10 Most Underrated Wrestling Matches Of 2019

Nick Gage appearing on Bloodsport is a dream come true for anyone familiar with his catalogue. The infamous ex-con deathmatch wrestler has become increasingly popular over the last few years as one of the few stars that respects the art of kayfabe. Everything about Nick Gage dispels the imagery of artifice; he's one of the rare wrestlers in the 2010s to feel just as dangerous as he alludes to being. Anyone who has seen one of his GCW title defences or any gnarly act of barbarism he's inflicted knows for a fact that he is a terrifying once-in-a-lifetime performer.

Gage isn't exactly known for his shoot style grappling despite his evident skill at it. His opponent, Killer Kross, is known for his ability on the mat and his relentless sadism. He is the type of wrestler that can knock someone out with a single strike, or wrench their arm out of their sockets with submissions. The two men being paired together in an environment as unique as Bloodsport seemed to promise true violence and greatness, and they completely delivered.

This is the shortest match on this list: it's only a few minutes and they go by fast. Gage is wrestling with malicious intensity, lunging at Kross with punches and brutal kicks, whereas Kross is working smarter while maintaining aggression. They're scrambling to knock each other out immediately. The storytelling was masterful in its simplicity, and it was the only encounter on Barnett's third Bloodsport event to truly blur the lines between work and shoot. The sequence of a gnarly kick to the head immediately following a brutal German suplex is euphoric in a way that only wrestling can be. It ends with a choke out, a call out and everyone in the audience screaming for more.