wrestling / Columns
The Contentious Ten 03.14.11: WWE High Fliers
March 14, 2011 | Posted by
I was actually pleasantly surprised for the love shown for Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ phenomenal mic work. Oddly enough, I’ve been on a bit of a Roberts kick (just ask Ornelas) and his awesome delivery was the inspiration for doing the list in the first place. I flip-flopped between him and Punk but ultimately went with Punk. Shows that sometimes you just have to go with your gut.
“It seems the things I wasn’t supposed to do were always the most fun.”
This week’s list was done because of the hype that WWE has put into the Sin Cara (formally Mistico) videos. Sin Cara’s signing has already made waves, as evidenced by the ratings growth for WWE in Mexico, a market that WWE has tried to appeal to with mixed results. Barring a major flop that I don’t expect to see, Sin Cara will undoubtedly be considered one of the best acrobats to ever grace a WWE ring. So before he arrives, let’s look at the wrestlers he’ll have to contend with.
NOTE: This list is ONLY WWE wrestlers: No X-Division, no Japan, no Mexico. These wrestlers had to spend a significant amount of time in WWE wrestling this high-flying style.
Honorable Mentions: Antonio Rocca; Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat; Owen Hart; X-Pac; Paul London; Shelton Benjamin; Chris Jericho
Kofi Kingstonsize=6>
Based solely on his incredible vertical leaps, Kofi Kingston is a lock for this list. Whether he’s hailing from Jamaica or Ghana, Kofi has been entertaining the WWE audience since December 2007 with his energetic and innovative flying style. Everything from his dropkicks to his Boom Drop to his crossbody blocks are taken to another level because of the elevation he gets on his jumps. Kofi has also shined in matches like the Elimination Chamber and the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, jumping over, off of and THROUGH ladders. In my opinion, Kofi Kingston’s best days are still ahead of him, and he will continue to dazzle fans young and old with his acrobatic ability.
Eddie Guerrerosize=6>
I almost feel like I’m pigeon-holing Eddie by putting him on this list. Guerrero used a hybrid of styles from wrestling in Mexico, America, Europe and Japan and was one of the most well-rounded in-ring performers of all time, as well as the most magnetic personalities outside of it. However, Latino Heat definitely deserves his place on this spot. In his prime, Eddie was incredibly agile and graceful, able to leap to the top rope from the floor, balance for a second, and then leap into a Frankensteiner on his opponent. Obviously, his Frog Splash is his most famous flying move, but he had a collection of dives, headscissors and dropkicks that gave him more versatility when compared to peers like the Canadian Chrises or Dean Malenko. Much like honorable mentions Ricky Steamboat and Owen Hart, there’s more than flying to Eddie, but it gave him an extra dimension that made him one of the best.
Evan Bournesize=6>
Evan Bourne may not be a main-event superstar (nor am I calling for him to be), but not to include him on this list would be criminal. Bourne’s arsenal of gravity-defying maneuvers made an immediate impact, turning a one-off squash match with Shelton Benjamin into a full-time spot on WWE’s main roster. Whether it’s the grace that he has when pulling off a Shooting Star Press or a standing moonsault or the speed and snap he gets into his headscissors, Bourne is something special to watch. Even the way he enters the ring to start the match is death defying. There is always a place for an athlete of Evan’s caliber on a WWE show, and I expect him to be in a similar spot to Rey Mysterio (a high-flyer with limited mic skills just like Bourne) in the next decade.
Jimmy “Superfly” Snukasize=6>
The inclusion of the Superfly is more for historical reasons than actually comparing his athleticism to modern day wrestlers. I actually find him to be incredibly overrated as a worker. However, Snuka was one of WWE’s most popular acts during the ’70s and ’80s, and probably the main reason were his awe-inspiring top rope splashes. Snuka also made moves like the leapfrog and the headscissors an acceptable part of WWE’s in-ring style, paving the way for guys like Randy Savage and The Rockers. Anyone who enjoys WWE’s high-flyers today owes a ton of gratitude to the Superfly. And of course, the splashes off the top of the cage to Bob Backlund and Don Muraco are iconic moments that will live forever in WWE lore.
