Pro wrestling is full of amazing stories and as time goes on even more of those treasured gems of information are bound to come out.
One recent factoid was recently revealed by Chris Jericho as he discussed how AJ Styles was able to remove his Style Clash from WWE’s list of banned moves.
“When A.J. came in I believed he was going to be a huge star which of course he is” Jericho told Baby Huey & Bimbo Jimbo of 107.7 The Bone. “He had this finishing move called the Styles Clash which was kind of unofficially banned in the WWE because there was rumors that people had gotten hurt from it and all that sort of thing, but I knew it was a great move. I knew it was an easy move to take. I knew it was something that could give AJ an extra color to paint your pictures with. I basically…started using it (taking it) during matches just so Vince could see it. I figured if he saw it and didn’t want me to do it then he would know…and people were so mad at me because I was kicking out of the move like ‘Jericho’s burying A.J…’ It’s like shut up you idiots I have a plan here.”
“Eventually I went to Vince and said ‘Did you see that move that AJ did?’ Never using the words the Styles Clash because I knew…that name is taboo. Oh, the Styles Clash you can’t do it. So, I said you know that move where he picks me up and dumps me on my face?…He should use that as a finish! ‘Yes, absolutely use it as a finish.'”
“So, I was able to kind of indirectly able to get the move unbanned by just doing it, and not asking for permission, and never using the name Styles Clash when I talked to Vince about it. Now it’s one of AJ’s biggest moves. I believed it could work. I wanted to stand up for it, but once again you have to be kind of sly about it sometimes. It was actually a pretty cool process and it makes for a great story in the book for sure.”
WWE has a list of banned moves for a very good reason. A spot might have been deemed too dangerous because of a past botch in the ring or the move is simply too ridiculous for WWE to allow their workers to execute. Samoa Joe’s Muscle Buster might be on that list after injuring Tyson Kidd but it’s nothing compared to the Burning Hammer. Still, the list of banned moves has an explicit purpose of safety in mind.
One move Chris Jericho didn’t think should have been on there in the first place was the Styles Clash. Thankfully, Y2J was able to figure out a way for AJ Styles to get his Styles Clash back because fans certainly love seeing it. This is yet another grand example of “sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.” Because all Jericho had to do is let Vince McMahon see the move to drive home the point that it’s all about how you take the Styles Clash and there’s no real danger in the move itself.
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