WWE Wrestling’s Highest Flyers – Disc Three

WWE Wrestling’s Highest Flyers

Disc Three

WWF Championship- Shawn Michaels w/Jose Lothario © vs. Vader w/James E. Cornette from WWF SummerSlam 1996
Vader pounds away to start and he hits a short arm clothesline. Michaels sweeps the legs and catches Vader with a basement dropkick. Shawn stomps away and he hammers Vader on the mat. Michaels low bridges Vader, sending him crashing to the floor. Suicide plancha to the floor by Michaels!!! Back in, Michaels goes up and hits a double axe handle on Vader. Hurricanrana by Michaels and he takes Vader to the floor with a wheelbarrow roll. Shawn goes for a slingshot hurricanrana but Vader blocks with a power bomb on the floor!!! Vader dumps Shawn back into the ring and he works over Shawn in the corner. Suplex by Vader and he clubs Shawn in the corner. Vader sends Shawn to the corner and the momentum sends Shawn crashing to the floor. Back in, Vader backdrops Shawn and he goes for a back suplex but Shawn blocks. Michaels fires back and Vader comes back with a clothesline. Michaels again fires back and Vader presses Shawn to the mat to block a head scissors for 2. Half nelson by Vader but Shawn fights out. Shawn tries a sunset flip but Vader just steps on him to block. He goes for the seated senton but Shawn gets a knee up. Lariat by Michaels and he goes up. Michaels leaps but Vader was out of position, so Shawn stomps him on the head and has one of his most famous temper tantrums. Shawn with a crossbody that takes both men crashing down to the floor. Vader drops Shawn onto the railings and Shawn is counted out!!!
BUT WAIT!!! Cornette says he came to win the title, so Cornette challenges Shawn to get back in the ring and finish this. The ref decides to continue to the match and Vader attacks Shawn on the floor. Cornette nails Shawn in the back with a tennis racket and back in, Vader hits a belly to belly suplex for 2. Vader goes for a power bomb but Shawn hammers away to block. Flying forearm by Michaels and he goes up. Flying elbow drop by Michaels and he goes for Sweet Chin Music but Cornette blocks. Shawn nails Cornette, who attempts to throw the racket to Vader. He intercepts it and starts attacking both Vader and Cornette with the racket for the DQ!!!
BUT WAIT!!! Again, Cornette wants the championship and wants the match restarted again. Gorilla Monsoon declares the match will continue. Vader misses the seated senton and Shawn hits a flying forearm. Shawn goes up and hits the flying elbow. Sweet Chin Music by Michaels gets 2!!! Vader shoves Shawn into the ref, knocking the ref down to the floor. Power bomb by Vader and he covers but there’s no ref. Another ref runs out and counts 2!!! Vader goes up and he misses the moonsault!!! Shawn goes up and he hits the moonsault press for 3!!!
Winner and Still WWF Champion- Shawn Michaels ***3/4 ( I loved the early portion of the match with Vader being a total monster and Shawn acting as the resilient warrior trying to use his speed and quickly to bring him down. The two restarts were ridiculous though as the match went from an epic battle in Shawn’s biggest test to date to being an overtop cartoon that was too cute for its own good. The stops and starts killed this for me which is a shame because they were well on their way to putting on something really special. )

