Roundtable: Best Of 2019 (Part 1)

Who was the best tag team of 2019?

Sam Gladen: It’s such a difficult thing to determine because there has been a distinct focus on tag team wrestling across the board this year. If I had to pick one team that I have enjoyed watching the most, it’s Shimmer’s Tag Team Champions SEA STARS. Across the other promotions it would look like this:

WWE- THE NEW DAY
NXT- The Undisputed Era
AEW- Jurassic Express
MLW- The Dynasty
ROH – Villian Enterprises
NWA – The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express
IMPACT – The Rascalz

Juan Bautista: Private Party.

Steven Jackson: It has to be the Lucha Bros. They tore it up everywhere they have been this year and continue to innovate every single match.

David Gibb: War Machine/War Raiders/Viking Raiders/Viking Experience had the hottest start to 2019, but they’ve cooled a bit in recent months. Private Party feels like the team on the rise, but The Revival and New Day remain consistently at the top of the class.

Matthew Smith: The Young Bucks. Not that they set the world on fire and in fact didn’t work as many dates as they normally do, but their matches were like the ones we expected from them. AEW has a lot of tag teams that can knock them off, but who is going to do it?

Anthony Mahalis: The New Day. They are the wonderful constant of the tag team division. No matter what you do with them, they will give you good promos and good matches.

John Corrigan: Santana & Ortiz. Their series with the Lucha Bros. earlier this year was thrilling, and after carrying Impact’s tag team division for two years, it’s great to see their profile amplify in AEW as part of the hilariously entertaining Inner Circle.

Chad Gelfand: The New Day.

Jack Goodwillie: Generally, I found this to be a down-year for tag team wrestling. As great a roster as AEW has in this regard, the sheer amount of tag matches we get from week-to-week is a little much and the oversaturation sort of rubs off on the roster. That said, I have to give it to So-Cal Uncensored. It’s amazing to think about how good Christopher Daniels and Kazarian still are, arguably better than ever, and have you seen Scorpio Sky? I see big things in his future, but no matter the combo, So-Cal Uncensored delivered in every match and are a well-deserving choice here.

Who was the best commentator of 2019?

Gladen: The obvious answer is Mauro Ranallo. Hip hop references aside, he is truly one of the most engaging voices in sports today.

Bautista: Excalibur was the best commentator of 2019. He made up for any void that was present due to his age.

Jackson: Ian Riccaboni from ROH. Ian is the best play-by-play man in the industry today and his timing and delivery is always on point. I can’t wait to hear more from him in 2020!

Gibb: Commentary is an area of general weakness across the business right now. I’ll give my vote to Tony Schiavone for continuing his incredible comeback, even if he has room to get better calling AEW.

Smith: NXT’s own Mauro Ranallo. I was disappointed he didn’t make Survivor Series, but his mental health is way more important. Despite what others in WWE think, Mauro is the narrator that breathes life into wrestlers. You can miss weeks of NXT programming and come back to be guided by Ranallo and learn why new wrestlers are important. Nobody paints a picture like he does right now.

Mahalis: Mauro Ranallo. The man just puts you into a match like nobody else. MAMA MIA!

Corrigan: I’m a sucker for grumpy J.R. This is a hot take, but I could do without Excalibur. Just J.R. and Tony calling Dynamite would be tremendous.

Gelfand: Mauro Ranallo.

Goodwillie: It’s Mauro Ranallo, and don’t let Corey Graves tell you otherwise. Yes, he can be a little long-winded at times and does have a tendency to talk over his broadcast partners, but that’s Mauro. There is nobody better right now at enhancing a match; really giving importance to what’s going on in the ring.

What was the best feud of 2019?

Gladen: The best feud of the year is also one of the newest. We have collectively waited ever since MJF signed with All Elite Wrestling for him to turn heel and embrace that which he is best at. And it finally happened. He turned on Cody Rhodes and cost him the world title in front of God and everybody. I cannot wait until Cody gets his hands on MJF.

Bautista: The fans vs. WWE. The issues are endless: the transportation situation after WrestleMania 35, WWE2K glitches and fans chanting refund after Hell in the Cell stand out the most.

Jackson: Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes was one of the best pieces of storytelling I’ve seen in recent years. With the shackles of WWE off, they both delivered one of the most compelling feuds I’ve ever seen.

