Wrestling's Highest Flyers review (DVD) ★★★★

Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £29.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 457 minutes

A DVD compilation celebrating the mastery of aerial assault seems long overdue. But I'm more than happy that, firstly, one has finally landed, and secondly, it's as good as it is. Wrestling's Highest Flyers is a three-disc package that's stacked with some awesome, awesome matches that will have you watching with baited breath and cheering on the mad marvels who soar through the air on your TV, as you sit and have an adrenaline-charged blast from the safety of your own home.

You'd be flat-out wrong in thinking that this release is just hours and hours of “spot-monkeys” flying about the place. Sure, incredible leaps from the top rope and death-defying planchas are plentiful, but this set features some of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the industry. Names like Ricky Steamboat, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, The Great Muta and Shawn Michaels grace Wrestling's Highest Flyers with some truly epic encounters from years past that really make you appreciate just how different professional wrestling is today. These days in the WWE we see much more of a slow pace in matches, but this DVD will remind you that technically-grueling bouts that went longer than six minutes were far from uncommon.

The weakest match is still enjoyable and even the obligatory Divas outing is a really good showdown for the WWE Women's Title. Remember the days before Maria and Eve when we had Lita and Trish Stratus?

The sheer artistry of technical wrestling from around the world is explored in full force in Wrestling's Highest Flyers, with a selection of fantastic bouts that each put exclamation points on the timeline of wrestling's evolution.

The release contains the following match-ups in their entirety:

WCW Halloween Havoc '92: Ricky Steamboat vs. Brian Pillman
WWE Superstars: Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder
Madison Square Garden: Jimmy Snuka vs. Samu
WCW Bash at the Beach '97: Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza & Lizmark Jr. vs. La Parka, Psychosis & Villano IV
WWE RAW – Gold Rush Tournament Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin
WCW World War 3 – J-Crown Cruiserweight Championship: Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Misterio Jr.
ECW Hardcore TV – ECW World Television Championship: Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
WCW Bash at the Beach '97 – WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon
WWE SummerSlam '95: The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi
WWE Superstars: John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd
WWE WrestleMania 2000 – Tag Team Title Triangle Ladder Match: The Dudleyz vs. The Hardyz vs. Edge & Christian
ECW One Night Stand '05 – Three-Way Dance: Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy vs. Little Guido
WCW Great American Bash '95: Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright
WCW/NJPW Japan Supershow '91: The Great Muta vs. Sting
WWE Sunday Night Heat – WWE Hardcore Championship: Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
WWE SummerSlam '96 – WWE Championship: Shawn Michaels vs. Vader
ECW CyberSlam '96 – ECW World Television Championship: Sabu vs. 2 Cold Scorpio
WWE SmackDown – Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals: Kofi Kingston vs. Christian
WWE In Your House: No Way Out – WWE Light Heavyweight Championship: Taka Michinoku vs. Pantera
WWE RAW – WWE Women's Championship: Trish Stratus vs. Lita
ECW Guilty as Charged 2000 – ECW World Television Championship: Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu
WWE RAW – Steel Cage Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga
WCW Halloween Havoc '97 – WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero

EXTRAS ??? Sky-Cam with Jamie Noble: Noble executes a Moonsault wearing the Sky-Cam, a device strapped to the wrestler that captures a first-person perspective of the move as he flies off the top rope; Flight Turbulence: a Don't Try This At Home TV spot showing some of the biggest falls in WWE history, from Brock Lesnar's botched Shooting Star Press at WrestleMania 19, to Rikishi's splash from the top of the steel cage; and the following selection of bonus matches spread across the three discs:

WCW Uncensored '97: Ultimo Dragon vs. Psychosis
WWE SmackDown: Chavo Guerrero vs. Jamie Noble
WWE Sunday Night Heat: Kaientai vs. The Hardy Boyz
WCW World War 3 – WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman