BEST MATCHES OF 2019: THE TOP-10

10) David Starr vs. Timothy Thatcher - wXw 01/19

Starr has a taped up shoulder, but Thatcher doesn't go for it right away. They do some lovely work on the mat; it's all very tight & has a great sense of realism to it, as both Starr & Thatcher are among the best in the world. Loved Starr trying to actively fight out of Thatcher's single leg boston crab attempt, and Thatcher answering to that by kicking him back & then applying the hold. It's the little things folks. Thatcher eventually gets tired of this back & forth shit, and goes after the taped up shoulder - Starr sold his desperation there brilliantly, as when Thatcher grabbed a hold of that arm for the first time, he just started rapid fire punching him in full on panic-mode. He tries to go for his signature lariat, but Thatcher headbutts the arm, and then it's a full on arm torture-show. Dirty Tim's armwork is really great, super compelling to watch with brutal stomps, uppercuts & holds. Starr excels in the FIP role w/ his terrific all around selling. His comeback attempt with those chops was awesome; Thatcher just absolves them, because Starr had no power behind them w/ his shitty arm. It has probably happened in some other matches too, but I first saw it done in Danielson vs. Shiozaki, and it's one of those spots that has stuck with me ever since I first saw it there, so it's safe to say I popped big time for it here. Another great Starr comeback attempt moment was when he once again tried to go for that signature lariat of his, but he did it with the bad arm, so there wasn't much impact to it. Thatcher just absolves it like he did the chops, and tries to put him in a chickenwing right away. Oh & yet another awesome comeback moment by Starr was when he countered Thatcher's suplex/bodydrop attempt into a crossbody, he got Thatcher stunned for a bit, but he can't capitalize, because of how much hurt has been put into the arm. That cartwheel spot was absolutely amazing too with that arm giving up & Thatcher going to it immediately like a shark. And the finish was real lovely & pretty creative; great scramble & struggle with the counters, and Starr gets the flash roll-up victory. Fantastic ending to a truly fantastic match. Really tight psychology & amazing performances by both. All in under 10 minutes too!

9) Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shinjiro Otani - ZERO1 06/22

The big story of the match begins almost immediately with Otani going for a leg submission - there's this awesome bit in the beginning with him trying to fully lock in his sub, but Daisuke keeps on fighting, just trying to boot Otani away, but Otani ain't giving up his hold very easily, as he himself answers to Daisuke's frantic fighting w/ a couple of slaps to the stomach. Fantastic, simple struggle that really put over Otani's leg submissions as something to be scared of. Otani sure continues to go for those leg holds, and everytime he gets one in, Daisuke's selling is just amazing. His visceral roars & facial expressions are SUPERB. I thought that overall his selling was pretty outstanding all the way through. Like I mentioned, he sold the submissions fantastically, and everytime he got the control, he moved way slower than usual. A perfect example of that would be the moment where he is delivering some stomps to Otani in the corner. He is selling the fatigue & the damage Otani had done to his leg brilliantly. More great moments from a match that was full of them was Otani's own comeback; he worked that crowd magic to perfection by milking them to the maximum, asking for their energy before washing Daisuke's face in. Now going back to the selling - I've read that some people thought that Daisuke's selling of the leg wasn't good, but really the only few moments that somewhat annoyed me were the bridging pin & then the top rope splash, but those didn't annoy me enough for this match to be anything other than absolute top class in my eyes.

8) Bobby Gunns vs. Timothy Thatcher - wXw 10/05

The culmination of Thatcher's whole wXw journey. Amazing performances by both & a true feel good moment.

7) Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes - AEW 05/25

Dustin having a big singles match was easily my most awaited thing on the whole show, and he sure worked his magic here, to say the least. You just can't fake this kind of magic & emotion - everything felt organic & real. I already got a bit emotional when the brothers were staring each other down & the crowd was chanting their fathers name very loudly, but in the end, with the "I need my older brother" line, I MIGHT'VE shed a tear or two. Those bastards. Was certainly worth the wait to see them FINALLY get the big singles match between 'em - I remember back in like 2011 posting on other wrestling boards about wanting to see the match at Mania, and that continued for years, every Mania-season. Now it finally happened & it sure was something special. Everything from the atmosphere, to Dustin's all-time great babyface work, to Cody being an asshole, to the bladejob - which is one of the most disgustingly effective & awesome ones I've EVER seen, to the CODE RED, to the post-match. Pure magic. Pure damn magic. Rhodes Forever!

6) Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa - ROH 08/09

I already loved their Street Fight, but this was on another level. Amazing violence from start to finish with a natural chaotic & heated feel to it. Mark Briscoe is still a crazy bastard in 2019, Tama Tonga had a few superb spots w/ his sneaky attacks (that dropkick to Mark which sent him over the barricade + that cutter as Mark was climbing the ladder) & Jay mothafuggen' Briscoe. I recommended this match to a friend right after watching it, and his response was "are GOD matches allowed to be good" -- well, when you have Jay rocking the crimson mask like it's 2004 vs. Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage, then I'd say yeah, it's allowed.

5) Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 03/23

This was just absolutely amazing from start to finish. I already loved the opening lock-up, and then the match just quickly explodes. Okada being a dick is always great, and it's especially great when he does it against his grumpy stablemate in the STONE PITBULL himself. Ishii answering to that by doing those exact same playful little kicks to Okada's head was superb & then the whole punishment section of him chopping the shit out of Okada was just WONDERFUL. Okada getting things back to his side w/ that DDT was great, and my goodness Ishii sold that thing like a boss. That of course did big damage to Ishii's neck, and that immediately becomes a big target for Okada's attacks; LOOOVED the whole sequence of Ishii waking up, Okada reacting to that immediately, Ishii showing that his neck is hurting & Okada then caving his forearm into that thing. I really could just make a long-ass list of my favorite moments in the match, but let's just put it that it was full of BADASSERY all the way through.

4) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA - NJPW 07/14

"The Takeover, the breaks over"... this was EXACTLY what I wanted it to be. KENTA as the brutal asshole invader taking on the home-promotion legend ace is such a compelling dynamic, and in many ways, it's puro at its purest & best. The staredown during the entrances is intense, and then as the bell rings, things get more intense after every moment. The stiff SLAP from KENTA during the clean break spot, Tana giving a receipt, Tana's aggressive & proud air guitar playing stopped by KENTA's lil kick to the back of his head.. My GOODNESS. Things are escalating at an incredible rate. Then as they take their fight to the outside, KENTA cements control by absolutely brutalizing Tana with kicks & a DDT on the floor. There's this great shot of KENTA's face in there where he has a complete mean-bastard-killer look. The show is his after that outside destruction - he continues beating the shit out of Tanahashi in an absolutely brutal fashion, and it's amazing. Him doing the classic kneepad pull-down spot to him was something that was expected, but oh man, the whole vibe & the setting of him vs. NJPW's golden boy added so much to that spot. Also him corner dropkicking the soul out of Tana's body with Shibata smiling is something I won't forget anytime soon. Other very memorable sequence was the slap one where Tana delivers two dramatic slaps in classic Tana fashion, but KENTA counters the third one with one of his own, followed by his vintage spinning lariat. And the whole PK sequence. Chills when he went for that, and then we he actually hit it - holy shit. This was so great. Like I said; exactly what I wanted it to be. Both guys delivered big with Tana being the fantastic ace babyface that he is with his emotional selling & dramatic comebacks, and that boy KENTA? He sure showed that he indeed is FUCKING KENTA! One of the best matches of the year, hands down.

3) Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW 08/12

I actually watched this two times in a row the day it happened, just because of how in awe I was of the whole thing after the 1st viewing. There's so much that I loved about it, or actually, I could just say that I loved EVERYTHING about it, tbh. Even the entrances are amazing with White & the entire Bullet Club being together, and then Ibushi walking down all alone to the ring to see that corner of pure evil. White has been a tremendous piece of shit all tournament long, and it all showed again here w/ a fantastic performance -- his trashtalk was awesome & I can't praise his facial expressions enough. The moment where he triggers Ibushi into that classic Ibushi murder-mode w/ that slap was so epic, and a major part in why was the tremendous character work by White with those facial expressions. The Gedo run-in is done masterfully too, with it adding lots of more heat to the already super-heated battle, and then his whole tournament long shtick paying off with Ibushi kicking his head off & Rocky carrying him out of the ring. AMAZING STUFF. Really felt like a proper climax to the tournament that G1 29 had been. Ahh, so good! There's so much more I could say about it, but let's just sum this up by saying it's the NJPW MOTY & a bonafide G1 (& NJPW) classic.

2) Cain Justice vs. Trevor Lee - CWF Mid-Atlantic 02/16

Trevor's last dance as the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion, and it's over an hour of everything that I had come to expect from his title matches. Which, to put shortly, is pure brilliance. Filled with extra emotion too with it being Trevor's last match there.

1) Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston - WWE 04/07

What can I even say? This was a masterful display of professional wrestling by the greatest who has ever done it. I don't want to say it was a carryjob, as Kofi definitely brought the goods & his whole story + connection with the fans added a TON, but this really was Daniel Bryan's masterpiece through & through. Everything from his facial expressions, selling, perfect timing of the cutoffs, to his vicious attack on the mid-section -- EVERYTHING he did was just about perfect. One of the greatest single match performances ever anywhere by anyone & one of the greatest matches I've had the pleasure of watching.