ECW TV Championship- 2 Cold Scorpio © vs. Sabu from ECW Cyberslam 1996
Scorpio attacks to start and Sabu comes back with a spinning heel kick. Air Sabu in the corner and he hits a clothesline. Sabu dropkicks Scorpio off the apron and he dumps Scorpio into the front row. SUMMERSAULT PLANCHA OFF A CHAIR INTO THE CROWD BY SABU!!!! Back in, Sabu covers for 2. Slingshot knee drop by Sabu and Scorpio comes back with a power bomb. Slam by Scorpio and he goes up. Flying leg drop by Scorpio and he hits a face buster onto a chair. Forearms by Scorpio and he goes for a bulldog on the chair but Sabu blocks. Sabu springboards off the chair and clotheslines Scorpio to the floor. Sabu goes up and hits a summersault plancha to the floor. Back in, Sabu hits the springboard leg lariat for 2. Scorpio drives a chair into Sabu and he hits an Avalanche in the corner. Sabu fires back and gets a wheelbarrow roll-up for 2. Scorpio catches Sabu with a Pele kick and Sabu comes back with the Camel Clutch. Scorpio drives him down to the mat to block and he works Sabu over on the floor. Scorpio suplexes Sabu back into the ring for 2. Rowboat by Scorpio and he releases after Sabu refuses to quit. Sabu rolls Scorpio up for 2 and he catches him with a summersault leg drop for 2. Sabu works the arm of Scorpio but Scorpio rolls out of his clutches. Scorpio slams Sabu and he goes up. Moonsault by Scorpio gets 2. Sabu tosses a chair at the head of Scorpio and he hits a leg drop onto the chair for 2. Arabian Press onto the chair by Sabu and Scorpio comes back with a Tombstone power slam. Slingshot splash by Scorpio gets 2. Scorpio throws some boots at Sabu and he hits a power slam. Scorpio goes up for the Twisting splash but misses. Sabu goes up but Scorpio brings him down with a Sunset Bomb for 2. Scorpio goes up but Sabu stops him and follows up. Victory roll Bomb by Sabu gets 2. Scorpio misses a dropkick and Sabu backdrops him to the floor. Suicide dive by Sabu and he hits a clothesline for 2. Cross arm breaker by Sabu but Scorpio escapes. Scorpio presses Sabu down to the mat and he goes for a TKO to the floor but Sabu holds on, bringing Scorpio out with him. Springboard Asai moonsault by Sabu. Sabu sets up a table in the crowd and he GOES FOR A SUMMERSAULT PLANCHA BUT SCORPIO MOVES, SENDING SABU CRASHING THROUGH THE TABLE!!!! Back in, Scorpio covers for 2 as Sabu gets his foot on the ropes. Hurricanrana by Sabu gets 2. Springboard moonsault press by Sabu gets 2. Sabu misses a moonsault off the top and Scorpio hits a power bomb. Scorpio goes up and hits the moonsault leg drop for 2!!! STO by Scorpio and he goes up. Leg drop off the top onto a chair by Scorpio gets 2. Scorpio goes up but Sabu hits him with a chair and follows up. Frankensteiner by Sabu gets 2. Scoprio goes up and hits the 450 splash. He goes up with a chair but misses a flying splash. Sabu goes up and hits a springboard leg drop onto the chair. Slingshot summersault leg drop onto the chair by Sabu gets 2 as the thirty minute time limit runs out!!!
Match ends in a Draw ***3/4 ( These two really shouldn’t have been doing thirty minute matches, let alone with each other, but I’ll give them props for working their ass off and doing whatever they could to keep this interesting through the duration. They went spot overkill here, crashing and burning on crazy dives and resorted to flashy moves to keep everyone into the match. The constant transition to more high spots made all the near falls insignificant and there was no heat for the near falls, but as a car crash and an athletic display, they really did one hell of a job. )

WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals-Kofi Kingston vs. Christian from WWE Smackdown 5-14-10
Christian overpowers Kingston and he catches him with a back elbow. Monkey flip by Kofi and Christian bails. Kofi misses the slingshot pescado and he hits a springboard cross body to the floor as we go to break!!!
Back and Christian catches Kofi with a flap jack for 2. Another back elbow by Christian gets 2 and he goes back to the chin lock. Kofi fights out and he goes up. Cross body off the top by Kofi gets 2. Dropkick by Kofi and he hits a leaping lariat. They trade roll-ups for near falls and Christian catches Kofi with an Electric Chair for 2. Christian goes up and he leaps but Kofi catches him with the jackknife roll-up for 2. Christian goes up and he misses a cross body off the top. Springboard cross body by Kofi gets 2. Boom Drop by Kofi and Christian hits a reverse DDT for 2. Kofi blocks the Killswitch and he hits the SOS for 2!!! Punches in the corner by Kofi and Christian comes back with a slingshot Pele. European uppercut by Christian and he goes for a sunset flip but Kofi rolls through. Trouble in Paradise by Kingston gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion- Kofi Kingston ***3/4 ( A great back and forth match that gave Kofi a great signature win, capped off by an awesome finish where after Kofi rolls through the sunset flip, both guys stared at each other and you saw Kofi knew he had Christian where he wanted him for the finish. )