Gibb: Pro Wrestling vs. Pro Wrestling Fans – Is the business growing or shrinking? It’s hard to tell! What do people want to see? Everything? Not everything? Who knows anymore?

Smith: Kevin Owens vs. Shane.

Mahalis: Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan. They flipped the script of Kofi being the B+ player and made Bryan the annoying, but terrific heel. It all worked out so well and ended in a tremendous WrestleMania moment.

Corrigan: Hart Foundation vs. Dynasty. Their feud spanned several months, included a variety of good matches, a surprising title change and elevated all six men involved, especially Alexander Hammerstone.

Gelfand: Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan because unlike a lot of feuds these days, it had a distinct beginning, middle and end, concluding in the best possible way which was the babyface winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Goodwillie: Chris Jericho vs. Cody at its best was as good as any feud this year, but lacks the immediate longevity required in this case. So with that said, I have to give it to Brian Cage and Sami Callihan. Whether they’re on or off camera, these guys sell a real disdain for one another and any time they locked up this year, it immediately made Impact must-see TV.

Who cut the best promos of 2019?

Gladen: MJF. He’s better than us and he knows it.

Bautista: It would probably be Zack Sabre Jr., Cody or Tama Tonga.

Jackson: MJF’s promos have been unreal in 2019. To say the guy is only in his early 20s, his delivery and perfection on the mic is unparalleled. Interviews are going to be revolutionized going into the 2020s with MJF around.

Gibb: Becky Lynch – She’s the man now, dog. (Participation Trophy for the Men: Chris Jericho)

Smith: Jon Moxley after Double or Nothing. After years of doing whatever WWE told him to do, in a two-minute single camera shot, Mox let the world know he and AEW were here to cause a massive paradigm shift.

Mahalis: Daniel Bryan. The Planet’s Champion showed that he can be just as good a heel as a face, which not many people can boast. His environmentally charged diatribes against the fans were top notch.

Corrigan: Finally the top guy of a promotion, Chris Jericho has spent 2019 illustrating why he’s the GOAT. While still fun to watch in the ring, the living legend truly shines on the mic, in vignettes, on social media, etc. In a company built upon “workrate” and five-star matches, Jericho stands out due to his vivacious personality. Everything he says becomes a catchphrase and everybody gets over when he’s talking about them. Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny he’s the MVP of AEW.

Gelfand: Becky Lynch.

Goodwillie: It may have been a down year for tag team wrestling, but it was NOT a down year for promos. And this is an area where AEW has WWE dead to rights. Epic AEW promos outnumbered its WWE counterparts 10:1 this year, which is somewhat odd considering I don’t think AEW does enough angles or interviews. That said, top-to-bottom, I have to give the nod here to Cody. The promo he cut on Jericho before Full Gear sealed the deal for me, but if he’s the number one promo right now, Jericho, Moxley, and MJF have to be considered 1A, 1B, and 1C. That’s pretty damn good. Now if we can only ixnay the Dark Order…

What was the biggest wrestling story of 2019?

Gladen: The birth of AEW. From the New Year’s announcement to selling 100,000 tickets in its first year as an organized company, I can’t imagine anyone could say there was a bigger story than this one.

Bautista: The British wrestling scene continuing to take hits.

Jackson: Definitely the announcement and rise of All Elite Wrestling. It has been a very exciting year thanks to this new kid on the block.

Gibb: The Wednesday Night War, of course! “Here comes a new challenger!” WWE pushes all in on NXT (walked right into a pun there)…how can that not be the biggest story of the year?

Smith: Kofi becoming WWE Champion.

Mahalis: Probably the rise of AEW. There hasn’t been a legitimate challenger to WWE in quite some time. Now I’m not ready to say that AEW will have the same impact that primetime WCW had, but it has been damn good so far and you would think WWE is at least sweating a little.

Corrigan: AEW. What a story: a well-known billionaire family entering the wrasslin’ biz, Ring of Honor’s top stars departing to start their own company, Chris Jericho leaving WWE after a nearly 20-year run, Jon Moxley defecting to the new company, getting a primetime slot on TNT and competing against a WWE brand on a weekly basis.

Gelfand: AEW giving WWE it’s biggest competition on national television in 20 years.

Goodwillie: Without a doubt, it’s been the emergence of AEW. Why? It changed the game, simple as that. When people think back on 2019, they’re going to think, “that’s the year AEW came to be.”