Top 10 Moments Of 2019
What made you remember why you love pro wrestling?
While watching Raw a couple weeks ago, my brother and I were swept in a melancholy, yawning and sighing more often than ever before. There was little suspense and zero excitement as WWE spent the show maintaining the status quo. We were left wondering why we even checked it out in the first place.
But then I looked back on the year, remembering all the action and drama that produced goosebumps. Don’t let cuck angles bring you down – there were ten incredible moments in 2019 that fueled our pro wrestling addiction.
10. Salina Goes Down
Salina de la Renta has been the centerpiece of MLW since its debut on beIN Sports. What makes the malevolent impresario so powerful is that she rarely takes an L. As a matter of fact, she had never actually been struck until MLW’s first pay-per-view. After Josef Samael threw a fire ball in the referee’s face, preventing his Contra brethren from losing the MLW World Heavyweight Title, Salina entered the ring and got in Samael’s face. She slapped the dangerous advocate, who sidestepped a charging LA Park. Salina got speared through a table and the crowd gasped!
9. Chris Jericho Jumps Ship
When The Young Bucks and Cody declined to sign a new contract with Ring of Honor, there were rumblings that The Elite would launch their own promotion. The official announcement came at midnight on New Year’s Day 2019 as part of the “Being The Elite” YouTube series. Funded by Shahid and Tony Khan, a billionaire family that owns the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C., it seemed that All Elite Wrestling had the leadership and financial backing to reach heights that other promotions such as Impact and ROH failed to in the past. On January 8, 2019, a press conference was held in Jacksonville, FL, in which other members of the roster were revealed, including SoCal Uncensored, Pac, Joey Janela, MJF and Britt Baker. Saving the best for last, Chris Jericho appeared as the biggest name signed, immediately lending credibility to the new venture. Forever vowing to never work for another promoter in the United States, Jericho’s arrival was the first shot fired against Vince McMahon and WWE.
8. Brotherly Love
After an epic bloodbath with Dustin Rhodes, Cody grabbed the mic before his brother could announce his retirement, as expected. Having released all the frustration and animosity deep within them, Cody made an emotional plea for his brother to join his side in one more match. It was a sweet, sentimental moment that you rarely see in pro wrestling.
7. Batista Returns
Every party has a pooper and this one just happened to be Drax the Destroyer. A huge celebration was planned for Ric Flair’s 70th birthday party, featuring several of his old friends and rivals. Before the Nature Boy could join the festivities, Batista seemingly attacked him in his dressing room and dragged him out just to get Triple H’s attention. It was the shocking cliffhanger ending that Raw had been missing for years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li7zXIArApw
6. MJF Betrays Cody
We all knew it was coming – we just didn’t know when. With blooding dripping down Cody’s face as he was trapped in the Walls of Jericho, his best friend MJF seemingly struggled over what to do. Throwing in the towel would prevent Cody from ever challenging for the AEW World Title again. However, hope was fleeting that Cody could escape Jericho’s grasp, and the possibility of permanent injury was increasingly becoming reality. Thus, MJF threw in the towel, frustrating his resilient friend. And then…wham! MJF kicked Cody in the family jewels, smirking to the crowd that we were right all along. The crowd was so pissed that somebody actually threw their drink at MJF. Old-school heat, baby!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8X_Rs_npvA
5. Firefly Fun House
On April 22, the first Firefly Fun House aired on Raw. Immediately, fans thought it was either brilliant or ridiculous. After all, Bray Wyatt playing Mr. Rogers wasn’t anything we expected from the former cult leader. As weeks went by, though, the wacky segment became the most anticipated part of Raw. On July 15, The Fiend appeared, adding an even more demented layer to the funhouse.
4. Jon Moxley Arrives
An even bigger defection than Chris Jericho was Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose. As his WWE contract expired, fans speculated that he would jump to AEW. After all, Double Or Nothing was being held in his hometown of Las Vegas, and the startup could have used another big name to make a splash. At the end of the night, after Jericho defeated Kenny Omega, Moxley emerged through the crowd to a thunderous ovation and let the world know that he was a new, vicious man.
3. SmackDown Debuts on FOX
WWE returned to prime time network television on October 4 with SmackDown’s premiere on FOX. In the weeks leading up, FOX went all out hyping WWE’s move to the network, including endless commercials, mentions during NFL and MLB games, superstar appearances on various shows, etc. The premiere featured a celebrity-filled red carpet pre-show that breathed new life into the product, making wrasslin’ feel cool and mainstream again. Bookended by The Rock and Becky Lynch roasting Baron Corbin and then Cain Velasquez pounding new WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, it was a very eventful night.
2. AEW Debuts on TNT
On October 2, pro wrestling returned to TNT after 18 years with an exciting two-hour broadcast called AEW Dynamite. Riho defeated Nyla Rose to be crowned the first AEW Women’s Champion, and the Inner Circle formed for a chaotic ending to the show. The premiere averaged 1.409 million viewers, which made it the largest television debut on TNT in five years. Dynamite beat out NXT, which coincidentally jumped to USA on the same night, in viewership and more than doubled its competition in the key adults 18-49 demographic, scoring 878,000 viewers compared to NXT’s 414,000. The Wednesday Night War had begun and wrestling fans were already receiving the spoils.
1. KofiMania Runs Wild
Dreams still come true if you work hard and never give up.
It’s a cliché, but it was fading in WWE until KofiMania earlier this year. After Mustafa Ali was injured, Kofi Kingston was chosen to replace him in the Elimination Chamber. Kingston then lasted over an hour in a gauntlet to try and earn last entry in the chamber. Even though he fell to AJ Styles, Kingston won over the hearts of the fans. It came down to the New Day member and Daniel Bryan in the chamber in a thrilling encounter, which ultimately saw Bryan come out on top.
Similar to the Yes! Movement starting out of defeat, KofiMania began immediately after the chamber. After Vince McMahon fucked around with the 11-year veteran, and his New Day brethren ran their own gauntlet, Kingston finally earned his shot at WrestleMania 35. After years of paying his dues, delivering night after night, never causing controversy and never missing time, Kingston had proven his worth to the company and had earned the respect of the people.
His battle with Bryan was an instant classic, with Kingston finally winning the WWE Championship. It was one of those rare feel-good moments that makes you remember why you fell in love with pro wrestling.
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