Brock Lesnar Has Actually Landed The Shooting Star Press

This isn’t necessarily wrestling news, neither is it going to be new to a lot of people. But it’s always worth delving into the past to bring up some less known stories, particularly if they’re related to one of the most infamous botches to ever feature in a squared circle.

Brock Lesnar’s failed shooting star press against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 19 is repeated year after year in highlight videos, compilations, and listicles. It isn’t hard to see why; the move was so ugly that it’s almost a miracle Lesnar’s head is still connected to his body. With Angle way too far across the ring, Lesnar hesitates before leaping from the top rope, looks unbalanced, and then goes through with it anyway. He isn’t too far off from landing it, but his neck comes too close to snapping in half at the same time.

Here it is, just in case you somehow forgot:

Doesn’t get any better, does it?

However, Brock didn’t just pull the move out of thin air, hoping on the spot that he could flip from the top rope without practice.

Back in OVW, Lesnar shocked plenty by being a Big Guy™ who could go with some of the high-flyers. The period when every wrestler experiments with their style, developmental allows talent to try out new things, which Lesnar certainly did when he managed to pull off the shooting star press without severe trauma involved. Hell, he even pulled one off in WWE (then WWF) in what looks like a dark match):

So, there you have it. The man/monster can fly. Whether it was down to peer pressure and too much hesitation or just damn bad luck, WrestleMania 19 wasn’t supposed to work out for Brock. With him now being a suplex robot, we may sadly never see him try it again (as if he doesn’t have PTSD).

Go check that match out on the Network, by the way. Angle vs Lesnar at WM 19 is an unforgettable classic with or without the botch.