10 Best WWE Matches Of 2019

Much has been written of Bryan's performance - because it was among the best of a seminal in-ring career, and because Kofi Kingston's subsequent misfortunes elevate it to something even loftier in retrospect - but this was Kofi's career high-point, and should be respected as such.

Kofi displayed the technical skills his character wasn't ordinarily tasked with showing off early, in order to put over the idea that he was, if not equal, then up to the daunting challenge of meeting Bryan in his domain. The natural way in which he landed on his feet, following Bryan's monkey flip, conveyed what it is about him that fans were drawn to.

Intelligent, cool, effortlessly stylish, this escapism drove an early comeback in which he struck a smooth dropkick and dive combo. That uncanny athleticism also informed the transition into the heat; he leapt from such an astonishing height and with such distance - from top rope to announce table - that it looked like he couldn't not have exploded his face.

Kofi's powers of contortion meshed incredibly with Bryan's ability to fashion a submission counter from a stomp, in a superb spot that serviced the dynamic and story perfectly. He finally did level up to Bryan's strategy, driving the undying hope of the crescendo, by lulling Bryan into an uncharacteristic superkick and applying - with rich poetry - a dragon sleeper.

Rough at times in a feature-not-bug way, this was a joyous and unbearable match - pro wrestling magic, to revisit the earnest vitality of the occasion.