12 Ups & 12 Downs For WWE In 2019
=1. KofiMania
11 years of grafting away in Vince McMahon's often-oppressive organisation was reason enough for the celebration. That it chipped away at wrestling's uncomfortable past with racism and diversity during particularly divisive times only added potency to the scene.
Kofi Kingston's WrestleMania WWE Championship victory reduced 80,000 fans in New Jersey, millions watching around the world and his own best friends to tears because it was impossible to ignore the subtext. Triple H once used a WWE microphone to tell Booker T that "people like him" don't win World Championships, and decades of evidence proving it true made the promo even nastier. The world changes long before World Wrestling Entertainment, but this was the time catch-up.
Plus, and this goes understandably understated due to the social significance - the match was f*cking fantastic. A brilliant babyface dethroned an evil heel on the 'Grandest Stage'. Away from every other aspect of the moment, this was rooted in the simplistic, intangible beauty of professional wrestling.