Shooting Star Press, is it really banned?

[WrestlingDude]

The shooting star press is a highly dangerous aerial maneuver. It has been banned in several promotions, including the WWE due to injuries to the opponent (exp. chavo guerrero) or to the attacker himself (exp. brock lesnar).

The WWE have even annouced that the move had been banned, back a few years ago. However, there have been variations of the move that are being used, john morrison/nitro's standing shooting star or paul london's running shooting star and shooting star plancha.

I just thought that if it isnt from a high distance then its no big deal if WWE dooesnt care. However, out comes Evan Bourne. I was shocked when I saw him use the shooting star press and wondered if the ban was lifted or not. What do you think?

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Perhaps its just banned on a skill level basis. Sort of like, "if you can prove to us that you can use it well and you won't botch it, you can use it, but don't think you can just pull it off like Lesnar thought".

That would explain how London, Morrison, and Bourne have been able to use it, but that they aren't trying to convince Khali to give it a whirl haha.

 

[WrestlingDude]

Well at first I thought Bourne was about to be fired since we saw him once and then never saw him again. But then he wrestled again last tuesday so now im not sure.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Yeah I too think it is allowable based on skill. Paul London can pull it off, as can Morrison and Bourne. These guys are athletic enough to be able to go out and do it ten times in a row. Whereas people like Lesnar should've never even tried it.

It's a truly fantastic move and should be used if the person can pull it off without hurting someone. Otherwise the move should never enter the superstars mind.

 

[DeadmanInc.]

I think when WWE bans moves, they're basically just limiting it to the guys that can perform it successfully. Like others have stated, London, Morrison and Bourne all have done the move properly and their size makes it easier for them to execute.

Another example would be the Piledriver. It has supposedly been banned for years now yet Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels have used them in recent years.

 

[Sparky]

Isnt this the move that if one more person did it aparently Vince would come out and fire on the Spot no matter who it was? the WWE needs to keep track of whats banned and whats not. They cant favourtise people just becouse they can do the moves good. becouse no matter how well you can do something, You can still Stuff up. I like the move dont get me wrong but if they are going to ban it they should ban everybody from doing it. As of the Variations obviously they are tweaked so they arnt as dangerous or as hard to pull off. So they arnt to bad

 

[Colamania]

No, they're not the same. The Shooting Star Press is a 270 degree backflip whilst moving forwards, as made famous by Billy Kidman. The 450 Splash is a one-and-a-quarter rotation frontflip, used sporadically by Paul London. I believe Jeff Hardy did it a couple times during his original WWE run too. Both moves, however, are supposedly banned.

I say supposedly because, pure and simple, people are still doing the Shooting Star. And, although practically everyone in this thread has already mentioned it, I agree that it must simply be WWE saying that "if you can do it, we'll let you do it". Paul London can pull off the move with the running and plancha variations, Morrison can hit it from standing, which in my opinion could be more dangerous, as you're less likely to get the full rotation in before you hit the ground, and now Sydal - excuse me, Bourn - has displayed that he can hit the move to perfection. But, I don't think they'll encourage the repeated usage of the move. Morrison and London don't hit the move every match, and Sydal appears effortless in his performance, so they'll worry a bit less about him using it than if someone like CM Punk or Randy Orton suddenly proclaimed that they were going to try it out.

 

[blair4107]

I hate when WWE bans the more innovative or interesting moves. The same old moves played over and over at a slow pace gets stale quickly. My favorite finishing move prior to seeing Petey William's Canadian Destroyer was always Gregory Helms' (Sugar Shane Helms at the time) Nightmare on Helms Street - I know Homicide does it for TNA as the Gringo Killer or whatever more p.c. title they call that move now but that's really the point - they limit their ability to be innovative or exciting and give their competition, TNA, just what they need. Could you imagine seeing a great TNA match-up like Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles but on RAW? I honestly don't believe it would be nearly as good with them wrestling "WWE style."

 

[Manjmonkey]

I think its ok that the people that can do it do it. When brock lesnar tried it it was funny but it got him hurt and theres been times when the person it was being performed on got hurt. The wwe should find out who can do the move and let them do it because it draws fans in.

 

[Danmen001]

As people said there is probably an exception to it to people who can use it. Which is a good thing because we don't need people who can't do it trying to do it and injuring themselves in the process.

I saw someone saying that Bourne was stupid for doing with without permission. I highly doubt Bourne would be that stupid as to do something that could get him fired, especially since he does it well.

I also saw someone say that he shouldn't use it every match, which is interesting because it curretnly appears to be his finisher.

I think it's a great move to use, and people love watching it. So if he can do it, kep using it.

 

[ironman1180]

The ban probably is lifted. If it's not, Bourne is an idiot for using a move that is illegal within the company. Especially since he's new. But, he did pull it off pretty well; it was good to see it again I guess. Maybe he just used it to grip the crowd tighter?

From what I read earlier, it was banned until Evan Bourne came in. They asked him to do a different finisher, which ended up being the double knee thing we saw on tv once. They thought that looked too much like something that was already done by someone else, so they asked him to try the Shooting Star Press a few times, so they could see how safely he could do it. He nailed it a few times in a row, so they allowed him to keep using it.