Show of the Year 2019

Show of the Year 2019

10) NXT TakeOver: New York (4/5/2019)

Wrestlemania weekend’s TakeOver this year was as fantastic as any other one. It’s New York. The crowd and atmosphere were hot. There was nothing on the show below 3.5 stars. The run time on these TakeOvers always help these shows because they go by quick. The main event between Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano, while it was a bit overindulgent, still was pretty great as I gave it 4.25 stars. Walter vs Pete Dunne was the match of the night. I went 4.5 stars on it. War Raiders vs Ricochet and Aleister Black was also 4.25 stars. The other two matches I went 3.75 stars on both so the worst of this show was still pretty good.

Final Rating - 8.5/10

9) NJPW G1 Climax 29 Night 1 (7/6/2016) 

I really don’t have any regrets in life besides not going to see this show live. Had I done that it’s likely this would have been number one on this list. Nevertheless it still made this list because it was still a great show. The undercard was solid and the Evil vs Bad Luck Fale was the worst match at 2 stars. The rest of the G1 block matches were all great. Lance Archer and Will Ospreay opened up the tournament with a great big guy - little guy match that I rated 4.25. SANADA vs Zack Sabre Jr and KENTA vs Kota Ibushi were both great 4 star G1 style matches with great action and solid storytelling. The main event was fantastic. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada was the best match NJPW could do for the American audience, and it delivered. This match was 4.5 stars for me. It’s not their best but for that audience it was. The atmosphere, even with the disappointing attendance, was on another level. Even though they basically just played their greatest hits, it’s still Tanahashi and Okada greatest hits. 

Final Rating - 8.5/10

8) AEW Double or Nothing (5/25/2019)

The first show for All Elite Wrestling was a raging success. It did great ppv buys, sold out the building and was critically praised. The preshow felt like one of the better preshows in any promotion. The main card delivered and there wasn’t one bad match at all. SoCal Uncensored versus Strong Hearts was a great opener that I gave 4 stars to. It’s what I wanted and hoped that AEW would do with those talented individuals in Strong Hearts. Jericho and Omega closed the show with a 4 star match as well. It was brutal in a good way. The Lucha Brothers vs The Young Bucks was your by-the-numbers Lucha Brothers vs Young Bucks match but it was still great. I gave it 4.25 stars. Cody vs Dustin Rhodes was also great and very emotional. I also gave it 4.25 stars. The two matches I just mentioned being back to back and the same rating makes my point that all matches are different even if they have the same rating. The tag match was more move-oriented and focused on the technical aspect of the match while the brother vs brother match was more story based. Each match could have been better if they had what the other match had. The atmosphere of this show was fantastic and it felt almost Wrestlemania-esque with all of the events happening around it.

Final Rating - 8.5/10

7) GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport (4/4/2019)

Bloodsport was a great kickoff to a great Wrestlemania weekend last year. The environment for this show is always great with the small building, the bloodthirsty fans and the unique format. Minoru Suzuki vs Josh Barnett was amazing. Two guys just beating the shit out of each other while no one wanted to stop. Everything worked about this match whether it was the referee bump or the 5 more minutes spot. I went 4.5 stars with this one. Killer Kross vs Davey Boy Smith Jr was a great big guy fight that I gave 4 stars to. Andy Williams vs Chris Dickinson was in the same boat as the aforementioned big guy fight. 4 stars from me as well. The Masashi Takeda vs Jonathan Gresham match was a technical wonder. Even though that style is not my favorite they made it work, especially with Takeda’s charisma. I gave that match 4.25 stars. Everything else on the show was pretty good with the only negative being the Frank Mir vs Dan Severn match but even that was enjoyable to a degree because of the novelty of seeing Frank Mir in a pro wrestling setting and Dan Severn still being awesome.

Final Rating - 8.5/10

6) DDT Ultimate Party 2019 (113/2019) 

DDT is great at doing big shows. They did a great job building this as such and delivered big. This had six matches at 4 stars or higher. Sanshiro Takagi vs Isami Kodaka was a great plastic cases match. Fuminori Abe vs Keisuke Ishii highlighted both of these guys strengths and made me seek them out more. Masahiro Takanashi vs Ryuichi Sekine had a lot of intrigue because of the BASARA implications. All those matches were 4 stars. Yuka Sakazaki vs Shoko Nakajima was TJP’s best match of the year. It played to their history and put on a fantastic match. I had it at 4.25 stars. Antonio Honda and Miyu Yamashita vs Riho and Kenny Omega was fun at first and then great in the second half. I also gave it 4.25 stars. The main event was incredible and built to a great finish. HARASHIMA was the right guy to go with that night. The fans wanted it and both wrestlers built around that. The hype for this show was high, most likely due to Kenny Omega’s involvement. I had friends who only watch WWE, AEW and occasionally New Japan ask me about this show. Everything else that wasn’t 4 stars was also pretty good. The worst match on this card was average (2.5 stars). 

