AJ Styles knows it’s ok to tap out in the Octagon— or the squared circle.
Styles has wrestled a lot of stars throughout his wrestling career. Recently, Styles shared that the Samoa Joe, was one of the best wrestlers he has shared a ring with. Styles reflected on working with Joe in TNA during his appearance at a Fanatics Live Signing at WWE World. “The Phenomenal One” wrestled Joe countless times over the years, and Styles reflected on one of the contests that saw him tap out to Joe early in his TNA run.
AJ Styles opened up about the significance of tapping out, which was not as common in pro wrestling as it was in mixed martial arts at the time. Styles mentioned that the competitor who is tapping out is smart, as he does not want to have his arm broken or doesn’t want to pass out.
AJ Styles explains why tapping out to Samoa Joe was the right choice
“There was a match that we had in TNA. And I remember he choked me out and there was a big thing about, ‘Oh you don’t wanna tap out to the [new guy coming in]… You know, get choked out.’ [I’m like], ‘What are you talking about? I don’t know if you have heard of the UFC. People tap out all the time,” Styles pointed out. “Because they are smart and they really don’t want to go to sleep. Or they don’t want their arm broken.’
“So, in that match, and you know what? [Samoa] Joe was new coming in. And it was an amazing match and it made that match so much better than I was able to tap out. I think, and, the Samoan Submission was one of the best I’ve ever been in the ring with,” AJ Styles added.
AJ Styles and Samoa Joe have wrestled each other on multiple occasions in Ring Of Honor and WWE as well. This also includes another submission decision at WWE Hell In A Cell 2018, which ended in a somewhat controversial fashion.
Joe, the challenger to Styles’ WWE Championship, attempted to lock in the Coquina Clutch and force Styles to submit. Styles countered out of the move and reversed it into a pinning combination. After the match, Joe maintained that Styles had tapped out before a pin attempt. However, the referee counted to three and the decision was made in Styles’ favor.
Do you agree with AJ Styles about tapping out?
.@SamoaJoe is IRATE after his #CoquinaClutch backfired!@AJStylesOrg is STILL your @WWE Champion! #HIAC pic.twitter.com/0IeJ59IOhm
— WWE (@WWE) September 17, 2018
