Would the high flyers of today have gotten over back in the 80s?

[Paralyzer Z]

This is a topic that has torn me apart for a long time. I really do not know what the most likely scenario would have been. I always see these threads comparing back then wrestling to today's sports entertainment. There has been a significant change in the industry over the years and we went from having a bunch of Independent promotion around the country that all had a similar style of wrestling to having one big company and a bunch of Indy promotions that share a common style as opposed to the big one (WWE obviously). Different wrestling ways have developed over time and would they have worked in a time period where wrestling was almost the opposite has always been a subject of mystery to me.

Let us look at the 1980s or late 80s to be specific. Hulk Hogan was the main star, WWE/F was on the rise, and the wrestling world in general was in a boom of popularity. If there is any word to describe the one thing that almost every match anywhere you went it is "Storytelling". Now it is still the selling point of mainstream companies today, that has not changed, but not all wrestlers use it to the maximum as those back then. I take a look at all these matches that in general are very depend on formula as opposed to a variety of moves in each guy's set. This was the norm for every guy if he wanted to become a big star for Vince McMahon and his upstart giant that we know today as WWE. Then came along Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka with his famous finishing move the Superfly splash. A move that would be considered usual today was an innovation never seen before back then. He proceeded to become one of the legends in WWE history. In my opinion a majority if this can be attributed to audiences back then never having seen this type of high risk move before, and as a result cheered him for it. This would become more common later on because as with most things wrestling had begun to evolve to the next level of entertainment. Today we have the craziest most death defying moves such as the "630 splash", the double moonsault, 450 splash, hurricaranas, shooting star presses, and the lists just go on and on. However like I said before storytelling still sells most of the product, but there is another factor as to why these moves are not the centerpiece of wrestling, the audiences have previously been exposed to those kind of stunts.

If a guy like Jack Evans, or I will use a mainstream example Evan Bourne debuted in the time period where storytelling and basic wrestling were the kings and dominated all of the sport, would they have gotten over with that type of crowd? The same type of crowd who all of their life had not been exposed to unique things like high risk offense like Shooting star presses, beautiful kicks, and any flips at all. Pretend he was the first one to do this crazy stuff off of the top rope that no one else could do. Would it gain the same reaction as it does today(meaning that they have to make the audience care about them first)? Or would the awe of a new and fresh style led to a bright future in the industry for these high flyers?

The question is stated in the title but I will say it again.

Would the high flyers(or so called spot monkeys) of today have success in the late 1980s? Why?

 

[krazyd]

I def. think they would have gotten over. with all of the mat based wrestling they had in the 80s it just something different. i mean guys like superfly were still over. imagine seeing the shooting star press for the first time EVER in the 80s ppl would have been FLOORED. I def think they'd be over...more so than now bcuz its soo different..this generation is used to it now adays

 

[kokoBawesome]

A week ago somebody brought up Max Moon, who was the first person I ever saw do a moonsault (coincidence I hope). I was ten and my mind was blown. Around that time I saw Owen Hart (than of High Energy) do a back flip off a rope to get out of an arm bar. He became my favorite wrestler of all time. Now this was in 1992, not far off from the time we're talking about, and although I personally loved this stuff, these guys weren't getting over. The 80's had too much emphasis on big characters and big bodies. Without the right look or story nobody was going to get over. People don't refer to the 80's as superficial for no reason. I reeeeeally want to believe Rey Mysterio would have gotten over back than, but at most he would have a mid card guy, same as Jimmy Snuka. The Rockers couldn't even win the tag titles back than.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

As is the case in every other era, the success of the high flyers in the 80's would depend on their ability to succeed in all the departments of pro wrestling which would eventually enable them to connect with the crowd. There is a reason why even today a lot of people performing double moonsaults and 630 splashes like Jack Evans are not employed by the WWE even today. It is because apart from their high flying offense they have got little talent to connect with the audience. Watch this year's Tough Enough where Matt Sydal gets eliminated. Austin asks Matt why he hasn't been able to show any talent despite having been a part of the business for more than 9 years. And Matt replies that that was because there had been no rounds to show off his high flying skills. Austin gave him an incredulous look, the same look as he had given the girl who said that her favourite WWE match was Melina vs Alicia Fox.

So what would have happened to a Jack Evans in the 80's had he been offered a WWF contract was that he would have gotten over initially due to his incredible finisher but then his inability to do anything else would have resulted in his popularity fizzling out slowly. With the fewer opportunities that were available in that era he would probably have been out of a job within three months.

