10 Best Wrestlers Of 2019

2. Kazuchika Okada

Will Ospreay
NJPW

2019 was a slightly underwhelming year, by Kazuchika Okada's stratospheric standards. By any other performer's standards, it was outstanding.

He is known for his seminal, lengthy main event epics, at which he continues to transcend, but at Wrestle Kingdom, he put over Jay White in 14 minutes and 18 seconds of captivating, counter-driven drama. As with so much else in New Japan, the match benefitted from an audacious, mathematical booking formula. The shocking length of this match put White over as everything they used to have to tell us he was, and the rematch, at G1 Supercard, saw White ascend to the realm of that main event epic in defeat.

New Japan toyed with the booking formula, to less than successful effect, by booking a prolonged, overdone programme between Okada and SANADA - and still, Okada elevated SANADA by evoking an emotion from him that might not actually exist in an unbearably dramatic G1 thriller worked within outrageous, millisecond precision of the time limit.

Okada is so great that he too transcends the churn; on a loaded weekend, back in August, Okada defeated Minoru Suzuki in a minimalist masterpiece fought inside a furnace, in addition to casually knocking out two more ***** G1 efforts in a tournament he wasn't really credited enough for elevating as the greatest ever in wrestling.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!