Source: Grahame Herbert
AJ Styles still hasn’t hit his finisher in WWE, leading to speculation that the move may be banned by WWE’s safety guidelines. It was teased at least 4 or 5 times in the Royal Rumble, but never used.
The ‘Styles Clash’ is a belly to back inverted slam, in which Styles drives his opponent’s head into the mat. Unfortunately, he has a history of injuring people with the move, with several severe neck injuries having been caused by the botched finisher.
However, it does tend to be the fault of the person taking the spot, rather than Styles being unsafe. Notably, in New Japan, Yoshi Tatsu was almost paralysed due to a botched Styles Clash. You could understand the WWE wanting to avoid such a scenario.
However, with all the teasing of the move, it does suggest that Styles will eventually hit it. What could be going on is a build of anticipation. Michelle McCool actually used the spot as one of her moves back in her WWE run, so it certainly wasn’t on the banned list a few years ago.
If the spot is being saved for something special, surely it would be a WrestleMania moment. The outlook right now for Mania is Styles versus Kevin Owens, or a bout with a heel Chris Jericho. Either one of those matches would make for a fine undercard contest.
