10 Best WWE Matches Of 2019
Baron Corbin features three times!
Is NXT the main roster?
That is the message WWE is intent - desperate - to send to a disenfranchised, fading base lured by the buzz surrounding All Elite Wrestling. This was the very on-the-nose and very successful theme of Survivor Series weekend; NXT proved itself the superior brand in storylines. In storylines, NXT defeated RAW and SmackDown, but the subtext was of far greater importance: NXT is superior to AEW.
But, while Tommaso Ciampa welcomed AJ Styles to the "main roster" a few weeks back, in a cheeky nod to the irony that has engulfed the dreaded call-up, Triple H has marketed NXT on USA as the existing "No BS" alternative to the main roster, while also, for years, quite reasonably maintaining that it is a brand in its own right. The marketing is selective and conditional on what WWE wishes to achieve at any given point, which doesn't help to clarify what "kind" of show NXT is. It's the main roster this week, but the talent won't be paid main roster money this year.
Things may become clearer next year, but for now, if only to give RAW and SmackDown half a chance, consider this a celebratory goodbye to an old era.
Also, since TLC is under two weeks away and WWE haven't announced a single match yet, it's probably safe to publish this now...
10. Mens 5-On-5-On5 Elimination Match - Survivor Series
The most 2019 WWE match to ever 2019 WWE, this time capsule could be sent as far into orbit as Roman Reigns was throughout Keith Lee's electric, bomb-lobbing final showdown.
WALTER has built a veritable mythology on the European circuit through how impossible he is to defeat. The Ultimecia of an entire continent was jobbed out within mere minutes, and it was almost a disgrace, but even that sequence was amazing: Drew McIntyre annihilated his chest like he was Daniel Puder. A wildly confusing series of intra-match Triple Threats followed, mirroring that roster's hopeless, pinball trajectory, but again, holy sh*t: the constant blur of excitement and moves and eliminations created a sense of relentless urgency, and it was somehow paced with lashings of intelligence. Matt Riddle and Shorty G within seconds became the preeminent dream match this company has to offer, and think of the ground that covers.
King Corbin is suddenly great when he shares the ring with more than one opponent, and his sh*t-eating grin scavenger job worked beautifully here, since he eliminated - by impeccable, heat-drawing design - so many beloved hardcore favourites.
A logistical nightmare and a booking disgrace that yielded at least two dream match sprints, this was the biggest big dumb fun match in an age - think the Uncensored '96 Doomsday Cage match, only earnestly great.