And finally the long awaited review of Disc 3 of Wrestling’s Highest-Flyers is upon us. That’s right everybody, the end is nigh, but we’re going out in style with Shawn Michaels, 2 Cold Scorpio, Kofi Kingston, Taka Michinoku, Lita, Sabu, Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio.
– Here it is, my review of the third and final disc of Wrestling’s Highest Flyers. Jerome Cusson shook his fist at me over this matter and hours later here it is. I guess I’ve found the motivation I needed all along! I talked about dropping play by play for these DVD reviews and I figured I’d go ahead and do that right away. So now you’re going to get something reminiscent of my ROH on HDNet recaps with emphasis on the review and only a summary of the match in the recap. If people complain in the comments I’ll switch back.
– Disc 3 kicks off with the high flyer whose star shone brightest of all, Shawn Michaels. Sure, what he did was simple, but he knew when to do it and people cared about his character more than they did with the cruiserweights. How many WWF title matches feature moonsaults?
WWF Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs Vader
Summerslam 1998
Recap: Shawn beats Vader with a Moonsault Press in what may be the very definition of a big man vs high flyer match. HBK repeatedly took to the air and used his agility, while Vader opted to clobber and slam Shawn silly. Vader initially won via count-out after military pressing HBK down onto the guard rail, but Jim Cornette demanded the match continue as championships of course can’t change hands that way. Vader won the match again after Shawn used Cornette’s tennis racket as a weapon, but Cornette got the match restarted for a second time, determined for his man to take home the title. Unfortunately this would be a miscalculation as Vader missed a huge moonsault after opting not to hit the Vader Bomb. Shawn did not miss.
Review: I forgot how insanely popular Shawn was back in the day. A girl totally jumped the barricade during Shawn’s entrance and he kissed her. Never has a wrestler that dressed so gay been such a stud. This match is more like what I had in mind for all the wrestlers on this DVD; it may not be the best aerial performance Shawn has ever given, but it’s got to be right up there. He hit almost every flying move he’s ever used, and he did it in a high profile match that he won. Can the same be said for Rob Van Dam beating Jerry Lynn in a mediocre match on an episode of Heat? Or the 1-2-3 Kid getting destroyed by Hakushi? Nein. Michaels however looked fantastic in the air and on the ground, because not only was this an exciting match with plenty of daredevil moves from HBK, it was also just a well-wrestled match between two main event talents. I found it amusing when Shawn set up the diving elbow and instead landed on his feet and just stomped on Vader’s head, but the fans seemed disappointed. The pair of false finishes worked well to communicate the intensity of this feud, and made Shawn look all the tougher for accepting two restarts despite getting beaten down the first time and jumped after the second when he could have just taken the belt and gone home. We all know that’s not what heroes do, and this was the kind of old school babyface booking that it’s a shame doesn’t work quite as well today.
– Next up is Flash “Don’t call me 2 Cold Scorpio even though that was my name in the match they’ve selected for this DVD” Funk, the first man I ever saw use a 450 Splash, and probably the first person to use the moonsault leg drop. Hell, he was using the Trouble in Paradise when Kofi Kingston was a child.
ECW World TV Title Match
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu
Cyberslam 1996
Recap: Scorpio retained his title after a 30 minute time-limit draw in a wild high flying brawl. Sabu took a number of big risks that didn’t all pay off, in particular a chair assisted diving senton from the top rope into the crowd that resulted in him crashing through a table after Scorpio rolled out of the way. Sabu wasn’t the only one to make mistakes however, as Scorpio had the match won after a 450 Splash but decided not to go for a pin. Despite a big flurry of offence by Sabu at the end of the match, the clock ran out on him and Scorpio kept the belt.
Review: Even when Sabu was smooth he was still a complete wreck. At the beginning of the match he brought a chair into the ring and proceeded to drop it straight back out. He jumped back out to get another one and went through a table by accident. You couldn’t make this stuff up. He may have been an innovator, but I really don’t care for Sabu and I enjoyed it tremendously when Super Dragon flipped him off. Sabu rants aside, this was an insane match, especially given it took place in 1996. They were flying right from the get-go, and if you can name a Sabu chair spot it, it was probably in this match. Scorpio was no slouch, though he spent a good portion of the match heeling it up, hitting three low blows and keeping the match mostly on the ground. If they wanted to show off what he could do they might have been better off using a Flash Funk match to be quite honest. I originally suspected this match was chosen as a way to give Sabu a presence on the DVD without having to give him his own chapter, but minutes later I learned Sabu had one of his own anyway, so go figure. Regardless of how fitting an exhibition it was of Scorpio’s skills, this was a wild match that pretty much everyone should enjoy.