b>WWF Light Heavyweight Title- Taka Michinoku © vs. Pantera
Sunny is the guest ring announcer for this upcoming match. Brian Christopher also makes his way down to the ring to do commentary. Spinning heel kick by Taka to start and Pantera comes back with an arm drag sending Taka to the floor. Pantera follows out with a summersault plancha to the floor. Back in, Pantera hits a hurricanrana and charges but misses and falls to the floor. Taka follows out with a springboard crossbody to the floor!!! Back in, Taka sends Pantera to the corner and follows with a corner forearm. Basement dropkick by Taka and they head to the apron. Pantera comes off the top with a headscissors off the apron on Taka!!! Suicide dive by Pantera drives Taka hard into the barricade and Pantera follows with a double stomp to the back. Back in, Pantera hits a double underhook back breaker and he grabs the Camel Clutch. Taka makes the ropes to break and Pantera kicks Taka hard in the back. Mexican surfboard by Pantera and he releases after being caught with his shoulders on the mat. Taka charges but Pantera backdrops him all the way to the floor. Pantera follows with a Tope Con Hilo onto the back of Taka. Back in, Pantera hits a backbreaker and he goes up for a second rope elbow drop. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Pantera and he takes time to gloat, allowing Taka to fight back. They go up and Pantera takes him off the top with a hurricanrana. Pantera goes up and hits a moonsault off the top for 2. H goes for another one but this time he misses. Taka goes up and hits a kneedrop off the top. He goes for the Michinoku Driver but Pantera counters into a small package for 2. Inside cradle by antera gets 2. He goes for a hurricanrana but Taka blocks with a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Taka goes up and hits a missile dropkick to the back. Michinoku Driver gets 3!!!
Winner and Still WWF Light Heavyweight Champion- Taka Michinoku ***1/4 (A really good match that was almost taken away by the god awful commentary. Christopher and Lawler spent the entire match making jokes about the Japanese and praising Christopher. The hot finish and hard work from the competitors helped overcome the garbage on commentary.)

WWE Women’s Championship- Trish Stratus © vs. Lita from WWE Raw 12-6-04
Trish attacks to start and Lita sweeps the legs as Trish did her matrix bridge. Side Russian leg sweep by Lita gets 2. She backdrops Trish to the floor and follows out with a SUICIDE DIVE AND SHE LANDS RIGHT ON HER HEAD!!!!!!!! Back in, Trish nails Lita with her facemask and she hammers away on Lita. Sleeper by Trish from the top rope but Lita tosses her off to come back. Sleeper by Lita but Trish backs her into the corner to block. Full nelson by Trish but Lita fights out. They head up and Lita takes her off with a superplex. Lita rolls into the cover for 2. Chick Kick by Trish gets 2. Punches in the corner by Trish but Lita takes her out with a power bomb. Lita goes up but Trish stops her. Sunset flip by Lita gets 2. Trish blocks the DDT and rolls Lita up, using her feet on the ropes for 2!!! Reverse Twist of Fate by Lita and she goes up. Moonsault by Lita gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW WWE Women’s Champion- Lita *** ( Man, I could have used a few more minutes of this. They went hot and heavy right from the start and it felt like the ultimate culmination for Lita, winning the championship in her home state from her arch rival after almost nearly reinjuring the neck that put her out for over a year. The atmosphere was great, JR on commentary made the moment seem even bigger, and it was great showcase for both women who got the rare main event slot on Raw and killed it. )

