The Top 20 Greatest Highfliers in WWE History

[womenwrestlerfan]

Hey guys, check this out:

Last Summer, WWE Magazine released a Mini-Magazine called The Top 20 Greatest Highfliers in WWE History

Check it out:

What does it feel like to fly-to soar gracefully off the top rope, to risk everything in the hope of entertaining the WWE Universe? It requires a skilled breed of Superstar to land such maneuvers. These highfliers are fighter pilots without the planes, and we intended to award them the highest marks for their years of soaring service across the skies of the WWE Universe.

WHO IS #1?

#20 JOHN MORRISON
Wondering why John Morrison ranks 20th on the list of WWE's greatest highfliers? He's a Shaman, which gives him special powers, such as slowing down time during his ring entrance. Plus, we're pretty sure he has extra abs, which help him deliver insane torque on his killer flips.

OUCH! John Morrison has a wide array of High-Flying moves, including his finisher, Starship Pain. But did you know that the Flying Chuck, his Springboard Kick, is named after Actor/Martial Artist Chuck Norris?

#19 KOKO B.WARE
"The Birdman" was a no-brainer for our list of WWE's greatest highfliers. After all, he boasted a high energy aerial arsenal in an era when most Superstars stayed grounded in the ring. Plus, Koko always had his trusty pet, Frankie, to give him bird-to-man advice.

#18 "THE 1-2-3 KID" SEAN WALTMAN
When you're an inexperienced (and undersized) WWE Superstar, taking risks, especially off the top ropes, is often your only option on offense. That game plan worked pretty well for The 1-2-3 Kid, who flew around the ring @ hummingbird-like speed, stealing wins from bigger foes.

#17 LITA
Before Amy Dumas debuted in the WWE as Lita, you'd be hard pressed to find any Diva who was willing to scale the top rope, let alone moonsault off of it. That move, combined with her Lita-canrana, lifted this sultry grappler to Women's Championship-caliber heights and occasional Monday Night Main Event on RAW.

OUCH! Lita was not only a highflier, but an acrobatic risk-taker. The Former 4x WWE Women's Champion competed in the 1st ever Women's Steel Cage Match in WWE History, taking on Lisa Marie Varon better known as VICTORIA on RAW Roulette II on SPIKE TV on 11/24/03

#16 SHELTON BENJAMIN
Shelton Benjamin competed in 5 Money in the Bank Ladder Matches w/o a single victory to show for it, but more often than not, he provided the most memorable high-flying moments of those bouts. The things this man could do in, on or off of, a ladder were nothing short of astounding.

NOTE: Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas competed in 2 Ladder Matches for the WWE Tag Team Championship @ Judgment Day 2003 and the WWE World Tag Team Championship @ One Night Stand III in 2007

#15 "THE HURRICANE" SHANE HELMS
After witnessing this do-gooder's "Hurri-powers," you will believe that a man can fly. But who is this masked marvel? During all his time on ECW on Sci-Fi/Syfy vanquishing the villainous, we never did discover his true identity.

#14 CM PUNK
What is it that makes CM Punk so dangerous, apart from his persuasive rhetoric and control of The Straight Edge Society? It's his Muay Thai mastery and ability to soar. But hey, don't refer to his top-rope maneuvers as "getting high": We're sure The Second City Saint wouldn't approve.

#13 CHAVO GUERRERO
While The Guerreros are known for lying, cheating and stealing in the WWE, Chavo is honest enough to admit that he's "still getting there," when it comes to his Frog Splash. Chavo says, "There are times when I nail it and times when I miss it" which proves just how difficult difficult it is to soar.

OUCH! The Frog Splash is the most frequently executed high-flying finisher in history. D'Lo Brown, Rob Van Dam, Hornswaggle, Rey Mysterio, 2 Cold Scorpio, and Eddie, Vickie and Chavo Guerrero have all employed it.

#12 ROB VAN DAM
Hailing for the original Land of Extreme, Rob Van Dam spent his entire career taking risks flying into, and often out of, the ring,. Larger than most highfliers (but just as agile), RVD patented Five-Star Frog Splash from the top rope often left him hurting as much as his foes.

