9 High Flying Moves That Look Impressive (But Never Won A Match)
Much like watching Olympic divers, when wrestlers take to the skies for high-flying moves, that’s often when Sports meets Entertainment. The athleticism it takes for any superstar to scale the turnbuckles and launch themselves into their opponent is nothing short of pure art in the wrestling world.
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Over the years more and more superstars wanted to not only take to the skies but innovate as well. They twist and contort their bodies into various forms. Yet, some of the flashiest high-flying moves in across WWE, AEW, and other wrestling promotions don’t seem to get the 1-2-3.
9 Tope Suicida
Like the Queen song says - you’re rushing headlong, and you’re out of control. Whenever superstars dive into their opponents head-first at breakneck speed, they never get a victory.
In fact, most of the time Tope Suicidas are done from the ring to the floor. Wrestlers can’t even get a countout victory from them. It also looks really absurd when a group of wrestlers is waiting for the diver like they’re in a mosh pit instead of a match.
8 Seth Rollins’ Phoenix Splash
Wrestling is a great many things but one of the most formulaic aspects of the industry is just how formulaic the industry actually is sometimes. Over the course of a match, there are several huge moves that superstars pull off expecting to get a pinfall - only for their opponents to kick out. Seth Rollins has got one of those big-time moves in his bag of tricks.
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The Phoenix Splash could easily be The Architect’s finishing move. But instead, it’s just a big spot.
7 Asai Moonsault
Named after its creator, The Ultimo Dragon, the Asai Moonsault might seem tame for a lot of today’s aerial actions, but that makes it no less beautiful.
With a downed opponent or a groggy one on the outside of the ring, Dragon, or anyone else who pulls off the move - a springboard Moonsault from the middle of the second rope to the floor - unfortunately can’t seem to ever get a victory from the move. However, seldom if ever has anyone tried to do so by heaving the opponent back in the ring for a cover.
6 Kurt Angle’s Moonsault
Christopher Daniels might have the BME (Best Moonsault Ever) and NXT’s Tiffany Stratton has the PME (Prettiest Moonsault Ever), but those moves have won countless matches for both. Kurt Angle might simply have the greatest Moonsault ever to have never won a match.
Angle practically floats through the air to deliver the move. But not only has Angle never won a match with it - just about every opponent has gotten out of the way.
5 Kevin Owens Top Rope Assault
Much like Ric Flair would make the mistake every single match of trying to head to the top rope, wrestlers make a similar mistake facing off with Kevin Owens. Nearly every match against The Prizefighter, his opponents try to deliver some sort of suplex off the top - only for KO to reserve it into a cradle suplex of his own.
He’s also flung himself into his opponent with a Frog Splash. In either event, neither move nor any other of KO’s top rope moves get him the victory.
4 Meteora
You would think that one of the newer moves on this list would be devastating enough to get a victory or two. But instead, The Meteora is just a pretty cool-looking move.
Whether it’s a big leap from the mat, the second rope, or the apron to the floor - two knees right to the face should spell the end of the match - but it doesn’t.
3 Shawn Michaels / Bayley / CM Punk’s Elbow Drop
When The Macho Man headed to the top rope to deliver The Big Elbow Drop, for the most part, that meant it was all over and Randy Savage was getting his hand raised. However, only The Macho Man seemingly knew how to hit the move and get the victory.
Superstars who ascend to the top rope ala The Macho King haven’t been able to get a 1-2-3 out of the deal. That even includes the likes of legends like Shawn Michaels, Horsewomen like Bayley, or firebrands like CM Punk.
2 Whisper In The Wind
When Jeff Hardy gets going in a match, there’s very little he won’t do to get the win. Twists of fate, using his brother for Poetry In Motion, and of course his twisting, inverted leg drop thing that he calls Whisper In The Wind.
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Brother Nero has even hit the move from the top of a steel cage and still couldn’t get the victory. Like a lot of the moves on this list, it’s nice to look at, but doesn’t do nearly enough damage to score the victory.
1 Christian’s Frog Splash
Christian is the very definition of A Wrestler’s Wrestler. Plenty, if not all the boys in the locker room know that he’s one of the most technically sound. But the upper brass of WWE seldom, if ever saw him as a tippy top guy. But nevertheless, he never stopped upping his game and doing what the shirt says - outworked everyone.
One of the moves he eventually adopted was The Frog Splash. Despite it being prettier and more devastating than The Killswitch, Christian was never able to score the pinfall with the Frog Splash.
