For a Top 25 list with two Forgotten Sons matches on it, there was a lot of good stuff this month. Fastlane was a quality show, The New Day emerged, and Ricochet & Black did consistently good wrestling multiple days per week.
1. Gauntlet Tag Team Match: The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev, The Bar, The Usos and Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan (SmackDown 3/26/19)
Great story, great wrestling. E and Woods faced five teams here and in 45 minutes had 5 unique, quality tag matches: the Gallows & Anderson match was a good squash, Nakamura & Rusev match was a legitimately great tag with a beginning middle and end, The Bar match was based around an incredible hot tag followed by a post-match beatdown that sent our heroes to a momentary abyss, The Usos match was a great wrestling moment, and finally the Daniel Bryan & Rowan was a wild brawl. Most fun and compelling wrestling thing all month.
2. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin (Fastlane 3/10/19)
The Shield took one more ride and it was beautiful. The good guys were selling, the bad guys were serviceable, Rollins was diving, everyone was firing off signature spots, and the crowd was going wild for all of it. The Greatest Hits are great.
3. Triple Threat Match – WWE Title: Daniel Bryan [c] vs. Kevin Owens vs. Mustafa Ali (Fastlane 3/10/19)
This is a match that went from three guys going balls out over WE WANT KOFI chants to three guys going balls out to insane crowd heat because it didn’t matter that Kofi wasn’t there anymore. One of the wildest WWE Title matches we’ll probably ever see, with Mustafa Ali doing all kinds of insane things while Bryan and Owens played Very Good World-Traveled Professional Wrestlers. It was also a match that started with Owens bending Bryan’s pinky and Bryan going AHHH.
4. WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender’s Tournament – Semi Final: Cedric Alexander vs. Oney Lorcan (205 Live 3/12/19)
Imagine having a chop so hard it can change the mood of a match. Oney Lorcan has that chop. And Cedric sold that chop like time itself had stopped. The rest of the match ruled too. Cedric Alexander in a match all about intensity and speed and stiffness is a billion times better than when he’s doing cute wrestling sequences and throwing mule kicks.
5. Fatal 4-Way Match – WWE U.S. Title: Samoa Joe [c] vs. Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth w/ Carmella vs. Andrade w/ Zelina Vega (Fastlane 3/10/19)
This is four veteran talents having themselves a Jersey All Pro opening clusterfuck and it is spectacular. Andrade does a springboard corkscrew plancha here and seconds later is catching a hurricanrana from the top rope to the floor. Every crazy thing seamlessly transitioned to the other, just a wild bunch of wrestling.
6. SmackDown Women’s Title: Asuka [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown 3/26/19)
Charlotte and Asuka have magical chemistry, and delivered a credible, chess-like wrestling match with tight headlocks and counters of moonsaults into sleeper holds. It was a TV match with an awkward glaze of it feeling like another forced twist in the Women’s Title match at WrestleMania, but any time these guys lock up they look like the best in the world.
7. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) (NXT 3/6/19)
Gargano taking heat and Ciampa doing a hot tag was always a formula that worked and it delivered again here. They also did a bunch of crazy sequences, like when O’Reilly dropped a gnarly diving knee on Ciampa after Fish did an avalanche falcon arrow, which was followed up by a diving headbutt from Fish to setup an O’Reilly arm submission on Ciampa which was broken up by Gargano shoving Fish into O’Reilly and Ciampa – you know, stuff like that. Great match.
8. Fatal 5-Way Match – Winner Advances to NXT TakeOver: New York: Aleister Black vs. Ricochet vs. Matt Riddle vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Adam Cole (NXT 3/20/19)
The Fatal 5-Way Match is something I usually fundamentally disagree with – in order to make this thing kind of work, WWE always has a guy or two or maybe three do some neat wrestling sequences while everybody else disappears for a while. I guess back in the day you’d call that sellin’, but sellin’ is traditionally supposed to add a sense of realism to the fake wrestling match and not re-enforce how planned out and fake it is. Inherent faults aside, this was still a wild match with some extra great performances from Riddle and Ricochet.
9. Triple Threat Tag Team Match – RAW Tag Team Title: The Revival [c] vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet (Fastlane 3/10/19)
The multi-man tag gimmick isn’t giving you some masterpiece, but it is giving you some sweet-ass wrestlers doing sweet-ass wrestling that’s all timed well and strung together well and gets progressively crazier and crazier. And maybe that might just be a masterpiece after all.
10. SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz (Fastlane 3/10/19)
Nobody needed Shane McMahon gasping for breath stuck in a chinlock, but this was really good. It was an Usos banger with two slightly unathletic guys, but Miz’ half-speed springboard axe handle or clumsy plancha were charming more than things that actively took away from the match. Sometimes wrestling is just better when it’s hilarious. Plus The Miz as hometown babyface was adorable, the near falls were exciting, and the Coast-to-Coast collision spot was a classic.