#11 CHRIS JERICHO
Chris Jericho is one of those rare Superstars who can be classified under multiple categories of in-ring style. He's a mat technician and a submission specialist, but when performing his Lionsault from the middle rope, Jericho is indeed an aerialist. Just watch out for those knees.

#10 RICKY STEAMBOAT "THE DRAGON"
Whether you believe in them or not, the fact remains: Dragons can fly. In an era when the top turnbuckle was rarely trod upon, Ricky Steamboat made it his lair and launching pad. While fans thrilled to Steamboat's fire-breathing, his flights of fancy often left them breathless.

Ricky Steamboat's High-Flying Skills helped him win titles which includes the WWE I-C Title and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship

#9 MATT HARDY
From the days of his youth in Cameron, NC, to his nights in some of WWE's most bone-shattering Ladder Matches, Matt Hardy has shown absolutely no fear of heights. In fact, if we took X-Rays of Matt's body, we're almost positive they would reveal that he's made of steel.

OUCH! In 2005 @ RAW's UNFORGIVEN PPV, Matt Hardy dove 15 feel from the Top of the Steel Cage and executed a breathtaking Guillotine Legdrop onto his opponent, Edge, who was supine in the ring.

FACT: Matt Hardy competed in 2 Steel Cage Matches @ UNFORGIVEN and he owns 2 victories over Edge, in the year 2000, Matt and Jeff def. Edge & Christian in the Steel Cage to win the WWE World Tag Team Championship for a 2nd time and 5 years later, Matt Hardy def. Edge 1 on 1 and Matt even gave Lita the Twist of Fate

#8 KOFI KINGSTON
There's a perfectly good reason why Kofi Kingston is called The Spring-Loaded Superstar: It's because he's got more ups than an elevator. Whether he's dropping the "Boom, Boom, Boom," or jumping straight to the top rope from the mat, Kingston always has clearance in WWE's fly zone.

OUCH! Wanna see Kofi Kingston's definitive use of the Boom Drop? Check out the 1st Annual WWE Money in the Bank PPV, when he jumped off of a Ladder to send Drew McIntyre crashing through a table!

#7 "MACHO MAN" RANDY SAVAGE
Shawn Michaels did it for years, and Curt Hawkins is doing it right now on SD!, but no one dropped an elbow from the top rope quite like Randy Savage, just check out WrestleMania VII, when The Macho Man brought 5 consecutive 'bows on The Ultimate Warrior.

NOTE: Randy Savage's High-Flying Elbow helped him win the I-C Title as well as the WWE Heavyweight Championship (see WrestleMania IV) and WCW World Heavyweight Title Victories

#6 JEFF HARDY
Like a laser-guided rocket, the aptly named Swanton Bomb always made us cringe with fear and delight when Jeff Hardy dove from the ropes. As he hurled himself ringward, we could only imagine what the view looked like from his victum's point-of-view, staring up from the mat.

NOTE: Jeff Hardy's Swanton Bomb as lead him to be the 1st man to win all 6 traditional WWE Championships
Light-Heavyweight Championship, Hardcore Championship, European Heavyweight Championship, WWE World Tag Team Championship, I-C Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Heavyweight Championship @ Armageddon 2008 def. Edge & Triple H in a Triple Threat Match and he also won the World Heavyweight Championship def. the likes of Edge and CM Punk

#5 EVAN BORUNE
Will we one day grow tired of watching Evan Bourne perform the Shooting Star Press? Never. The move is just too good; it never fails to entertain us, a bit like Bourne himself. And despite the beatings Bourne's taken from bigger opponents, foes will never wipe that smile off his face.

OUCH! Despite being a highflier, Evan Bourne has confessed to WWE Magazine that he fears attitude: "I am afraid of heights. But that's not going to stop me from jumping off the top rope."

NOTE: Evan Borune competed in the Main Event on RAW on USA on Memorial Day 2010 when he and John Cena def. Edge & Sheamus in a Tag Team Match when Evan Bourne delivered Air Bounre

#4 "SUPERFLY" JIMMY SNUKA
This list couldn't exist w/o Superfly. Jimmy Snuka is the great granddaddy of all highfliers, the man who inspired every Superstar immortalized in these pages. But it's easy to look up to a grappler as amazing as Superfly, especially when you consider that he's in the air all the time.

