This is the smallest list of matches since I started this. There’s an ongoing trend of TV matches getting less time, plus the obvious issue of most of the angles and storylines involving them being terrible. The Top 10 is a fun batch of matches, and only three main roster matches made it, all of which were on a PPV, and one of which featured 205 Live guys. Shout out to Tozawa too, taking three of the Top 10 spots and appearing at #25 too.
1. NXT Title: Johnny Gargano [c] vs. Adam Cole (TakeOver: XXV 6/1/19)
For the style this is, which I have my reservations about, this is really really good. It had a lot of elbows and suplexes and superkicks. So many superkicks. One that countered a tope suicda, which was kind of incredible. And the finish was wild. These guys are obviously capable of this big time match and the crowd was going nuts. But Tina Fey once got a shot in on The Daily Show by saying its’ jokes sometimes elicit not laughter but “clapter” – meaning, it’s not evicting a genuine response of laughter, but some laughter followed by a lot of clapping, which is an affirmation by the audience that they are in on the joke. Sometimes this feels like that. It’s good though, and I can’t argue it wasn’t the best in-ring thing all month.
2. Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong (TakeOver: XXV 6/1/19)
Deadlift suplexes and body shots – what else do you want? Oh, a high-end G1 Climax type of finish? Cool. We’ve got you. Tremendous opener, tremendous crowd, tremendous spots, tremendous wrestling.
3. NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Io Shirai (TakeOver: XXV 6/1/19)
This ruled, because it always does when Shayna Baszler is defending the NXT Women’s Title at TakeOver. Her matches are so stripped down and I love them for it – they got right to the point here and didn’t waste a second. First there was the matwork where everything was a struggle, then Shayna kicked Io’s arm like three times really hard, then Io tried to make a comeback with one arm. Really fun finish too.
4. Triple Threat Match – WWE Cruiserweight Title: Tony Nese [c] vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak (Stomping Grounds Kickoff 6/23/19)
Awesome, non-stop action is a cliche match description these days, but at a little over 10 minutes this is what this was. Every shot and dive connected, Nese’s athleticism is insane, and Tozawa knows how to get a crowd popping whether it’s his deadlift fireman’s carry spot or amazing somersault plancha off the apron. These boys got actual 2-0-5 chants too, which amaze me every time.
5. 4-Way Ladder Match – NXT Tag Team Title: Street Profits vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. The Undisputed Era vs. The Forgotten Sons w/ Jaxson Ryker (TakeOver: XXV 6/1/19)
There are way too many multi-guy Ladder Matches these days but this still managed to stand out and felt more reckless than the usual sanitized TLC match. The subplot of Kyle O’Reilly just taking the nastiest falls was incredible, and guys who don’t normally get showcased like Angelo Dawkins and The Forgotten Sons had their moments. Ford and Oney of course took a few insane bumps too.
6. WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender Match: Tony Nese vs. Akira Tozawa (205 Live 6/25/19)
These guys had what felt like what would’ve probably been the Cruiserweight Title match they’d have on PPV if it it ever happened. Tozawa was an absolute freak here, hitting rapid-fire somersault plancha, his usual amazing tope, and a Canadian Destroyer that I was just not prepared for. That crowds get so into his finishes despite him being treated like a nobody is a testament to this guys’ skill.
7. NXT North American Title: Velveteen Dream [c] vs. Tyler Breeze (TakeOver: XXV 6/1/19)
Exhibit A on why presentation of a wrestler as a big deal is both a) important and b) frustratingly easy. Tyler Breeze played a very serious and notable wrestler here, and had a very fun competitive match with Dream, who is as over as anybody. That the Hulu-Only Breeze got some legitimate near falls here is very impressive.
8. The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Stomping Grounds 6/23/19)
Great tag that could’ve easily been the usual formula but they went with something different, as Owens and Zayn went for the kill right away and kept wearing down the sympathetic Woods until E made a killer hot tag. Huge huge huge finish too.
9. WWE U.S. Title: Samoa Joe [c] vs. Ricochet (Stomping Grounds 6/23/19)
This was no Indy Dream match, it was Samoa Joe kicking Ricochet’s ass while Ricochet bumped like crazy to make it all look great. When he did get a shot or two in it worked too, because Ricochet always looks weirdly credible against big guys, even while he’s flopping around to make you think he has no chance. I liked how his eventual comeback didn’t feel like the usual fired up rally either, but simply a guy catching Joe and quickly taking advantage.
10. WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender Fatal 4-Way Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live 6/11/19)
Another multi-guy match that stood out from an endless barrage of 4-Way’s and 5-Way’s. Outside of Humberto no one here is known for their flying, but they still went for the non-stop craziness that is expected with a 4-Way Dance, so it was just non-stop smash mouth stuff. Gulak and Oney might be a lost great tag team, and if they weren’t chopping each other they were taking Humberto and Tozawa’s stuff like magicians. The one-two punch of Tozawa’s rapid-speed somersault plancha off the apron and Carrillo’s twisting tope was incredible too.