11. Gauntlet Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus, Cesaro, Rowan, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 3/19/19)
More a fun chapter in the story of Kofimania than a great match, but the fun scene was a fun one. Kofi has solid matches with everybody here, and they keep the steam for the 45 minutes or so it lasts.
12. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Semi Final: Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. #DIY (NXT 3/13/19)
Good old-fashioned tag team wrestling plus some extra wild stuff. Ciampa I assume was instructed to do as little as possible here, so you get Gargano running around like a nut against Black and Ricochet, who are on an unreal run of performances right now. They traded shots and kickouts and flew around and got the crowd going crazy. Very good.
13. Braun Strowman & Finn Balor vs. Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush (RAW 3/18/19)
Braun Strowman vs. Lio Rush is beautiful. I mean Lio Rush goes SO high when Braun throws him places. I loved when he actually got a near fall on Braun too.
14. Dusty Rhodes Classic – Final: Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. Forgotten Sons w/ Jaxson Ryker (NXT 3/27/19)
Aleister Black & Ricochet were on such a roll as a tag team this month that obviously they had a great match with the freakin’ Forgotten Sons. Nobody re-invented the wheel but Ricochet and Black add such a spice to anything they’re doing and brought this up from very good formula tag to certified tournament final banger.
15. WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender’s Tournament – Final: Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese (205 Live 3/19/19)
A common type of 205 Live match, that started kind of lame and before you know it you’re like, “is this great?”
16. Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre (RAW 3/18/19)
Seth and Drew go hard in a RAW main event, with Seth bumping like it’s Mania season and Drew being a serviceable person in this spot.
17. Fatal 4-Way Match – WWE U.S. Title: R-Truth [c] w/ Carmella vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe vs. Andrade w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 3/5/19)
Everybody just let loose here for 5 minutes including Rey taking a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor and Andrade doing a missile dropkick that made Joe practically explode. Rey vs. Andrade is always good too.
18. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel (NXT 3/6/19)
These guys kept things moving with cool well-timed stuff and refused to let it devolve into WWE TV formula, with the beatdown kept extra short. Aichner having a more impressive strength spot with Black (catching his quebrada) than Ricochet was wild.
19. Falls Count Anywhere: Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre (RAW 3/11/19)
Just a stupid fun Monday Night RAW brawl. Godspeed, Dean-O.
20. WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender’s Tournament – Round 1: Cedric Alexander vs. Akira Tozawa (205 Live 3/5/19)
There were a few too many forced slow-it-down moments but these guys brought the fun wrestling and got things rocking for the finish. Cedric brings the intensity while Tozawa brings the crowd really giving a shit about any of this.
21. The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) w/ Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev w/ Lana (Fastlane 3/10/19)
Good tag wrestling is good tag wrestling . A solid beatdown plus hot finish with great near falls is better than most wrestling there is. New Day was over too – that crowd was completely in on Woods when he hit a missile dropkick to make his comeback.
22. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: Moustache Mountain vs. Street Profits (NXT 3/6/19)
This was an awesome 5 minutes or so, with Ford and Dawkins going to the mat with Bate and Seven before they picked up the pace and everybody crushed it. The frog splash near fall and Ford’s reaction was incredible. I’m not sure a dragon suplex on the apron was 100% necessary but I’m glad Ford got to try it.
23. Ricochet vs. Jinder Mahal w/ The Singh Brothers (RAW 3/18/19)
The most wonderful little formula TV match, with Ricochet crazy over in Chicago and blowing everybody’s minds while Jinder slowed shit down when he had to.
24. Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. The Bar (SmackDown 3/5/19)
Ricochet vs. Sheamus was very good. Cesaro landing on his feet off a back body drop, smiling, and turning around into a Black Mass was very good. This match was very good.
25. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) w/ Jaxson Ryker (NXT 3/6/19)
Oney is Oney and everybody brought the crazy for the finish.
Honorable Mentions: Kurt Angle vs. Chad Gable (RAW 3/18/19), WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender’s Tournament – Round 1: Humberto Carrillo vs. Oney Lorcan (205 Live 3/5/19), Falls Count Anywhere: Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin (NXT UK 3/6/19), Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. The Revival (RAW 3/25/19), Mark Andrews vs. Noam Dar (NXT UK 3/27/19), Pete Dunne & WALTER vs. The Coffey Brothers (NXT UK 3/13/19), WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender’s Tournament – Semi Final: Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese (205 Live 3/12/19), Matt Riddle vs. Kona Reeves (NXT 3/27/19)
If Becky Wins, She is Added to the RAW Women’s Title Match at WrestleMania: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (Fastlane 3/10/19), Handicap Match: Kofi Kingston vs. The Bar (Fastlane 3/10/19), Kevin Owens & Mustafa Ali vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan (SmackDown 3/12/19), NXT Women’s Title #1 Contender’s Match: Bianca Belair vs. Io Shirai (NXT 3/13/19), The Hardy Boyz, Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. The Bar, Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev w/ Lana (SmackDown 3/12/19), Rey Mysterio & R-Truth w/ Carmella vs. Samoa Joe & Andrade w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 3/12/19), Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (RAW 3/25/19)