ECW TV Championship- Rob Van Dam © vs. Sabu from ECW Guilty as Charged 2000
They slug it out and RVD catches him with a leg drop. Dropkick to the leg by Sabu and they head to the floor. Air Sabu into the railings by Sabu and back in, he hits a springboard leg lariat for 2. Slingshot summersault leg drop misses and RVD hits the cartwheel moonsault for 2. RVD goes up but Sabu shoves him into the railings on the floor to block. Sabu knocks RVD into the front row and he hits a springboard crossbody into the crowd!!!! RVD throws some kicks at Sabu and he gord busters Sabu onto the railings. Spinning guillotine leg drop off the apron by RVD and he hits a summersault plancha to the floor!!! Sabu comes back with a sloppy sunset bomb from the apron to the floor and he puts RVD on a table. Sabu goes up and HITS A FLYING SPLASH THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR!!!! Back in, Sabu covers for 2. Leg drop by Sabu and Bill Alfonso organizes a chair duel between the two, which Sabu wins. He covers for 2 and he grabs the Camel Clutch. RVD escapes and Sabu goes for a springboard leg lariat but misses and nails the ref. Triple Jump moonsault by Sabu and he covers but there’s no ref. Triple jump leg drop by Sabu gets 2. Sabu goes up with a chair but RVD catches him with an enzuigiri to bring him down. Van Daminator by RVD and he goes up. Sabu crotches him and follows up. RVD blocks the Frankensteiner and he hits the split legged moonsault for 2. RVD wants to use the chair but Alfonso won’t let him, so RVD hits the Van Daminator!!! Sabu clotheslines RVD and he goes for the triple jump splash but RVD blocks with a chair. RVD goes up and hits the Five Star Frog Splash for 3!!!
Winner and Still ECW TV Champion- Rob Van Dam ***1/2 ( I loved the early portion of the match that mixed the typical ECW brawl with the intensity of their feud and their familiarity with one another, creating a more balanced and engaging match. They eventually got too cute with Bill Alfonso as the indecisive manager and doing the usual wacky spots but despite that they still put on a good match that felt more important than your typical ECW brawl. )

Steel Cage Match- Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga from Raw 1-7-08
Before the match, Randy Orton comes out to watch from ringside. Back elbow by Umaga and he misses a seated senton. Basement dropkick by Hardy gets 2. Jaw breaker by Hardy but Umaga comes back with a super kick. Umaga misses an avalanche in the corner and Jeff hits a basement dropkick in the corner for 2. Umaga presses Hardy but he holds on and starts to climb the cage. Umaga pulls him off to block as we go to break.
Back and Umaga has a nerve hold on Hardy. Hardy starts to fight out and Umaga backdrops Hardy into the cage!!! Umaga rams Hardy’s head repeatedly against the cage and he avalanches Hardy against the cage for 2. Orton tosses some chairs into the ring and Umaga nails Hardy in the back with a chair. Umaga covers for 2 and he starts to climb. Hardy dropkicks him, causing Umaga to crotch himself on the top rope. Poetry in Motion against the cage by Hardy and Umaga nails him to come back. Umaga misses the hip check in the corner and Hardy begins to fire away. Spinning heel kick by Hardy and he tosses a chair at Umaga. DDT on the chair by Hardy gets 2. Hardy looks to go through the door but Orton slams it back in his head. Umaga covers for 2!!! Twist of Fate by Hardy and he climbs. Orton blocks his way down on the floor so HARDY HITS WHISPER IN THE WIND OFF THE TOP OF THE CAGE!!!!! Hardy covers for 3!!!
Winner- Jeff Hardy ***1/2 ( A good underdog story that really helped get Jeff Hardy over as a legitimate threat to the WWE Championship. He battle tooth and nail with the monster and in spite of the assistance from Randy Orton, Hardy wouldn’t be denied and the finish proved to Orton that Hardy would go to any length to win. A great cage match and the booking of Hardy was fantastic, the type of stuff that would get people over the roster today. )

WCW Cruiserweight Championship vs. Mask- Eddie Guerrero © vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rey uses his quickness early and catches Eddie with a monkeyflip. Crossbody brings Eddie to the floor and he sweeps Rey off the apron and to the floor. Eddie sends Rey into the steps and he hits a Hilo on Rey. Dropkick by Rey and Eddie blocks a handspring by countering it into a back suplex. Brainbuster by Guerrero gets 2. Tilt-a-whirl back breaker by Eddie gets 2. Abdominal stretch by Guerrero and he converts it into a back breaker for 2. Test of strength with Eddie attempt to hold Rey’s shoulders to the mat but MYSTERIO BREAKS WITH A SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT INTO A DDT!!!! Dropkick by Rey knocks Eddie to the floor and Eddie knocks Rey off the apron with a dropkick. Eddie sends Rey into the railings and he grabs the Camel Clutch. He catches Rey into the Gory Special but Rey counters with an arm drag. He misses a dropkick and Eddie dropkicks him in the back. Gut wrench back breaker over the shoulder by Eddie and he grabs a rear abdominal stretch. He releases in order to catch Rey with a back elbow for 2 as Rey grabs the ropes. They trade blows in the corner and Eddie puts Rey in the tree of woe. Dropkick by Eddie and he misses a baseball slide, causing him to get crotched on the post. Rey goes up and hits a crossbody all the way to the floor on Guerrero!!! Back in, Rey catches Guerrero with a hurricanrana for 2!!! Clothesline by Eddie and Rey hits a tilt-a-whirl head scissors to the floor. SUMMERSAULT PLANCHA INTO A HURRICANRANA ON THE FLOOR BY REY!!!!! Back in, Rey goes up and hits Whisper in the Wind on Eddie for 2. Slam by Rey and the Arabian Press attempt eats knees. Powerbomb by Eddie gets 2. Eddie misses a charge in the corner and Rey hits a spinning heel kick. Rey goes to springboard in but Eddie catches him with a back breaker. Eddie goes up and dives but Rey moves. Eddie crotches Rey on top and he follows up. Rey counters Splash Mountain into the Frankensteiner for 3!!!!
Winner and NEW WCW Cruiserweight Champion- Rey Mysterio Jr. ****1/2 (I can see why people considered this a perfect match back in the day. It was mind blowing stuff for the time, as the match was so exciting and they worked at such a fast paced that it’s incredible that they pulled off some of the stuff they did in this match. It doesn’t hold up quite as well now as I’d like to see some sort of stretched out story mixed in, as they had something going with Eddie stretching and torturing Mysterio but they ignored it later down the stretch they went a mile a minute toward the finish. This is still an incredible match and one of WCW’s best in ring efforts.)

