10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2019

6. Daniel Bryan Vs. Kofi Kingston - WWE WrestleMania 35

Dean Ambrose Jon Moxley
WWE.com

"WWE crowds are dead," is the disturbing, inescapable theme of 2019.

Even the loyal, raucous Chicago crowd failed to live up to their mythical rep at Survivor Series - because, of course, WWE failed them with several trademark, mind-boggling booking decisions.

At WrestleMania 35, Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston hooked the upper bowl into the maw of unadulterated emotion at the glorious coda of a story that WWE can claim, rightfully, as an emphatic success.

Much like a mark cannot work out the magician's trick, there was an inscrutable brilliance to Daniel Bryan's performance on the night. He projected himself as the best and most formidable pro wrestler on the planet in the MetLife. He controlled the pace without once veering into dreaded, methodical territory. He controlled Kofi but didn't toy with him. The balance of his heat spot was exquisite, in that he engineered a tone that fell just below hopeless and constructed a story, through multiple cut-off spots, that mirrored the hope and fade of Kofi's arduous journey to this moment. In one exceptional example, he manoeuvred Kofi's double foot stomp into a Boston crab.

And so, when Kofi fired up, the crowd was right there with him. Bryan distilled 11 years of struggle into 23 minutes and 44 seconds of agonising and ultimately euphoric, feel-good drama.

Contributor
Contributor

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!