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Brock Lesnar is one of the most decorated superstars in WWE history. The Beast Incarnate has had a competitive edge throughout his legendary career, dating back to his days as Shelton Benjamin's tag team partner.
The two men were known as The Minnesota Stretching Crew during their time in WWE's Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental system in 2000 and 2001. Lesnar once witnessed Benjamin unsuccessfully attempt a Shooting Star Press in practice, prompting him to try the athletic move.
In a 2001 interview with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Live, Lesnar revealed that he wanted to outdo his real-life friend:
"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.'"
Benjamin and Lesnar won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times before moving to WWE's main roster in 2002.
Brock Lesnar's Shooting Star Press success rate in practice
In 2003, Brock Lesnar failed to properly execute a Shooting Star Press in his WrestleMania 19 main event match against Kurt Angle. The UFC legend suffered a concussion after landing head-first against the side of his opponent's body.
Two years before that famous WrestleMania moment, Lesnar sounded confident about using the move in the future:
"I kept practicing and practicing, and actually it was Shelton's idea and then [former OVW owner] Danny Davis' idea that we should incorporate that into the match. So it was one of those things like, 'Yeah, I'll do it.' I did it 300 times on the crash pad, and then I had guys laying down for me and I hit it every time. I felt safe doing it and my opponents feel safe taking it."
Lesnar never performed the Shooting Star Press again in WWE after his WrestleMania 19 botch. Over the years, he has used the F-5 and Kimura Lock as his finishing moves.
What did you make of Brock Lesnar's execution of the Shooting Star Press? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Wrestling Observer Live and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
