10 Best WWE Network Shows Of 2019 (So Far)
1. WWE's Most Infamous Lost Match
A joyous celebration for hardcore fans (many of which make up the spine of the Network subscriber base), the discovery of a Bret Hart/Tom Magee match served as both a bucket list item for the ages and an overdue love letter to the ‘Excellence Of Execution’.
Supported by a brief and beautiful documentary that explained the history and mythology of the match to the uninitiated, the presentation worked overtime to establish the impending television match as a special piece of work beyond the norm. It was successful in its stated aim, not least when the rewarding battle was predictably quite the peach.
A cute contravention of kayfabe, the entire assemblage exists to present the artform as exactly that, rather than a sporting conquest. To frame it without entirely murdering the magic, the special instead lingers on Hart's process, Magee's convivial compliance, and industry experts talking up the 'Hitman's sweet science before viewers see it for themselves.
An immersive and immensely satisfying experience end-to-end, there was a collective sense of satisfaction virtually alien to every other WWE product in 2019 - it felt as though the medium had been invented for this exact, exquisite slice of content.