411’s WWE This is Awesome Report: Most Awesome High Flyers

411’s WWE This is Awesome Report: Most Awesome High Flyers

-I was scrolling for the latest episode of SmackDown LowDown, and I see there is a new episode of This is Awesome. They don’t promote new episodes of these shows like they used to. Let’s get to it!

-Run Time: 44:59

-Greg Miller, sporting a Rey Mysterio shirt, welcomes us to the show and throws to our opening montage. They touch on a bunch of the high flyers we likely won’t get singular focus on later, but it’s cool to mention as many as they can. They also touch on people you wouldn’t call a High Flyer, but did moves off the top that looked devastating: Yokozuna, Vader, Bronson Reed and his TSUNAMI! Hey, there’s Neville (PAC), and Evan Bourne. KALISTO AND SALIDA DEL SOL OFF THE LADDER! I’m not going to lie, I stopped typing because I was caught up in the nostalgia and seeing the crazy aerial moves.

Jeff Hardy

-WWE RETURN CONFIRMED! Or, something like that! Jeff, from 2018, says he has become known for jumping off high places and it is artistic to him. He tends to forget that he is limited and the only thing that limits him is his imagination. The talking heads are giddy talking about Jeff. Woods: “It’s like he was spit out of a Hot Topic.” We see Jeff killing himself off ladders, cages, and pretty much anything. SPEAR FROM EDGE AT WRESTLEMANIA X-7! Riddle calls Hardy a maniac. They discuss The Swanton Bomb and how it was graceful and violent at the same time. SWANTON OFF AN 18 WHEELER! THE ASS BOMB AT WRESTLEMANIA 23 OFF A LADDER! When Ricochet says something you did was insane, you know you are crazy. Prison Dom says Jeff was his favorite wrestler as a kid. That was fun because you could see how much he meant to the current stars when they were kids.

Eddie Guerrero


-Miz says you believe everything was doing at all times. They note that Eddie is basically great at everything. Woods says it is almost unfair how good Eddie was. THE FROG SPLASH! Prison Dom speaks highly about his father and notes Art Barr used the move first and Eddie used it after Art passed to honor him. He doesn’t have all the crazy spots Jeff does (who does?), but they focus on him beating Brock Lesnar for the WWF Title in San Francisco at No Way Out. Great pop and reaction from the crowd. Kross notes you can show someone Eddie in the ring and they will fall in love with wrestling. They talk about all the men who use the Frog Splash today and yet, you think of one name when you hear about the move: Eddie Guerrero!

Rob Van Dam

-RVD TO WWE CONFIRMED! “Nobody gets as high as RVD.” Yep! This will continue the trend of today’s stars marking out over someone. Hey, it’s Riddle and yeah, he was a fan and captivated by Rob. You don’t say! Heyman says RVD was different than anyone else in wrestling at the time and we get some great ECW footage. I mean, so watch his stuff and you will see why people were blown away by him. RVD WINS THE WWE TITLE AT ONE NIGHT STAND! Part of me wanted to see Cena win just to see if there would have been a riot.

Lita

-Woods says Lita is fantastic. They show the footage of a young AJ Lee meeting Lita and crying her eyes out. I love stuff like that! I was going back and watching MTV Tough Enough and it is fun seeing the people who didn’t win but ended up in WWE or TNA or wherever. Back to Lita as she was a major influence on a generation of female wrestling fans. Shotzi calls Lita a complete bad ass that was fearless. Ricochet goes way back to Lita coming in with Essa Rios. No ECW Lita? Lita notes she gravitated to Lucha Libre which isn’t shocking. She got over faster that Rios and moved to teaming with The Hardy Boyz. Candice says Lita opened the doors for a bunch of little girls who know are flying all over the ring. Shotzi, Sonya, and Zoey all credit Lita for influencing them. Again, good stuff!

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

-We have to get some Old School in here! Grayson Waller says the one word he would use is smooth! We get a montage of Steamboat hitting the crossbody off the top rope. Woods would mark out for the entrance. They mention Ricky was so good technically, but he had the high flying ability that others couldn’t match. WRESTLEMANIA 3! Ricky mentions stealing the show in front of over 90,000 seats. Tell em Ricky! I love this match so much! That match influenced so many people and I know some have said they will try to duplicate the match move for move. Ricky gets emotional as he says people still talk about that match out of the 6000 he has had in his career.

