AJ Styles Reveals Why He Created The Spiral Tap

WWE star AJ Styles has revealed what prompted him to come up with his innovative Spiral Tap move.

Though he doesn't use the move anymore, the Spiral Tap was a twisting front flip that The Phenomenal One occasionally utilised during his time in TNA.

The reason he came up with the move in the first place is because Billy Kidman got mad at him for using a Shooting Star Press to the floor when both men wrestled for WCW in the early 2000s.

Speaking about the situation with Chris Van Vliet for Insight, Styles said:

"So in WCW, I was doing the Shooting Star to the floor. Billy Kidman hated me. Hated. He would call me 'AJ Steals'. I wanted to hurt him so bad, legit, but he was Kidman at that time in WCW. He can't be touched at all, right? So they asked me if I wanted to do the Shooting Star. I was like, 'No, no, I won't do it because it's Kidman's move. I'll just do something that he can't'. That's how I came with the Spiral Tap. So yeah, all because Kidman hated me doing the Shooting Star Press, but at the time he wasn't doing it, so... He did come back and started doing it. So kudos to him".

Former WWE star Paul London has similarly spoken before about Kidman being protective of the SSP, with London temporarily adopting the 450 Splash as a finisher after being scolded by the former WCW Cruiserweight Champion.

AJ Styles is planning to retire before June 2027 (when he turns 50) and wants to make a one-off TNA appearance before then.

H/T Fightful

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