High Ranks = No Skilled Apparently..

[Master Raiden]

in the community sense most people who are high rank currently that I know are pretty good at the game

That's simply because they've been playing for a long time.

Spent lots of time on PR2 = lots of EXP earned = high rank
Similarly,
Spent lots of time on PR2 = lots of experience and knowledge of PR2 mechanics = high skill

As time goes on, people who play more will naturally become very high ranked and very good at the game. And those who don't play as often will fall behind in both.