Ricochet


-Well, I mean duh! Priest says that Ricochet can do anything and Miz calls him a human arcade game. Raquel: “How is this even humanly possible?” Shotzi thinks he has springs in his feet. It’s just wild the stuff this man co do. This is another one where I am just getting caught watching the wild stuff instead of recapping. We see a photo of 14 year old Ricochet and he said since everyone was bigger than him, he needed something to stand out and built a reputation as a high flyer. ROYAL RUMBLE 2023: RICOCHET AND LOGAN PAUL COLLIDE IN MID-AIR! They show a backstage shot of Goldberg walking up behind Ricochet and telling the camera, “he’s the man.” Cool!

Shane McMahon

-I mean, he has tried to kill himself for our entertainment so I think he qualifies here. SHANE JUMPING OFF THE BACKLASH TRON AND FREE FALLING WITH AN ELBOW TO BIG SHOW. This man could have lived off his his last name forever and never stepped foot in the ring, but instead he wanted to throw his body off anything high just to entertain. Props to Shane! Riddle: “you name it and he has jumped off it.” The man willingly dove off Hell in a Cell! Thankfully they gimmicked the landing for him both times he did it. Fall off SummerSlam Tron with Blackman! COAST TO COAST! Yes, he stole it from RVD, but it’s still impressive that he is able to hit the move. They bring up the point that he is the Boss’ son and yet, felt he had to prove he belonged to the boys to get their respect.

Finn Balor

-Prison Dom: “My man, Finn made the list? Let’s go!” The main talking point her is his finisher and Priest says he can tell us first hand that “it sucks (too take.” It does look like a killer the way his brings all his weight down. Prison Dom thinks Finn should be at the top of the list behind Eddie. And that’s it as this one was short.

”Macho Man” Randy Savage



-OH YEAH! LET’S GO! Woods immediately breaks out his Macho Man impression. Many know this Savage is my second favorite wrestler of all time (yes, Hogan is number one). “MORE SEDUCTIVE THAN SEX.” Savage was a megastar the second he debuted in WWE and nothing as ever going to be the same again. Ricochet isn’t sure Macho is a high flyer, but he flew off the top rope a lot. Double Axe off the top to the floor! Had to suck on his knees. Speaking of destroying your knees, that top rope elbow drop had to suck for both men. Still the greatest elbow drop off all time! “CREAM OF THE CROP.” I want more!

AJ Styles

-Shotzi calls AJ an athletic go! They mention AJ is more than a high flyer as he has some power to his game and that lets him compete with any superstar on any level. Riddle notes AJ can hit you from anywhere at anytime. Priest says The Phenomenal Forearm actually mesmerizes you as he is about to break your face with it. Sadly, they don’t show his Rumble debut and the crowd reaction. That is one the YouTube videos I watch on a routine basis.

Rey Mysterio

-This topic is basically a chance to heap all the praise on Rey because he is the greatest high flyer of all time. Zelina notes he is a once in a generation talent and person. We get some ECW, WCW, and WWF footage which is nice! Ricochet says the high flying Rey did was next level. EDDIE VS. REY HALLOWEEN HAVOC! They all agree that Rey is basically a superhero/comic book hero come to life. Ciampa compares Rey to Muhammad Ali. Woods talks about how Rey became a believable heavyweight competitor and it inspired him to become a wrestler. Rey wins The World Title at WrestleMania 22. Apollo Crew says it showed that anything was possible. The connection he has with the fans and it’s cool seeing how kids react to him. My wife knows very little about wrestling, but she knows Rey Mysterio because every little boy in her 1st grade class knows and loves Rey Mysterio.

-Next time: Most Awesome Women’s Matches in WWE History. That should be fun!

-Again this show is all about the nostalgia and that’s all I need. They mixed in some current stars with Attitude Era ones and even went back to the 80s. Including Hardy was nice as they easily could have picked someone else. As always this show is a fun watch and this was one of the better ones just because of the crazy, high flying spots they were showing. It was a highlight reel! Thanks for reading!