For many young men in Ireland, the widespread acceptance of trampolines in Irish gardens coincided magnificently with the Attitude Era of WWF, which was being pumped into our television screens every single weekend.
We loved it. Staying up late for Monday Night Raw or a Pay-Per-View event, watching Smackdown with your breakfast cereal on a Saturday, it was very easy to get really, really into it. The 'DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME' videos only made you want to try that stuff at home even more.
After getting worked up watching the likes of The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, and of course, The Hardy Boyz, all that energy was just begging to be released, so if you weren't lucky enough to have a trampoline in the garden, perhaps because your Mammy was certain you'd end up with spinal damage, you became friendlier with the kid from school that did.
Or if you had no mates, you could always just beat this shite out of one of these lads:
Even the safety nets made it feel like a cage-match, the trampoline became a stage, and finishing moves were rehearsed in turns for hours on end.
While you'd always try a suplex or a frog-splash, there were certain finishers that were do damn cool you simply had to risk the fact that in a matter of seconds you could be bawling your eyes out while your mate sprints off to find an adult.
These were those moves:
#5 - The People's Elbow
Injury Risk: 1/5
Style Points: 4/5
Level Of Fun: 2/5
An iconic move, no doubt about it, but it didn't really translate well to the trampoline. Mainly because there were no ropes to bounce off and you had to awkwardly halt your momentum when running across, it was also kind of crap for the other guy who just lay there motionless, but what did make it fun was the flagrant overacting while delivering the shot.
#4 - The Chokeslam
Injury Risk: 2/5
Style Points: 4/5
Level Of Fun: 3/5
Something every younger brother will know all about, the chokeslam was always a go-to trampoline move as you could catch some serious air on the way up.
Minimal risk of injury too, unless someone was over-eager in grasping their opponent's neck. Again, younger brothers know.
#3 - The Fame-Asser
Injury Risk: 3/5
Style Points: 4/5
Level Of Fun: 4/5
Perhaps a surprise inclusion on this list, but as DX were riding a wave of popularity, Bad Bass Billy Gun's signature move was great craic to try out.
The risk of injury rises here because you're essentially landing your arse on the back of someone else's head.
#2 - The Stone Cold Stunner
Injury Risk: 4/5
Style Points: 4/5
Level Of Fun: 5/5
Best delivered with two middle fingers, firmly out of the line of sight of any parents, 'the Stunner' was unlucky to miss out on top spot as it was serious fun for both parties.
The guy delivering the stunner got to deliver a stunner and bounce back to his feet, while the victim could fly around (or even off) the trampoline while grossly overacting live Vince McMahon. Bonus points if you opted for 'the twitch' once you stopped moving.
#1 - The Swanton Bomb
Injury Risk: 5/5
Style Points: 5/5
Level Of Fun: 5/5
The piece de resistance. Jeff Hardy's trademark finisher in volved doing a straight-body front-flip while looking with your head up for as long as possible, with the goal to be as close to landing on the top of your head as possible without breaking your back.
This was the move every Irish Mammy feared and was undoubtedly the cause of most trampoline-related injuries due to it's really high risk.
I myself can recall two moments where I was sure I had broken my neck after forgetting to tuck my head in, but it was grand. Pulling it off correctly was the coolest thing you could do, couple that with the danger and you've got the number one trampoline move of every wrestling fan's childhood.
And if you didn't do The Hardy Boyz finger thing before the attempt, you shouldn't have even bothered.
Honorable mention should, of course, go to 'The 3D', signature move of The Dudley Boyz, but while this move was one of the most fun, where all three people involved really enjoyed their role, the fact that it needed an extra person that wasn't always available means we'll leave it off the top five. The Pedigree narrowly missed out, too.