Final Rating - 9/10

5) NJPW G1 Climax 29 Night 17 (8/10/2019)

Just like all the shows towards the end of the G1 Climax, this one was filled with high stakes and drama. We had a solid undercard and SANADA managed to pull out a good match out of Bad Luck Fale which was the key to getting a great show up to the level of the 5th best show of the year. Lance Archer vs EVIL was a great big man match mixed with some cool spots. I gave that match 4 stars. Zack Sabre Jr vs KENTA was my favorite KENTA match post WWE, probably post Pro Wrestling NOAH. Will Ospreay vs Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi vs Kazuchika Okada were both great match of the year contenders that I had at 4.75 stars each. 

Final Rating - 9/10

4) Dragon Gate Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2019 (7/21/2019)

The atmosphere for this show was incredible. It reminded me of Wrestle Kingdom 9 because it had a lot of buzz outside the hardcore fanbase. The show definitely delivered to that level too. The undercard was very good, including a great 4.25 star match between Kzy and Shun Skywalker that was all action from start to finish. Flamita vs Susumu Yokosuka was also a great match that I gave 4 stars to. The Ultimo Dragon stuff was well done. I did not watch Toryumon or any DG in the mid-2000s so my emotional investment in this wasn’t as high as long-time fans but the emotions from the wrestlers told you all you needed to know if you were completely unaware of the history. I went 4 stars on that 6 man tag. The Twin Gate match was a fast-paced traditional DG style match. That match was 4.5 stars for me. Ben-K vs PAC was a great match that ended a great title reign. 

Final Rating - 9/10

3) NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 26 Finals (6/5/2019)

This show was fantastic. Out of the eight matches on the card only one of them was below 3 stars. There were no bad matches. The top three matches on the card delivered huge. Jay White vs Hiroshi Tanahashi was the best match of this series. They worked Tanahashi’s broken body into the whole match and White’s reversals were great. I gave the match 4.25 stars. We also saw the NJPW debut of Jon Moxley. This was built up nicely throughout the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. It paid off here with a brutal match that I gave 4.5 stars to. The tournament final was a perfect match. Best of the Super Juniors revolved around Will Ospreay and Shingo Takagi. Each man dominated their blocks and the dynamic was set in those block matches. I went 5 stars with this match and this match finished at number 2 in my match of the year list.

Final Rating - 9/10

2) DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2019 (7/15/2019)

Like I mentioned before, DDT is just as good as NJPW at doing big shows. This was an amazing show with a great atmosphere. There were two really bad matches on the show and it’s why I put it at number 2 and not 1. Everything else was good to MOTY level. Akito vs ASUKA was a unique match that could have been very corny buy was pulled off to perfection I gave that match 4.25 stars. Daisuke Sasaki and Soma Takao vs Yasu Urano and HARASHIMA was one of the better tag team matches of the year. I also gave it 4.25 stars. The main event between Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo was a 5 star classic and a unique match due to its different dynamic between face and heel. The roles were reversed but they did it in a way where it still made sense within the story they were telling. The show, despite being like 6 hours long, flew by and was very enjoyable.

Final Rating - 9/10

1) NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 (1/4/2019)

Coming into this show there was a lot of hype due to the quality of the card and it definitely delivered. The show only had one bad match and it was also the only match that was under 3 stars. Everything else had a floor of 3 stars. There was a lot of intrigue as well due this being the Elite’s last NJPW show. The proper show kicked off with a 4.5 star match between Kota Ibushi and Will Ospreay that was fast-paced and viscous and set the whole pace for the entire show. Zack Sabre Jr vs Tomohiro Ishii was a great match that juxtaposed both of the wrestler’s styles and weaved it into the story seamlessly. I gave that 4 stars. Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada was a fantastic match with an abrupt and shocking finish. It was the best match between these two and I went 4.5 stars. Tetsuya Naito vs Chris Jericho was an amazing match and still proved that Jericho can still perform at a high level with the right opponent. I went 4.75 with that. The main event between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega was a 5 star classic that felt very old school NJPW. There was a lot of hatred in this match and that was obvious with the moves. 

Final Rating - 9/10