Bonus

WCW Cruiserweight Championship- Juventud Guerrera © vs. Billy Kidman from WCW World War 3 1998
They trade blows and Guerrera catches him with the Rocker Dropper. Tilt-a-whirl head scissors by Guerrera and Kidman comes back with the BK Bomb. Powerslam by Kidman and he follows up with a slingshot leg drop for 2. Juventud rolls him up for 2 and he catches Kidman with a spine buster for 2. Guerrera grabs the chin lock but Kidman fights out. He catches Guerrera with a lariat and puts him on top. He follows up but Guerrera fights him off. Kidman blocks a Tornado DDT so Guerrera snaps him neck off the ropes. Guerrera goes up and leaps but Kidman dropkicks him on the way down for 2!!! Kidman dumps Guerrera to the floor and he follows out with a slingshot pescado. Guerrera goes up and takes Kidman off the apron with a hurricanrana!!! Back in, Guerrera covers for 2 and he catches Kidman with a Brainbuster for 2. Rear chin lock by Guerrera but Kidman starts to fight out so Guerrera cuts him off with a dropkick. Springboard dropkick to the back by Guerrera knocks Kidman to the floor. Springboard cross body to the floor by Guerrera. Back in, Guerrera hits the slingshot leg drop for 2. Guerrera slips on a double springboard dropkick but gets enough for 2. Dropkick by Kidman and he hits a back suplex for 2. Avalanche in the corner misses and Guerrera hits an inverted atomic drop. Guerrera goes up but Kidman crotches him and follows up. Kidman hits a head scissors from one ring into the other!!! Kidman goes up and hits a crossbody from one ring to the other for 2!!! Guerrera catches Kidman off the top with a Frankensteiner for 1!! They trade counters until Guerrera hits the Juvy Driver. Guerrera goes up for the 450 splash but Kidman moves. Hurricanrana by Guerrera gets 2. Kidman blockd the power bomb with the face plant for 2. Wheelbarrow suplex by Kidman and he goes up. Guerrera crotches him and follows up. Rey Mysterio Jr. comes out and blocks the Frankensteiner, sending Guerrera crashing to the mat. Shooting Star Press by Kidman gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW WCW Cruiserweight Champion- Billy Kidman ***1/2 ( Good match that again, resorted mainly on high spots and not much else. The way they encorporated the three rings into the match was clever and all the near falls got both guys over as resilient fighters that would not give. Again, it just lacked a central story that would have really turned this into some great, but it still turned out to be a solid cruiserweight match that easily stole the show. )

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

This turned out to be a solid DVD set but considering the subject matter and the talent featured, this could have been better. For the most part, they picked a pretty great collection of flyers to highlight and I appreciate that they showcased multiple decades and promotions throughout the set. However, it seems like they didn't really seek out everyone's best work and wanted to feature some rarely seen matches instead of quality ones. This set is worth a glance if you find it for cheap as it has some worthwhile matches but you'll come out this feeling the match quality featured could have been stronger.