In WWE or any professional wrestling promotion, injuries are common. They come with the territory, and you have to either get over them or come back from them as best you can. The recovery process is often very difficult, a fact that even non-athletes can understand.

However, it seems that some wrestlers cannot always handle the physical and emotional trauma of a potentially career-ending injury. After his latest and quite serious mishap, former WWE Superstar Yoshi Tatsu stunned his fans and friends when tweeted that he wanted to die.

Tatsu was wrestling in Japan against AJ Styles. Styles used his finisher, “The Styles Clash.” The move is common for him, and one he is famous for using. To most observers, the move doesn’t seem like it’s very dangerous. However, if the hold is not landed correctly, a wrestler can break their neck. That is exactly what happened to Tatsu.

Styles has hurt others with this move, but the main reason they get hurt is not that the move is overly dangerous. Some wrestlers just do not know how to land it. In TNA, reports of Styles messing up the move or issues with it were never present. It has been on the Indy scene or in Japan that injuries have resulted from the move. The main reason is, simply put, the way a wrestler on the receiving end of “The Styles Clash” hits the mat.

WWE and other organizations have banned moves they feel are high risk. For a long time, most major companies banned the piledriver due to injuries to major stars, including WWE Superstar “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Neck injuries are common with moves like the piledriver, and lately, “The Styles Clash.”

That said, people have asked for the ban of the move. Tatsu, who was famous for his work in NJPW before joining WWE years ago, went back to Japan to continue doing well there. However, his career could be over, depending on how he recovers. If he cannot manage a comeback, there could be some issues mentally. Tatsu reportedly tweeted from his bedside that he wanted to die, but the tweet was removed later.

Regardless of him removing a tweet, the thought of this is bad right now. Anyone who has hurt their neck or undergone neck surgery can really feel for Tatsu. However, this could be a good time for him to be watched. Wrestlers tend to have issues retiring from the ring; not always because of the money it brings, but because they crave the live crowd reactions. When they cannot have that, it can be depressing. It can be more difficult to let go if a talent is hurt and cannot get back in the ring.

WWE hired Tatsu in his 30s and let him go a little while back due to not being able to really use him. He is now 37. This is a time many wrestlers start to bring their career to a close. So, this might be a blessing in disguise for him.

In the ring or in life, Tatsu’s future depends on his ability to maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity. Hopefully, his friends, family and fellow wrestlers will be there to help him recover.

I've never been a big fan of Yoshi Tatsu, wasnt that entertained by his matches but he was over as fuck. That being said...he should of taken the move properly. Everyone keeps pointing out that the move is dangerous....but yet say the person on the receiving end should know how to take it. That's what's making the move dangerous. AJ's gonna have to eventually change his finisher because of people that dont study tape of how to take a finisher. Sad, really.

He could change over to the Caff Killer.

The move isn't any more dangerous than a power bomb. Guys taking the move wrong does not make the move dangerous.

You know Ian pointed out that no one in TNA ever got hurt by the move

In TNA, those were the people he worked with for weeks and months on end. He was around all the time, so they could go over it again and again or practice it or have someone else in the locker room demonstrate it.

In the indies, or even in Japan, the guy he's working with any given night might never see him until the night of the match.

No, it's not "AJ's fault" that someone does the instinctual thing, the thing you're trained to do from the start of your career that is basically a fundamental to not tuck your head (because that's the danger of getting the neck broken on most moves). But it's different doing it at full speed coming out of whatever combination of moves are used to set it up and then *BAM* you're supposed to forget everything you've ever learned and do exactly the opposite of what you've been trained to do your whole career.

Bottom line is people are getting hurt. Next time it may be paralysis or even death. Not worth it. It's not like that's his only move and no one will want to see him if he doesn't do it. Best thing would be (a) retire the move or (b) only use it in big matches with people he has worked with who absolutley 100 percent know how to take it and have done so before, and bring it out really rarely so it's a big deal when he does it.

I could be down with it being a Burning Hammer 2.0, but getting rid of it outright is just silly.

MooseNugget wrote:

You know Ian pointed out that no one in TNA ever got hurt by the move

And Tanahashi used it in NJPW for years - he only stopped when Styles came in.

Whatever the reason I feel like if it's breaking necks, he should consider stopping or at least taking more time with it.

It was clearly Tatsu's fault. He tilted his head forward when he was already in perfect position to take the Styles Clash.

In the early days of TNA, people have taken that move wrong, that isn't correct.

But you'd think by now people would be able to take this move. For some reason they want to lift their head up instead of back. If I was AJ, I'd stop using the move entirely because I couldn't deal with that on my mind. Eventually it'll get to him and then he'll hit it wrong himself, rather than someone taking it wrong.

FWIW Gedo calls finishes, not AJ.