When you see Rob Van Dam hit a “five star†frog splash or see Austin Aries hit a 450 splash, think of “Superfly†Jimmy Snuka.
49. JIMMY SNUKA
Real Name – James Reiher
Aliases – Superfly
Hometown – Fiji Islands
Debuted – 1969
Titles Held – NWA Texas Heavyweight; NWA Texas Tag Team (with Gino Hernandez); CWA International Tag Team (with JT Southern); ECW Heavyweight (2x); ECW Television; NWA National Tag Team (with Terry Gordy); NWA United States Heavyweight (Mid-Atlantic); NWA World Tag Team (Mid-Atlantic) (2x, 1 with Paul Orndorff, 1 with Ray Stevens); NWA Canadian Tag Team (Vancouver) (with Don Leo Jonathan); NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight (5x); NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team (6x, with Dutch Savage); WWWA Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments – First ECW Heavyweight champion; PWI Tag Team of the Year award winner in 1980 (with Ray Stevens); Wrestling Observer Newsletter Tag Team of the Year award winner in 1981 (with Terry Gordy); Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Flying Wrestler award in 1981; Winner of PWI Match of the Year award in 1982 (vs. Bob Backlund); Winner of PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year award in 1983; Ranked #29 of the top 500 wrestlers during the PWI years; Ranked #41 of the top 100 tag teams during the PWI years (with Ray Stevens); WWE Hall of Fame member (inducted 1996)
Jimmy didn’t invent the high-flying style, and he wasn’t the first man to come off the top rope with an offensive move. But Jimmy Snuka could land a top rope body splash better than anybody in his day. The talent and agility he exhibited while standing upon the top rope while throwing up the “I love you†sign was a thing of beauty. He would sail off with the greatest of ease and land with precision.
As the 1980s begin Snuka arrived in the WWF as a savage-like heel managed by Capt. Lou Albano. He was one of the promotion’s top heels and made his mark with a Superfly leap off the top of a steel cage, barely missing Bob Backlund during a WWF Championship match.
The fans soon turned Snuka into a face thanks to his high-flying style. He fully turned face in 1982 and became the company’s number two babyface. His Intercontinental Championship run against Don Muraco in 1983 was what made Snuka a legend. After losing a cage match to Muraco in October of 1983, the Superfly made his most famous leap as he drug Muraco back into the ring and hit a Superfly Splash off the top of the cage onto a prone Muraco. The clip of that famous jump has become of one of World Wrestling Entertainment’s most played videos. It’s often been said that Tommy Dreamer, Bubba Ray Dudley and Mick Foley were all in attendance of Madison Square Garden that night and contributed to their desire to become professional wrestlers themselves.
In 1984, Snuka got involved in a hot feud with Rowdy Roddy Piper after Piper smashed a legit coconut on his head during an installment of Piper’s Pit. Snuka spent 1984 and the first part of ’85 chasing Piper across the country. Unfortunately when Hulk Hogan arrived in the WWF in 1985 Snuka was pushed down the card. Shortly after WrestleMania 1 he left the company.
He spent the next few years working in the AWA, Japan and did a stint in drug/alcohol rehab.
He resurfaced in the WWF at WrestleMania V in 1989. Unfortunately his star had faded considerably by this point and never really rose above the mid-card. He spent 1989, 1990 and 1990 as the second or third step up on the credibility ladder for hot incoming heels in the Federation. Men like Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Warlord, Undertaker and IRS all used Snuka as a stepping-stone on their way up the card. He left the WWF again after Royal Rumble ’92.
Shortly after leaving the WWF he would become one of the founding fathers of Tod Gordon’s fledgling Eastern Championship Wrestling, the promotion that would later be renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling. He was the promotion’s first Heavyweight Champion and worked with other aging stars like Road Warrior Hawk, Terry Funk and Don Muraco.
In 1996 Snuka was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame and drifted into semi-retirement. The night after his induction he appeared as the mystery partner Savio Vega, Flash Funk and Yokozuna during Survivor Series ’96. Throughout the rest of the ‘90s and early millennium Snuka would make sporadic appearances for WCW and the WWF.
In the past twelve months alone Superfly has wrestled on two WWE pay per views. In June 2007 at Vengeance he teamed with Sgt. Slaughter to challenge his son Deuce and his partner Domino for the WWE Tag Championship. At Royal Rumble 2008 he appeared as a surprise entrant where he renewed his decades old rivalry with fellow surprise participant Roddy Piper. The best part of that exchange was just seeing the rest of the match’s participants selling for Jimmy’s offense and CM Punk & John Morrison’s kayfabe-breaking mark out of Snuka & Piper’s brawl.
It’s a testament to Jimmy Snuka’s talent, charisma and popularity that he is still called upon on occasion to compete on professional wrestling’s largest stage. As Jimmy goes into his sixth decade of life he is still able to work in the ring, albeit in a much shorter and protected manner.
While Snuka still steps into the ring himself from time-to-time his legacy will continue on as his adopted son “Deuce Shade†of Deuce ‘n’ Domino fame is making a name for himself on WWE’s SmackDown! brand without using the same old formula of playing up his family history.
His bare feet, ahead-of-its-time aerial ability, chiseled physique and personality made him stand out in the right way. Despite not holding a plethora of world-renown championships he always maintained a certain level of over-ness with the fans. He paved the way for fellow high-flyers to be able to come off the top rope and be innovative, and helped bring in a whole new era of island-born performers.
The entire Top 100 Wrestlers feature can be found here.
