7 Shocking Times WWE Revived Banned Moves

3. Shooting Star Press

Finn Balor Seth Rollins
WWE.com

Pioneered in WWE by Marc Mero of all people, the shooting star press was at one point the most spectacular highspot in the company until a string of injuries resulted in it becoming arguably the most dangerous.

After Shane McMahon sorted himself out with another concussion doing one on to a bin at King Of The Ring 2001, Brock Lesnar infamously escaped death with a undershot effort at WrestleMania 19. When Billy Kidman nearly caved Chavo Guerrero's head in in 2004, the move had to go.

Disappearing into exile rebuilt the buzz around the spot. Evan Bourne's 2008 revival of the hold came with a surprisingly logical test from WWE. In order to make it onto television with it as his finisher, he had to perform the move ten times onto a crash mat in an empty ring. He was obviously successful. It's allegedly a system that exists to this day for that and similar variants, regardless of a performer's experience.

WWE even added a stunt ring to the Performance Center, custom-built to soften the landing if aspiring talents wish to safely practice.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett