The Excellence Of Execution Series: Shooting Star Presses

[Cena's Little Helper]

This is the third in a series of (ten) threads dedicated to discussing which wrestler best executes a specific maneuver.

Note: Before I discuss the move of this thread, I just want to make it known that I am aware that I am using one of Bret Hart's sobriquets. However, I couldn't think of a more suitable name for this series.

Ah, now we come to the move invented by my all-time favorite junior heavyweight, Jushin "Thunder" Liger. Unfortunately for Liger, however, this move has been executed much more impressively by other wrestlers (Liger's press was good, but, given the time that has elapsed since its inception, and the myriad other wrestlers that have used it since, Liger will have to take a backseat here and just get an honorable mention from me).

I'm going to say that Evan Bourne/Matt Sydal best executes this move. As you may have already guessed from my previous thread on 450° splashes, I value hang-time more than anything else. And, hang-time is something Bourne/Sydal has plenty of. I imagine that we've all seen this move executed by Bourne/Sydal, but, for those who haven't, here it is:

[youtube]--KhG6m-YcQ[/youtube]​

So, what say you, fellow posters? I will probably also do a post later on the SSPs of Yoshitsune/Takuya Sugi and PAC.

 

[SavageTaker]

A Shooting Star Press I like is Hayabusa's. But Evan Bourne's is pretty good too and it looks better than the one I will post. Evan Bourne's also looks like he is comfortable doing it and doesn't seem nervous attempting it. I would definetly consider Bourne's to be one of the best Shooting Star Presses.

In the video I will post of Hayabusa doing the shooting star press he seems to not struggle attempting to do it and doesn't seem nervous attempting the shooting star press. He also does it with ease and looks comfortable doing it unlike some I have seen from other wrestlers..

Here is the video of Hayabusa doing the Shooting Star Press:

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That one doesn't look that great but it he still does it with the ways I describe above the video. I am also guessing he can do it better. But nonetheless it is pretty good and like I stated already my guess is that he can do it better because the one on the video does look a little sloppy.

Another pretty good one is this one: It starts at 1:33 mark.

[youtube]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aZWNhieQ48M&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aZWNhieQ48M&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

I'm not sure who it is because I can't tell very good but I really like that Star Press. My first thought was that the person doing it was Randy Savage but I'm not too sure about that. I consider it better than Hayabusa's.

 

[Blade]

Billy Kidman was arguably the wrestler who made the move famous in America, yet he had one of the worst looking Shooting Star Presses in the world.

I think I gotta go with Evan Bourne on this one.
He's rotation is so smooth and exact, unlike Hayabusa's
And his body is perfectly symmetrical when he jumps.
And he always lands perfectly in the middle of his opponent, perpendicular.

Evan Bourne simply has the best SSP.

 

[ztwhite]

Sydal has the best SSP we see right now, but I'm not sure he's the best at performing the move overall.

Both Marc Mero and Paul London do (used to do) a pretty good version of the move.

I lean towards Mero simply due to the fact he's a pretty big boy compared to everyone else who uses / used the SSP. There's a lot more muscle mass to get around and it's all the more impressive when a guy of his size can do it.

 

[The Hiphopapotamus]

You don't get aby better than PACs shooting star press.I know he adds a few twists to it,but it still comes under Shooting Star Press.He truly is the man that gravity forgot

[youtube]kbkZPHN6Lzg[/youtube]

That's just incredible,PAC is definitely one of my favourite high flyers.

And we can't forget about the phenomenal one.

[youtube]o0mqRWD5SRY[/youtube]

Sorry about the quality.Of the vid.Not the move.

 

[RVDgurl]

There is no one that can execute the SSP like Matt Sydal. That move alone makes people tune into ECW on a weekly basis. It's so fluid. He has a great amount of hang time and his landing is always precise. What makes his SSP so great for me, is that back in his ROH days, he would utilize thast move from just about anywhere- from the ropes to the outside, off a set of bleachers, etc. etc. Sydal has definately mastered this move.

 

[NSL]

I'd like to agree with the masses, and say Matt Sydal, but I can't. His is pretty, I'll give it that much, but he's hurt himself doing it, and I can't give him the title of "best", with that in mind.

I'll agree that Kidman made it famous, but it wasn't the best either. I'd have to give mine to Paul London. It wasn't flashy, but it did the job, and looked fluid. There wasn't many times he'd do it, and you would notice something wrong.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

All right, so, someone already mentioned PAC, but the other person that I wanted to mention was the man of many names/gimmicks, Takuya Sugi (he'll end up in America at some point, and he'll probably blow your mind, although he'll definitely be under some name/gimmick other than the ones he has used so far). His SSP can be seen in this video three times from 4:46 to 4:53:

[youtube]HuEKOAsafug[/youtube]​

Like Sydal/Bourne, he has amazing hang time. But, what makes him only an honorable mention, paradoxically, is that he seems to be above the move. It's almost as if the SSP requires too little effort on his part. The SSP requires a 270° rotation, but it's as if Takuya Sugi, at the bare minimum, must do a rotation of 360° (if you look at his SSPs, he comes on top of his opponents in an oblique, rather than parallel, fashion). Ultimately, Sugi only gets an honorable mention from me, but he gets it for the best possible reason.

 

[Mr. TM]

Evan Bourne does do an excellent job at the Shooting Star Press, and I would have to call it one of the, if not the best user of the move. He flats through the air like a feather, then drops down and hits his opponents like a missile. I have seen very few instances where the move was sloppy, so he gets credit there, and I think his best attempts are better than most other's best attempts.