11. Steel Cage Match – NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Io Shirai (NXT 6/26/19)
A good old school cage match, with no BS until a finish that required it. This was a struggle for supremacy, based mostly on the mat with a slam into the cage or two. Felt gritty. Then some friends showed up.
12. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. The Undisputed Era (NXT 6/12/19)
Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly reunite for a rematch with Lorcan & Burch, and it’s very very good. Chops, kicks, elbows. Everybody just beat the shit out of each other in the middle of a hot tag team match. Oney did that thing again where he seems like the best wrestler in the world when he gets going, and his big chaos dive pops me every time.
13. 2/3 Falls – If Ziggler Wins, He is Added to the WWE Title Match at Extreme Rules: Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler (SmackDown 6/25/19)
This has Kofi and Dolph doing all Their Stuff, which when they’re in a big position and have some time can be very good stuff, which this was. They built this up well, with Kofi getting an early pin and then some good counters and near falls and a few things you don’t normally see from each guy.
14. AJ Styles vs. Ricochet (RAW 6/24/19)
Very cool stuff, but the first time type of match they can probably have in their sleep. You bet your ass there was a chinlock, but there were also some mind-bending speedy counter spots, and AJ modifying his backflip DDT so he could catch this young pup that knows his tricks. Once these guys got things revving they provided a fine teaser of what might happen again later.
15. Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan w/ Rowan (RAW 6/17/19)
Daniel Bryan just casually rolled into RAW and had a great TV main event with Seth Rollins. Suplex roll-through to the YesLock was wild.
16. The Hunt vs. Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) (NXT UK 6/19/19)
This was like 5 minutes but awesome – sure Gallus cut the ring off for a bit, but otherwise it was the crazy all-over-the-place brawl that The Hunt gimmick promises but hasn’t quite delivered yet.
17. Nikki Wins, Alexa Bliss Receives a SmackDown Women’s Title Rematch at Extreme Rules: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross (SmackDown 6/25/19)
They got some time and delivered – Bayley has her mojo back, and seemed to be fired up about taking and dishing out more physicality than usual with the game Nikki Cross. Bayley’s tope into nothing on the floor was incredible.
18. SmackDown Tag Team Title: Daniel Bryan & Rowan [c] vs. Heavy Machinery (Stomping Grounds 6/23/19)
A weird match, since they kind of set it up to have Heavy Machinery be the lovable babyfaces but Seattle was ALL about Daniel Bryan and not in the mood for one second of Otis’ bullshit. It was still a good tag though, with Bryan just blending into this freak show and being awesome.
19. 8-Man Elimination Tag Team Match: The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) and The Usos vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan and The Revival (RAW 6/24/19)
Random as this was and despite going over 10 minutes, this had too much talent to not be good. You had Bryan and Woods running the ropes and tearing it up, Woods doing a springboard into a Shatter Machine, Dash making a attempt at a Buzz Sawyer powerslam, and what felt like a pretty casual banger between The Usos and The Revival to close things out.
20. Velveteen Dream, Matt Riddle & Tyler Breeze vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) w/ Kyle O’Reilly (NXT 6/19/19)
Simple good guys vs. bad guys main event that got right to the point – Bro kicked some ass, Bro took some heat, everybody got some stuff in. Loved the spot where Riddle fired up, grabbed Cole by throat, and got stomped on his bare foot.
21. Submission Match: KUSHIDA vs. Drew Gulak (NXT 6/12/19)
A very cool unique match for WWE, though maybe just a solid version of a BOSJ match or something. This was almost entirely on the mat, with a lot of cool countering and hold-wrenching, plus the odd nasty strike from time to time. You don’t see a match as straightforward as this in WWE often.
22. British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) (NXT UK 6/12/19)
Lots of beef slapping and stretching the crap out of each other, but overall these lads had a pretty generic match that didn’t meet what its’ on-paper potential would suggest. Would it shock you if I told you Trent Seven spent a large portion of this match being cornered and worked over by the bad guys? Dunne and WALTER still brought the heat when they got in together and everybody got things bumping for the finish before a SURPRISE FINSIH!
23. Chad Gable vs. Jack Gallagher (205 Live 6/11/19)
Chad Gable made a random appearance on 205 Live and seemed to have a good time reminding whoever watches 205 Live that he is a very good, technically gifted professional wrestler. Fun match.
24. Ricochet vs. Cesaro (RAW 6/3/19)
A short TV match between these two is better than most – Ricochet continues to feel like a guy from another planet, while Cesaro is a quiet beast there for anything he wants to do.
25. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live 6/4/19)
This has a brief Tozawa comeback that gets over, but it’s more about a refreshed and badass Drew Gulak kicking his ass.
Honorable Mentions: Mia Yim vs. Bianca Belair (NXT 6/5/19), NXT Breakout Tournament – Round 1: Joaquin Wilde vs. Angel Garza (NXT 6/26/19), The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan (SmackDown 6/25/19), Jack Gallagher vs. Mike Kanellis w/ Maria Kanellis (205 Live 6/25/19), WWE U.K. Title: WALTER [c] vs. Travis Banks (NXT UK 6/26/19), Keith Lee vs. Nykos Rikos (NXT 6/26/19)