#3 "THE HEARTBREAK KID" SHAWN MICHAELS
Apart from The Phenom @ 2 consecutive WrestleManias, no known force in WWE has been able to subdue The Heartbreak Kid-not even gravity. There are many reasons that Shawn will be a 1st-ballot WWE Hall of Famer, but we'd vote him in solely for his sweet moonsaults.

#2 EDDIE GUERRERO
We've seen every form of Frog Splash known to man, from the Five-Star to the Tadpole. However, none of them are as graceful, polished and entertaining as the late great Eddie Guerrero's floating finisher. Whether he was making us laugh or driving us loco, Eddie's aerials never failed to bring us joy.

NOTE: Eddie's Frog Splash has helped him win so many titles from the Cruiserweight Title to the U.S. Title to even his only WWE Heavyweight Championship victory @ SD!'s No Way Out in 2004 against Brock Lesnar

#1 REY MYSTERIO
Rey Mysterio really must hate the ground, because he never seems to stay on it for long. In the world of highfliers, Mysterio's a true innovator, having brought the lucha libre style to WWE. And no matter how many times we hit rewind, we can't explain some of the moves we've seen him pull off.

OUCH! Rey Mysterio incorporated the 619 into his arsenal as a finisher after watching Japanese Wrestling Legend Tiger Mask perform is variation of the move.

NOTE: Rey Mysterio's High Flying moves have helped him win Tag Team Titles as well as 8 Cruiserweight Titles, the I-C Title and 2 World Heavyweight Title victories

[Bob-O]

I'm on board with this for the most part. Although it looks more like a list of Cruiserweights and guys with top rope finishers. Just some thoughts below...

-Morrison at #20 is a joke, he belongs in the Top 5 without question. In terms of innovation and jaw dropping execution, he's the RVD of this generation, and that's a tough act to follow...

-Sean Waltman wasn't that great a great High Flier even before he got injured. After, being the majority of his career, all he does is kick!

-I won't gripe about Savage being on the list even though my gut wants me to.

-Does CM Punk even use any areal maneuvers?

[cero2k]

I don't think one single aerial move makes you a high flyer. Macho, HBK, Punk, or Matt Hardy shouldn't be in the list.

I'm iffy on Jericho, Chavo, and Koko being in the list.

Eddie, Snuka and HBK are really overrated in this list, neither of them have nothing on Jeff Hardy, Evan Bourne, RVD, or Morrison when it comes to high-flying.

BTW, how can lita, Matt hardy, koko, hbk, or chavo make the list without any mention of London, Kendrick, Kidman, Super Crazy, or Sabu

[Bob-O]

I'm iffy on Jericho, Chavo, and Koko being in the list.

Koko belongs, imo. He belongs toward the bottom, but he belongs. I associate him with being a highflier at least. I remember him having an awesome missile dropkick, but aside from that my association might be stemming from the bird gimmick... lol

BTW, how can lita, Matt hardy, koko, hbk, or chavo make the list without any mention of London, Kendrick, Kidman, Super Crazy, or Sabu

Not that he really belongs on a list of High Fliers (see: Savage), but judging from the criteria, conspicuous by his absence is also one Chris Benoit...

[Big Red Machine]

Macho shouldn't be on the list at all, never mind at #7! This list is ugly as hell.


I am up in the air as to whether Eddie or Jericho belong on the list. They had significant aerial elements to their games, but it rarely seemed like the major part of their game (aside from Eddie's feud with RVD).

The inclusion of guys like Macho and Punk is just a joke. Having one or two signature moves that are dives or top-rope moves DOES NOT make you a high flyer. By that logic, KANE is a high flyer.

There are other guys on this list that COULD fly, but that was never the main focus of their offense or character (Steamboat, HBK, X-Pac). That doesn't make you a high flyer.

Because this is a WWE list, I am assuming that it is counting everything that WWE owns the rights to, so:


People who should be on the list:
Lita
Matt
Jeff
Snuka
RVD
Rey
2 Cold Scorpio
Kidman
London
Bourne
Super Crazy
Sabu
Morrison
Kronus
Juventud Guerrera
Ultimo Dragon
Brian Pillman
Mike Awesome

That's 18, so I guess I would round off my list with Jericho & Eddie