THE TOP 10 NETWORK MATCHES OF 2019

THE TOP 10 NETWORK MATCHES OF 2019

Another year, another list of my Top 10 WWE Network Matches of 2019...


HONORABLE MENTION:
Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (Hell in a Cell 2019)
An historically terrible main event (that I actually thought was pretty good until the last 5 minutes) is what any fans who actually remember this show are going to remember...but Banks and Lynch's opening contest was terrific and Lynch's best title defense all year.

Finn Balor vs. Brock Lesnar (Royal Rumble 2019)
This one didn't match the heights of Lesnar/Styles and Lesnar/Bryan (the Beast's last two must-see matches), but it was still a ton of fun, an all killer-no filler title bout that accomplished everything it needed to in under 10 minutes. 

Io Shirai vs. Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair (NXT Takeover: New York)
An absolutely awesome match that showed how deep the WWE's women's division is. Well worth your time.


And onto the top 10...

10. Matt Riddle vs. Velveteen Dream 

(NXT Takeover: New York)

A strong showcase for two young, hungry, ultra-charismatic workers that was overshadowed or, at the very least, muted by being on a card loaded with crowd-pleasing matches (including the main event, which I was colder on than most). 

9. Women's War Games Match 

(NXT Takeover: War Games)

Though I had issues with the conclusion, which saw two babyfaces prevail in what had become a No DQ, handicap cage match (not to mention the way the gravity of the match was completely ignored at the next night's Survivor Series), this was still the best War Games match the WWE has produced. While the Men's Version contained more dangerous spots, this match did a much better job developing future storylines and putting the spotlight on individual talents.

8. WALTER vs. Pete Dunne 
(NXT Takeover: New York)

For many (myself included), this was the perfect introduction to the greatness that is WALTER, but credit should also go to Pete Dunne, one of the WWE's top prospects. According to rumor, WALTER is unlikely to ever get the prolonged mega-push on the main roster that he deserves (he has gone on record stating he has no desire to move to the US), so catching him on Takeover specials is the best chance to see him in front of a large, rabid crowd for now. The fact that WALTER won't be making weekly appearances on Monday or Friday nights is a double-edged sword. On one hand, he's fascinating to watch and is exactly the type of unique talent the company needs on their programming. On the other hand, by not appearing regularly, his matches are even most "must see." While not a true "debut match," this was likely the biggest live audience (watching at home and in the arena) WALTER has ever performed in front of and he lived up to the hype.

7. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey 
(WrestleMania XXXV)

Historical significance aside, the WrestleMania XXXV main event was the WWE's best "spectacle" match of the year. Thrilling from beginning to end, packed with physical exchanges, and capped off by a finish that left the door open for Ronda Rousey's eventual return without diminishing Becky Lynch's moment too much. Some audible spot-calling and an imperfect table spot (in a match that may not have even needed it) kept this from being as good as it might've been, but it was still in the upper tier of all-time WrestleMania main events.

6. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan 
(Royal Rumble 2019)

A month after having my No. 2 WWE Network Match of the Year at TLC 2018, Styles and Bryan put on an excellent sequel - though, like most sequels, it didn't quite live up to the original. Part of the blame could be placed on the match's placement (directly after Becky Lynch's unforgettable, crowd-pleasing Rumble victory), but the finish was also a bit flat as Erick Rowan made his return to (predictably) help Bryan retain his championship. 

5. The Kabuki Warriors vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch 
(TLC 2019)

A somewhat controversial pick, The Kabuki Warriors vs. Flair and Lynch from this month's TLC show was undeniably sloppy and muddled. It also featured some questionable moments in which performers seemed to show little regard for their fellow combatants. It was stomach-churning at times. It was hard to watch. Kairi Sane was seriously concussed and the match continued. But in an era where so many matches feel overly choreographed and scripted to minimize gore while still featuring a half-dozen dives and snap suplexes that could cause all sorts of injury, the four women cut loose, went extreme, and put on a match was beautifully ugly. It eschewed safety and reminded me of the wild tags that Cactus Jack and the Nasty Boys put on in the mid-90s and did so proudly, the women seemingly eager to push the envelope and wrestle a match as brutal as any that came before it. It wasn't pretty and, like Mick Foley's fall from the Cell in 98' or all the craziness the Hardys, Dudleys, Edge and Christian put eachother through, it may have even been downright stupid to "perform" a match like this - but it also felt like a match with real consequences, real struggle, and real danger. 

4. Men's Elimination Chamber Match 
(Elimination Chamber 2019)

This match offered an embarrassment of riches in terms of talent interactions as it kicked off with Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe squaring off before peak-popularity Kofi Kingston joined in, followed by AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, and Randy Orton. With this mix of Superstars and all their shared histories, this Elimination Chamber made up for its lack of brutality with clever elimination sequences and a story that put a (well-deserved) spotlight on Kofi. 

3. Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus 
(SummerSlam 2019)

The WWE's talent pool is so deep that they shouldn't really need guys like The Undertaker, Goldberg, Triple H, and Batista around to pad their supercards. Still, they all showed up for at least one payday in 2019. The best return match of the year, though, was this one - probably because Trish Stratus had the most to prove. Even in her prime, Stratus was never considered a great worker and the women's division of the 2000s was given minimal opportunities to showcase their talent, treated as inconsequential, and, most shamefully, built almost entirely around sexist storylines. Here, though, Stratus got to silence her critics and symbolically stand up for her Divas Era peers.

And, in terms of opponents, there was no better choice than Charlotte Flair, the company's most consistently great and heat-getting female performer. The start of the match came off a bit too rehearsed for my liking, but this bout swiftly became one of the best matches of the year once Flair took over and went full heel mode, not only delivering her best performance of the year but also helping give Stratus the best match of her career.

2. Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler 
(NXT Takeover: Phoenix)

At NXT Takeover: Phoenix, Bianca Belair made a case for being the most underrated worker in the company, delivering a bad-ass babyface performance that highlighted her ridiculous strength, natural charisma, and toughness. Baszler, meanwhile, proved that she could deliver the goods even against talent as relatively inexperienced herself after having the benefit of being paired with battle-tested vets like Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, Nikki Cross, and Candice LeRae in 2018. A highly physical, highly emotional clash that felt more epic and meaningful than anything the men of NXT did in matches with twice the running time.

1. Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan 
(WrestleMania XXXV)

An easy pick for my Match of the Year. Kofi Kingston finally gets his moment and Daniel Bryan once again proves why he is a Top 10 all-time performer on the biggest show of the year. There were some imperfect sequences, but as I wrote in my original review, my favorite matches don't tend to be overly choreographed gymnastic routines - and this one wasn't. More than any singular spot or crazy stunt, this match worked because the sequences and escalation of moves and counters felt organic, like each guy came into the match with a strategy and the struggle was about which one was going to be able to execute their gameplan. It was an athletic contest with high stakes and the crowd was simply more invested in the outcome than in any other match the WWE presented in 2019. Instead of chanting "This Is Awesome," the crowd was focused solely on seeing a worthy hero defeat a despicable villain - a rarity for modern wrestling.