– More Sky Cam, this time with Kofi Kingston. No Trouble in Paradise though, as he’s going to demonstrate the Boom Drop. Don’t worry about it being boring though, he’s going to do it off a ladder onto a crash-mat. Once again, the Sky Cam’s greatest strength is showing us the wrestler’s point of view when they’re standing up somewhere very high, as it shakes so much during the actual leap that you can’t tell what’s going on, but still, it’s a nice extra for this set.
– Naturally we transition to Kofi’s dedicated chapter. Sure, he’s exciting, but he’s one of the guys I took issue with appearing on this DVD. Isn’t he more about athleticism than flying? He can jump like no wrestler I’ve ever seen (actually, Scorpio Sky’s got serious hops), but he rarely actually takes to the air. Ah well, he’s a current star and despite my complaints I actually like him, so I’ll be quiet now.
WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Kofi Kingston vs. Christian
Smackdown, 2010
Recap: In an exciting aerial duel, Kofi Kingston managed to win the vacant Intercontinental Title with his trusty Trouble in Paradise. He hit the move after Christian used a rebound sunset flip from the middle rope and Kofi rolled all the way through, giving him the space he needed to catch Christian right in the jaw as he was getting back to his feet. The two shook hands after the match.
Review: Props to both men here, they worked very hard to deliver a really good match by modern WWE standards. I’m a firm believer that counters are what make a match great, and there were a number of nice ones here. The ending was every so slightly awkward as Kofi ended up laying there looking Christian right in the eyes before both men got back to their feet, disrupting the flow of the match a little. I’d also like to point out that after the match Josh Matthews called Kofi “the perfect blend of everything” and then paused for a moment. I have no idea what to make of that.
– Next up are the WWF Light Heavyweights. Josh acknowledges that this division may have drawn inspiration from WCW’s Cruiserweights… ya think? They place particular emphasis on Taka Michinoku and Aguila (Essa Rios), showing highlights of the tournament to crown the first champion and how Taka defeated Brian Christopher in the finals.
WWF Light Heavyweight Title Match
Taka Michinoku vs Pantera
No Way Out 1998
Recap: Despite taking a beating from Pantera, Taka Michinoku pulled out the victory to retain his title after hitting a missile dropkick to the back of the head and following up with a Michinoku Driver. After the match Brian Christopher contemplated entering the ring to attack despite Jerry Lawler’s protests, so Taka decided to hit a flip dive off the top rope to take both men out in a preemptive strike. Taka escaped through the crowd before the pair could fight back.
Review: My review of this match will come in the form of several random, disjointed observations. Taka is better than all of us for two reasons: 1) He was a tremendous wrestler, 2) He got a kiss from Sunny. Jerry Lawler’s mild racism towards the Japanese wrestlers in the late 90’s was amusing, although it was a bit more than mild in this match, as he and his son put on a comedy double act. Pantera wore a ridiculous costume, but was underrated in the ring. The astro-headscissors from the top rope onto the apron was all kinds of insane. The WWF Light Heavyweight division had nothing on WCW’s Cruiserweights, but they were still solid.
– Lita is next. I miss Lita. Lita was insanely hot. She was a damn good wrestler too I guess.
WWE Women’s Championship Match
Lita vs Trish Stratus
Raw, 2004 
Recap: Despite a frightening moment that could have re-injured her neck, Lita managed to defeat her nemesis Trish Stratus after countering the Stratusfaction and hitting an Inverted Twist of Fate and her signature Moonsault to capture the Women’s Title.
Review: Broken nose Stratus! All I could think of during this match was that Terrell Owens parody they did with Shelton Benjamin. I can’t believe this was the match they picked to show Lita off. Not only were all her best flying moments before her big injury, her horrific botch of the suicide dive made her look kind of bad. Still, we got a Moonsault, she won the title, and everybody cheered.
– Sabu time people. As I said, I’m not a big fan, but I can appreciate he did an awful lot of insane moves. A surprising amount of WWE footage in his montage.
