10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2019
1. Jay White Vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax Final
Even the best pro wrestling matches of this incredible era contain sequences that aren't germane to or are superfluous to the story.
It's a byproduct of crowd manipulation, a new breed of psychology: the best wrestlers work to the demands of the audience, and the audience demands pulsating content. This triumph of a match recovered wrestling's old mentality, its old soul, in that it was a perfect babyface versus heel tale. This was perfect pro wrestling storytelling before the bell rang.
The very presence of the Bullet Club at ringside was a tremendous touch. They came across as skeezy, unwelcome types at the party - a real, unsettling disturbance. They were promptly ejected, but Jay White, villain mastermind, had already concocted his real plan by decimating Kota Ibushi's ankle the night before.
The minutiae of his work was genius. White is going to be among the world's best, in five year's time: here, he fast-forwarded to that destination with a performance a man of his age had absolutely no right to pull off. This was expert veteran stuff from the 27 year-old. He maintained invested, emotional interest in his relentless, prolonged attack. His obnoxious, face-slapping, sh*t-eating grin body language and creative, expertly-timed cut-offs were the perfect platform for Ibushi's powerhouse babyface performance.
This understated approach perfectly informed the grand moment: every gritting of the teeth and every desperate clutch of the referee's hand imbued Ibushi with the spirit to overcome, and his transformation into unkillable badass vengeance mode felt as earned as it was vital to a tearful Budokan public.
This, simply, was the perfect modern definition of wrestling's core philosophy.