yoshi Tatsu and Frankie Kazarian were all injured by the move, although it is hard to blame AJ Styles when they all take the move incorrectly.
Lionheart Responded Well To The Broken Neck
After breaking his neck against AJ Styles, Lionheart Tweeted at the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He thanked him for the match, with no mention of the injury caused by the Styles Clash.
“@AJStylesOrg Safe travels home. Thank you for elevating me to look on your level in the biggest match of my career..You truly are phenomenal”
Afterwards, he released a full statement about the injury. Lionheart addressed the broken neck, revealing that an MRI showed it was broke in two places.
“All. Words cannot describe the physical and emotional roller coaster of the past 30+ hours…To update, my neck is broken in 2 places. I have had an MRI and the positive spin is there is no immediate requirement for surgery, although that may change…
“I don’t want to bore anyone or appear to fish for sympathy as I will comment more in depth in time… All I want to say is that the outpouring of support, calls, messages etc has been truly overwhelming… Reading them all has reduced me to tears more times than I can count… I thank you, and I love you… I know not what the future holds, and as emotional and drained as I am, I will fight back from thi Much love.”
He once again didn’t mention AJ Styles, although later interview would indicate he was more upset with him than it seemed.
In an inteview with The Mirror a year later, Lionheart revealed that doctors didn’t know if he would ever walk again, let alone wrestle.
The fact that he wrestled his next match almost exactly one year later was, frankly, a miracle.
“Initially when they told me I had broken my neck, they asked if I had any questions before going for my MRI. I asked if I’d walk again. They said they really didn’t know. I was probably the most emotionally devastated I’ve ever been in my life. I got back through determination and focus, and with a lot of support from a lot of people.”
He went on to reveal that he is “nothing” to AJ Styles, and refused to ever take the move again.
“Zero contact following that. I’ve heard little concern from him.” Lionheart said.
Sadly, He Passed Away Just Four Years Later
Lionheart returned to the ring a year later, and wrestled until 2019.
It was then that, sadly, he decided to take his own life. Lionheart was just 36 years old when he died, and it had nothing to do with the neck injury.
His final tweet, posted just a day before his death, read, “One day you will eat your last meal, you will smell your last flower, you will hug your friend for the last time. You might not know it’s the last time, that’s why you must do everything you love with passion.”
This haunting message left fans and friends alike heartbroken, struggling to understand the depths of his pain.
“One day you will eat your last meal,
You will smell your last flower, you will hug your friend for the last time. You might not know it’s the last time, that’s why you must do everything you love with passion” #Afterlife @rickygervais— Lionheart (@LionheartUK) June 19, 2019