 

[wrestler36]

A week ago somebody brought up Max Moon, who was the first person I ever saw do a moonsault (coincidence I hope)

Fun fact: Max Moon was Konnan. I recall Shawn Michaels doing a moonsault in, I want to say, the 91 Royal Rumble against the Orient Express. I don't think that the high flyers would have been successful during the 80s. That's not a knock on their abilities, but I think it would have been too ahead of it's time. Heck, wrestling was only airing 1/2 the time it is nowadays, so who knows if the small guys would've had any TV time. Unfortunately, the 80s was the decade of the big guys and steroid users. Even at the time, guys like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were considered small guys. Anyways, 'success' is in the eye of the beholder. With the exception of Mysterio, I can't think of another main eventing cruiserweight. Plus, the 80s was a much more grueling road schedule, so doing those kind of bumps combined with the drug culture of the time would be a recipe for disaster for alot of the small guys

 

[DexVendetta88]

This is quite an interesting topic. And to answer your question, I agree that the high flyers of today would be definitely over in the '80s because this would've offered an alternative from the technical wrestling that was the norm at the time. Can you imagine if you showed those back in the '80s a shooting star press or a 450 splash, they'd be going absolutely apeshit over it. However, I'm glad that aerial wrestling didn't really take off till the '90s and '00s because if the aerial moves we see today were done in the '80s then it would not be much of a big deal to us these days when you think about it.

 

[Wainy]

I dunno, Lanny Poffo did a few springboard manouveres back in the day, & he was a lower than low carder. There was a guy called Brady Boone who did a handspring/backflip elbow, & he was never more than a jobber. There where a few guys who did some "out of the ordinary" stuff, & it just didn't catch on. If they where 6ft 6 & 300lbs & could do it, it may have been a different story. But back then, wrestling fans wanted "Super Heroes", & a 5ft 7, 160lb super hero just wouldn't have cut it...

For what it's worth, if Jack Evans, Evan Bourne, Low Ki or any of those smaller, high flying, stiff kicking guys where around back then, let's face it, they would have been put in a mask, told to keep there mouth shut, & billed as a ninja of some kind... It was a simpler time

 

[CenaSux4Life78]

I dont know about Evan Bourne getting over, as he is barely over now. But I think that guys like Rey would be over, just like they are today. But if memory serves me correctly, there were 3 guys back in the late 80s in WCW who were high flyers. Granted 2 of them were from Japan.

Brian Pillman - Here is a guy who was, I think, the guy who launched American high flying wrestling into the mainstream. He did allot of things that had not been seen before, to my knowledge. He flew around the ring, and could have a solid technical match too. A good point to say he was over, he had an increadible match against Ric Flair for the WCW title on one of there Saturday programs.

The Great Muta - Yes a Japanese wrestler, but VERY fast and VERY good. Muta when on to be a multi time WCW world Champ.

Jushon Thunder Liger - Although he didn't perform as much here in America as Muta, Liger put on some increadible matches. The crowd loved him, and his high flying stunts.

Now, again, I am not saying that all these high flyers would have been over. A point was made that most of them would have been handed a mask and given a ninja like character. That is probably true, it wouldnt suprise me. To the original poster, GOOD thread.

 

[Jackal960]

In the 80's definitely! And if we are not talking about even early 90's then I can easily say they would be way much over than they would ever be today. We are talking about years when an elbow drop was a finishing maneuver used by Savage. One of the most esthetic one, mind you. Another finishing maneuver was from British Bulldogs. Dynamite Kid was "supposedly" performing a flying headbutt for the finish. Hell, even a dropkick was a nice maneuver. When a wrestler was going up the turnbuckle you could realize the announcer was increasing his voice and there was quite a roaring from the crowd. If you think I'm joking, just try to jog your memory or watch some of the old footage. So yes, in 80's they would definitely be over

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

storytelling and being realistic still dominates, most smarks are just too fuckin dumb to know.

There's a reason why Mysterio, who made sure all his highspots looked spontaneous and made sense and sold his ass off got more over within a year at WCW than Morrison and his no story, random ass contrived flippity ass has gotten in the WWE since he's been there.

I think the high flyers who are over now would be over then. It's the same shit. It's understanding your audience, carrying a believable character, and telling a story in the ring. Like Al Snow says, you can't reinvent the wheel. You can put spinners on it, change the tread design, etc, but at the end of the day, it's still the wheel.

By the way, "flyer" and "spot monkey" isn't synonymous. "Flyer" is someone like Evan bourne who's high flying makes sense in a match, looks spontaneous, and looks logical in terms of pro wrestling. A "spot monkey" is someone like Teddy Hart who gets tagged into a match (about 4 minutes in) and does a powerbomb lungblower, picks the guy up, then does a Canadian destroyer, then tags out. I'm not at all joking on that sequence about Teddy Hart. I saw him do that exact sequence before and I was baffled (not really, I know most ****** smarks are spot marks) that anyone ever thought he was worth a shit.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I think that high fliers definitely would have done well in the 80's, everyone enjoys a good flier and I don't care who you are you know it's true. High fliers always get love from the crowd because they take risks and do the craziest things in the ring, that alone gets them enough love to have been a success back in the day. They obviously got along fine without them but I think that one or two really great high fliers would have been prefect, it would have wowed the fans while having there only be a few would make them more of a treat to see, but really fliers could have gotten over at any time, sure back in the day things were alot more simple and at first I'm sure hardcore fans would not have been ok with it but I feel like they would have grown on people, they're extremely entertaining and nobody can deny that.