ECW World TV Title Match
Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam
Guilty as Charged, 2000
Recap: Rob Van Dam retained his TV Title against Sabu after pulling a chair into the way as Sabu went for a triple jump splash. He followed this up with an incredible 5-Star Frog Splash for the win. Bill Alfonso, who supported both men, proved a distraction towards the end, so RVD opted to hit a Van Daminator on him to remove him from the equation. Sabu had the match won at one point with a Triple Jump Moonsault but the referee was taken out moments before. After the match the two shook hands but Sabu then flipped off the fallen Alfonso, Van Dam, and the fans before leaving the ring.
Review: RVD looked better here than he did in his own chapter, and Sabu looked better in Scorpio’s, so go figure. Speaking of RVD and looking good, I had no idea his wife was so hot. Back to the wrestling; this was just plain crazy with both men doing their best to injure themselves, flying dangerously out of the ring and breaking a table. They settled down a bit after the initial insanity and the match became more enjoyable as a result. Van Dam’s twisting split-legged moonsault was particularly awesome, as was the sheer length he had to fly to hit the Frog Splash at the end. I didn’t see the need for the stuff with Fonzy, a man I loathe to begin with, but at least he got hurt.
– We’ve finally arrived at the point I was dreading: Jeff Hardy’s chapter. Jeffrey Nero Hardy is not a very skilled high flyer. He’s certainly fearless, I’ll give him that, but in terms of aerial technique he uses one of the most basic flying moves there is, yet a generation of wrestling fans believe he’s better than the likes of Rey Mysterio or a plethora of other talents from Mexico, Japan and the States. I’m not questioning his presence on this DVD – far from it, he belongs here without question – but when his name is mentioned alongside some of the other guys on the set it irritates me a little. He’s certainly the highest flyer.
Steel Cage Intercontinental Title Match
Jeff Hardy vs Umaga
Raw, 2008
Recap: Jeff Hardy managed to defeat the Samoan bulldozer after a death-defying Whisper in the Wind from the top of the cage. Hardy had to overcome not only the dangerous chair-wielding Umaga, but also the distraction of bitter rival Randy Orton lurking at ringside. At one point The Viper slammed the cage door shut on Hardy’s head as he attempted to escape, making it clear Jeff would have to win the match inside the cage where Orton couldn’t get to him, and that’s exactly what he did.
Review: I’m not sure I approve of placing this match on the set, but not for the usual reason. The focal point of this match was Jeff Hardy’s ongoing feud with Orton. I really enjoyed their feud and I think Jeff was perhaps wrestling at the highest level of his career from late 2007 to mid 2008, but there’s something a bit unsettling about seeing something like this out of context. They put this match on the DVD because of Jeff’s spot off the top of the cage, and that’s fine, but why not use the Hardyz vs Edge & Christian cage match from Unforgiven 2000 which featured the exact same spot – though admittedly it looked better here. Or how about his ladder match against the Undertaker? Anyway, this was about as good as cage matches get on TV, with a few nice spots using the cage wall as a weapon, but in the end it was all just building to that truly insane spot. I’ll give Jeff respect, it was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen, but it was also in his montage, so perhaps that would have sufficed?
– And now we come to the main event, the greatest high flyer who ever lived: Rey Mysterio. There’s no need to say any more than that.
Mask vs WCW Cruiserweight Title Match
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero
Halloween Havoc, 1997
Recap: In a battle of two of the best cruiserweights of all time with a mask and a championship belt on the line, Rey Mysterio pulled out the victory after reversing a super Splash Mountain Bomb into a hurricanrana in mid-air in an incredible finishing sequence.
Review: I believe Ric Flair said that in 1997 Eddie was the best wrestler in the world, and I happen to agree. If you’d never seen Rey Mysterio before he debuted in the WWE I hereby command you to watch this match. This is probably the best match on the entire DVD, although Jericho vs Ultimo Dragon gives it a run for its money. Eddie was one of the most technically sound performers of the modern era, Rey was the most gifted high flyer to ever live, and on top of those two facts they had incredible chemistry together. Eddie played a good cocky bully and Rey played a good underdog. The big spots were insane, particularly the moonsault DDT after leaping to the top rope, and of course that famous finish that I believe was used at least once in the last few years and passed off as original. Rey was flying all over the place with dives out of the ring, hurricanranas, arm drags, ducks, dodges and evasions, while Eddie was all about trying to break Mysterio’s back one move at a time. Wonderful match wrestled by both men, and there was even some nice extra story thrown in by Mike Tenay about Gory Guerrero being shown up by El Santo decades earlier despite being arguably the better man The analogy works very well with Rey and Eddie, as Guerrero could probably have counted the number of wins he got over Mysterio on one hand despite being the superior wrestler.
– Josh Matthews closes the disc by confirming what we all know already: that Rey Mysterio is probably the best high flyer of all time.
Bonus Features
– But wait a minute fans, there’s one more match! I’m not sure which man this is meant to highlight, much like the Chavo Guerrero/Jamie Noble match from Disc 1, but I’m glad both men got on here somehow.
WCW Cruiserweight Title Match
Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera
World War 3, 1998
Recap: Billy Kidman defeated Juventud with his Shooting Star Press in a match that spilled into all three rings. Guerrera appeared to have the match won after seemingly knocking Kidman out with the Juvi Driver, but Kidman recovered and nailed his finisher, but only after his stablemate Rey Mysterio came out to give him a helping hand, preventing Juventud from hitting a frankensteiner in retribution for… something or other involving the Latino World Order.
Review: When I was a kid I really loved Billy Kidman thanks to the Shooting Star Press and the fact he was in The Filthy Animals. He wasn’t the greatest wrestler, but I think he was a perfectly fine cruiserweight, and him being one of the larger men in the division allowed for more diverse match ups. Juventud rivalled Rey Mysterio at one point in his career but began to regress a little as we headed into the new millennium. But how did these two match up together? Pretty well actually. Juvi’s diving headscissors from the top rope while Kidman was on the apron was sick. Unfortunately he also managed to botch a spot that saw him springboard from the top rope of one ring to the top rope of another – let’s remember World War 3 featured three rings – and then hit a missile dropkick, slipping a little on the second rope. I wouldn’t have criticised it, but during Rey’s montage we saw him use the same spot but hit it perfectly. Kidman’s headscissors from the top rope of one ring back to the mat of another was nice though. They used the multiple ring thing for several moves, making this match better than the main event three-ring battle royal probably was. Solid wrestling match and a worthy bonus feature.
Overall Disc Thoughts
– They certainly saved the best Disc for last as all these matches delivered on the promises made up front with the exception of Trish vs Lita. There was still an issue of proper match selection, with Sabu outshining 2 Cold Scorpio in Scorpio’s own chapter, and RVD doing the same to Sabu in his chapter, but neither was to the extent of what happened in the first 2 discs. The range of wrestlers highlighted was pretty good, with new and old represented fairly equally and Lita thrown into the mix as well. Rey Mysterio closing the disc out was a good move because I’ve gone home happy so to speak.
Complete DVD Thoughts
– So should you buy Wrestling’s Highest-Flyers? Sure thing. But you might want to wait until the price comes down a little. It’s full of some really good matches, and nothing on here dips below mediocre, but the set falls a bit short of what I – and I’m sure many others – were hoping for when it was first announced. This is certainly not a collection of the best cruiserweight matches in history, but it’s a nice assortment of new and old matches from the WWF, WCW, ECW and the WWE. If you’ve heard the names but never really seen them in action then this might be a good way to educate yourself. Ultimo Dragon for example shows you exactly what he’s all about in three matches with Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho and Psychosis, and between them you can get a great idea about what you were missing out on all these years. The Hardyz have a strong presence too, with the triangle ladder match, a tag match against Taka Michinoku and Jeff’s cage match against Umaga, so if you’re a newer fan who can’t get enough of Team Extreme then there’s something here for you too. While the matches give you a decent enough look at the wrestlers they’re highlighting, they’re usually not even close to the best exhibition of their aerial wizardry. Most of the time they’re good enough, but I’m pretty sure you could find a far better use of Sean Waltman than getting beaten by Hakushi in 5 minutes, or Jimmy Snuka squashing Samu without even using the move that made him famous. Likewise, there are quite literally a hundred better Rob Van Dam matches than the one they selected to show him off. It’s strange that better thought wasn’t put into the selection of matches because some of these are quite obscure, far from the first ones that come to mind which suggests some effort was put into compiling them, quite a paradox.
– If your expectations weren’t too high then you’ll find this to be a really good DVD, but if you were after a definitive tribute to the absolute best in high flying then this comes up a bit short. That being said, it’s still well worth picking up, but you might want to borrow it off someone else first.