Jeff Hardysize=6>
Let’s set aside Jeff’s personal life (something I never like to really touch on in these lists) and look at Jeff as a performer. Hardy’s high-flying style was similar to Snuka’s in that they aren’t difficult as much as dangerous. Jeff was a wrestler that would use his smaller frame as a missile. No platform was left unused as a launching pad for Jeff. The top rope, the apron, steel steps, the guardrail, ladders, cages, stage sets, trucks, partners, opponents, Elimination Chamber pods. If he could climb up there, he would, and then he would jump into his fellow wrestlers. Hardy was a daredevil that was able to take a style that is very atypical for WWE main events and put on epics with Triple H, Edge and CM Punk. His Swanton Bombs off of various objects always make for great highlight videos, and he has more than once stolen the show at WrestleMania with his Evil Knievel tendencies.
John Morrisonsize=6>
From the first time I saw John Hennigan due a standing shooting star press in Tough Enough 3, I was amazed by his athleticism. And to this day, he hasn’t stopped impressing me. To me, Morrison is probably the most skilled acrobat in WWE history. When I see Jeff jump off a ladder, I know I wouldn’t do that. When I see Morrison pull of Starship Pain, I know I COULDN’T do that. Incorporating various disciplines such as Parkour and Capoeira into his wrestling, Morrison masterfully manipulates his body and his surroundings to make jaws drop. And just when you think you’ve seen him do everything he can do, you watch the Royal Rumble 2010 and realize he’s still got tricks up his sleeve. The four men placed above are not above him because they are necessarily better acrobats, but because they are bigger stars. If Morrison can get to the main event level like a Randy Savage or a Shawn Michaels list, I think he will be near the top of many people’s lists in the future.
“The Macho Man” Randy Savagesize=6>
“Macho Man” Randy Savage is living proof that you do not need to be a master “wrestler” to be a great in-ring performer. Savage was a brawler and a flier, and was one of the first smaller, athletic competitors to make it big in WWE. While Hogan was a power wrestler and a puncher, Savage was nimble and rarely missed an opportunity to ascend to the top to deliver a double axe handle or an elbow drop. These moves may seem plain in comparison to the various dropkicks, headscissors, dives and moonsaults you see the other men on this list use, but Savage was the first WWF Champion who used these aerial tactics. Men like Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho owe a lot of debt to Savage for making athleticism a part of the WWF main event scene.
Rob Van Damsize=6>
Maybe it’s my overall positive outlook on wrestling as a whole, but I’ve never understood the hatred Rob Van Dam gets from so many people. I find it funny that people criticize him for not doing anything new in fifteen years. Well, when your moveset is as innovative and different as Rob Van Dam’s was in the mid to late 1990s and well into this millennium, I think you have a right to stick with your spots. Rob Van Dam was one of the first wrestlers to use a high-flying style that wasn’t based on lucha libre, but rather his background in martial arts and gymnastics. Van Dam’s acrobatic performances in the ring were fluid and stylish, and often hard hitting. RVD can also be credited as using his athleticism not just to pop the crowd, but to show off and be a cocky son of a gun. It’s something that AJ Styles would later do in TNA and got him over as a heel despite working a “babyface” style. RVD changed what was expected in a high-flier, and when you look at performers like Kofi Kingston and John Morrison, you see much more Van Dam than Mysterio.
Shawn Michaelssize=6>
No list of top high-fliers in WWE would be complete without Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid has gone from a period of being innovative to being the gold standard for athleticism. When he was part of the Rockers, he was doing moves like dropkicks, crossbodies, topes, moonsaults and hurracanranas that nobody else in the WWE was doing at the time, and working in tandem with Marty Janetty just made it that much sweeter. However, when he truly shined as a flier was in 1996, where his speed and agility was tops in the World Wrestling Federation and allowed him to compete with technicians like Bret Hart and giants such as Diesel. Shawn also pioneered the ladder as a platform and set the stage for The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian to build off of. Few, if any wrestler, had the grace of Michaels when he soared through the air.
Rey Mysteriosize=6>
But the #1 choice goes to the best pure flier in wrestling history. Almost always outsized, Mysterio has never been able to use power moves, never really been able to trade strikes and tends to get overpowered when he tries to wrestle. Because of that, Mysterio has had to rely almost totally on his agility, his speed and his dexterity. Mysterio is the master of the headscissors, turning counter almost into move into it so that he can get the advantage. For me, it always a treat to watch Mysterio finagle his way out of situations to plant an opponent with a DDT, pin their shoulders to the mat or send an opponent into the ropes to set up the 619. Many wrestlers have tried to duplicate Rey’s style and few of them ever succeed. Dragon Kid and Sin Cara may be the closet there is to it, but I feel that Rey’s ability to pull out variations of his offense puts him at a level that no one can touch.
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