10 Best WWE Matches Of 2019

5. Rey Mysterio Vs. Andrade - SmackDown January 15

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WWE.com

Uncut pro wrestling heroin injected into veins more used to three-star TV churn morphine, this was an unexpected rush of awesomeness.

Andrade looked apprehensive ahead of the opening lock-up, and with good reason: Rey Mysterio won the first exchange with his ageless agility and time-honed experience. From the jump, this told a story through the language and outrageous physical feats of the human body. The slow-burn, made interesting through dark-arts crowd control, informed the subsequent explosion: Mysterio countered Andrade's trickery with experience, putting over the layered dynamic, and countered his strength advantage, with thrilling ingenuity, by using a traditional arm-drag transition to floor Andrade with a headscissors. A mesmerising clash of strikes versus counter experience, strength versus deception, Andrade got the heat - and maintained the theme - by holding Rey onto his shoulders and smashing him with a powerbomb to the floor.

With the momentum established, Andrade subverted that theme - and convinced the crowd of Rey's peril - by catching him in midair and smashing his back into the turnbuckle with an arm drag. Rey needed to take a risk to overcome because the build warranted - demanded - a high spot, which manifested as an awesome-looking hurricanrana to the floor.

Ending in a pulsating, head-dropping crescendo - Andrade's headscissors pin reversal looked phenomenal - the appetite for a Hair Vs. Mask match is still ravenous, 11 month on.

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!