'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIH/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAv/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAwOhL/8QAHRABAAICAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgEEAwUAIRESIv/aAAgBAQABPwClt3W1l7WLGMotoJZXH2Eez6zwa2ygVFiO488//8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEC/9oACAECAQE/AIR//8QAFhEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAR/9oACAEDAQE/AF2//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Legendary wrestling trainer Dr. Tom Prichard recently recalled how Brock Lesnar was advised not to perform the Shooting Star Press regularly.
Lesnar began using the top-rope move in WWE's Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental system before moving to the main roster in 2002. He famously suffered a concussion after botching a Shooting Star Press against Kurt Angle in the WrestleMania 19 main event in 2003.
In an interview on the Developmentally Speaking podcast, Prichard said former OVW booker Jim Cornette did not want Lesnar to overuse the move:
"He was doing it every night for a while until Jimmy told him, 'Hey, stop doing that. Do it on special occasions.' I thought the environment was really, really good for anybody who had a chance to make it into the business because it really showed what you had to go through to get to the top." [8:19 – 8:39]
Lesnar has not used the Shooting Star Press in WWE since the incident with Angle. Instead, he uses the F-5 or Kimura Lock to defeat opponents.
Why Brock Lesnar started using the Shooting Star Press
In real life, Brock Lesnar has been close friends with fellow WWE star Shelton Benjamin for more than two decades. The Beast Incarnate once saw Benjamin practicing the Shooting Star Press and decided to try the move himself.
Lesnar revealed in a 2001 interview on Wrestling Observer Live that he could not believe how easily he executed the athletic move:
"Me and Shelton are very competitive. Everything that Shelton does, I try to do, and pretty much I can do everything that he can do. One day he was trying to do the Shooting Star Press and he couldn't do it, and I got up there the next day and I just did it. This was in practice. Everybody was like, and I was like, 'Woah, I can't believe I just did that.'"
Moving forward, it is unclear when Lesnar will return to WWE television. He recently appeared to turn babyface after shaking hands with Cody Rhodes following their match at SummerSlam.
Would you like to see Brock Lesnar perform the Shooting Star Press again? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Developmentally Speaking and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use the first set of quotes from this article.
