Wacky Wrestling Theory 08.21.08: High Flyers

If you are like me and you’re a big fan of the ‘Step Up’ movie series, then you respect the tradition and athleticism of choreographed hip-hop dance. There is certainly nothing feminine about it, as the term ‘dance’ may suggest, as I’m sure some segment of the pro-wrestling audience would contend. That being said, there is a style of pro-wrestling that is similar to the dance sequences seen in movies like ‘Step Up.’ No, I’m not talking about hardcore wrestling; I’m talking about high-flying.

High-flyers in pro-wrestling use a majority of top rope jumping moves and like to add extra spins and flips when not specifically necessary to the effectiveness of the move. For example, this would include wrestlers like Evan Bourne, Jack Evans, Sonjay Dutt, Kota Ibushi, the Briscoe Brothers, Taiji Ishimori, Mistico and more traditionally Rey Mysterio, RVD, AJ Styles, the Rockers, the Hardys, Owen Hart, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, just to name a few. Now then, recently the catch phrase “man up!” has become popular, and this overly posturing idiom invokes direct action to prove masculine toughness. Certainly, as cool as hip-hop dance and high-flying can be, it is hard to look at the main practitioners of these styles as bad asses, am I right? So the question I want to ask is; are high-flyers more Step Up than Man Up?

Can you see the difference?

First of all, let’s compare the similarities between high-flying wrestling and choreographed hip-hop dancing. Both are flashy segments of a cultural product that lack the substance of the main forms of the art. This is not to take away from the skill of the wrestler or dancer, but in the case of hip-hop dancing the true message and meaning of the art form comes from the music, and the dancing, while very entertaining, could not exist without being an extension of the music and lyrics of hip-hop. The same goes for the high flying wrestlers, who are incredibly acrobatic and brave, yet are truthfully just taking the basic canvas of a traditional wrestling match and spraying it with a bright layer of paint. If you look at the core concept of hip-hop or pro-wrestling, I think you will see that dancing and high-flying are decorative components of the art form, like the flavorless yet pretty, colorful sprinkles on a donut.

Also, both high-flying in wrestling and dancing in hip-hop require the co-operation of a partner or partners. Of course, all wrestling requires a partner regardless, and not all dancing is done in pairs or groups, but the particular styles of hip-hop dance and high-flying are at their best when two practitioners are able to choreograph their moves together. The necessity of a dance crew is important to establishing any hip-hop dancer, particularly as a symbolic representation of the gang culture that can be considered an extension of the hip-hop lifestyle, as well as being a necessity for pulling off certain precise dance moves and collaborative sequences. In pro-wrestling two high-flyers, such as RVD and Jerry Lynn or Rey Mysterio and Psychosis, that work together regularly are able to portray the best possible matches with each other, since the perceived choreography is intricate and the timing of the jumping and spinning is necessary to be familiar with in the move sets of each wrestler and thus these pairs, not as a team but as opponents, work similarly to dance duos, even in traditional styles like ballroom dancing. The co-operation needed in hip-hop and high-flying shows that both styles require a high amount of skill and knowledge but rely heavily on collaboration to present the desired effect to an audience.

On the other hand, there are many differences between the high-flyers and the dancers. For instance, high-flying wrestling is exceptionally weak looking while hip-hop dancing can be considerably aggressive. The signature moves of wrestlers like RVD, Jeff Hardy, or Jack Evans, are not particularly violent or even appear to hurt the other wrestlers at all. Most wrestlers who are thought of as high-flyers are not traditionally considered ‘tough guys,’ and particularly when they are in heated feuds, it is rarely the high-flying maneuvers that they use to get their revenge. Although hip-hop dancing may not lead to physical confrontations, the act itself can be incredibly violent in appearance. If you watch the documentary ‘Rise’ you will see how the passionate and violent contortions of hip-hop dancers can be representative of primal tribal battles. Although the symbols of pro-wrestling are supposed to display fighting and aggression, the moves of high-flyers appear quite opposite from this goal, whereas in dancing the traditional movements are meant as a celebration, yet in hip-hop dance these motions can look like fights.

In a way this connects to my other contrasting point, that a main difference between hip-hop dancing and pro-wrestling high-flying is the politics. Hip-hop is a politically motivated art form, and the dancing is an extension of the black immigrant experience in America. Highlighting the plight of the poor and subjugated class during the late seventies and eighties in America, hip-hop let the youth of that era, and their children, regain power by lashing out in a vibrant and violently expressive manner, and the moves of break dancing are just as violent expressions of repression as graffiti or coded language. In the case of high-flying in pro-wrestling, the roots of this style are most likely superficial in nature. As televised pro-wrestling became more of a stunt show during its evolution in the eighties, and less of a deceivingly real fight, high-flying was a gateway for young people to be wow-ed by the quick and exhilarating, action movie nature of the sport, and wrestlers who would hardly qualify as high-flyers by today’s standards, such as Randy Savage and ‘Superfly’ Jimmy Snuka, brought in many new fans with their reputation for taking big risks to entertain the audience. Therefore, while high-flying wrestlers are a decorative aspect of pro-wrestling, hip-hop dance is a more political lashing out against repression.

In conclusion, I would like to answer the question I posed at the beginning of this column, are high-flyers more Step Up than Man Up, and the answer is a resounding yes. In my opinion the similarities to dance are much too convincing to show that high-flying wrestling is too flashy and obviously pair based to portray ‘manly’ aggression, while the differences show that high-flying includes less of the hostility and political meaning that make hip-hop dance tough and antagonistic. Therefore, if the phrase, “man up,” evokes a concept of acting tough and fighting back, then I would have to say that the high-flyers are more likely to appeal to the Step Up audience than to, say, the MMA audience.

This is not to take away from my respect for the quality or personal enjoyment of high-flying wrestling. In fact, recently I have been astounded by the increase in difficulty by both hip-hop dancing and high flying pro-wrestling. If you watched ‘Step Up 2 – The Streets’ then you noticed that the dancing had become incredibly more complex than in the first movie. Whereas after watching the original ‘Step Up’ I found myself in front of a mirror practicing the many steps that seemed reasonably possible, but after the sequel I was much too intimidated to attempt any of those complicated, high speed moves. The same goes from the current state of high-flying in pro-wrestling. If you were to compare the moves in the recent trilogy of ROH Dragon Gate six-man matches to even the ECW Michinoku Pro matches from more than ten years ago, or the original Liger/Pillman WCW Cruiserweight matches, you would see that the moves you could have possibly imagined recreating in the school yard or backyard trampoline have now been replaced by highly dangerous, perfectly timed, near-choreographed lightning quick move sequences that blur the eye and boggle the mind. This evolution of these art forms could be either be attracting higher skilled athletes and artists or just serving as proof that I’m getting too old to keep up. Here’s to hoping it’s the former!

Ah, now it’s all coming together.