The King of the Ring and a re-focused RAW made September a quality month of wrestling, while only two matches from the pay-per-view (Clash of Champions) made the Top 10 – though they did round out the rest of the list.
1. King of the Ring – Final: Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin (RAW 9/16/19)
Career best match for both guys, with a hot crowd and a month-long story paid off bell-to-bell. Great selling by Gable, great cut-offs and taunting by Corbin, and an edge-of-your-seat finish that had the crowd chanting the perennial Most Underrated Chad Gable’s name. That moment when Gable scissors the ankle lock… special stuff.
2. Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic (NXT 9/25/19)
It’s just science that any time these two lock up it’ll be special, especially when it’s opening up the second episode of WWE NXT live on the USA Network. It’s two big tall boys putting on an incredible heavyweight battle where they treat each other like cruiserweights and everything still comes off as a legit. At some point it no longer becomes a mere wrestling match, but a desire to out-do each other. There’s a lot of matches that try to use that logic and end up sucking but this delivers. Lee just throws Dijakovic around like a baby, while Dijakovic did a great job not just going up for everything but reacting to it as well. Insane near falls at the end too, with many moves not established as finishers still coming off as them.
3. Chad Gable vs. King Corbin (RAW 9/23/19)
This happened a week after the King of the Ring Finals and was nearly as good, with a brilliant layout and brilliant performance from Gable especially. The first quarter is all about Corbin tossing Gable around and Gable rallying back only to be tossed even further. Gable is a guy who goes absolutely balls to the wall on every bump, especially one crazy one here in the corner. I loved how many times he sold by just slumping over too, and how he kept finding unique ways to counter Corbin’s stuff. You so rarely see guys going with creative as a wrestling strategy on WWE that it’s incredible to watch when it happens.
4. King of the Ring – Quarter Final: Cedric Alexander vs. Baron Corbin (RAW 9/2/19)
Yeah, here’s Baron Corbin in 3 of the Top 5 matches this month. This is where we are now. This was a pitch perfect big bad guy vs. small good guy match that includes an epic shot of a little boy carrying a title belt on his shoulder applauding after Cedric kicks out of Corbin’s onslaught. Wild finish too.
5. Rey Mysterio vs. Cesaro (RAW 9/16/19)
This was the week Paul Heyman apparently ran RAW solo so of course we got not just a random Rey vs. Cesaro match, but one that went over 10 minutes. This was exactly what you’d expect in the best possible ways, packed with amazing complex Rey spots around Cesaro wrecking him from time to time.
6. WWE U.S. Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Cedric Alexander (RAW 9/30/19)
These guys have had a few fun matches recently of varying quality, but this was tops for me – high-impact and straight to the point with some fun bits of Cedric out-wrestling AJ.
7. Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match – Winner Faces Seth Rollins Next Week for Universal Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Ricochet vs. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Robert Roode (RAW 9/23/19)
It’s not like you’re getting anything cohesive in a 5-Way, but this had a bunch of good wrestlers doing crazy wrestling things. I think they made a bit of an effort to keep things mostly one-on-one, which led to a lot of laying around on the floor by guys but it also wasn’t so obvious because what was going on in the ring was so cool. This had Ricochet and Rey running the ropes with AJ and Nak for a blissful 10 seconds, a backflip tornado DDT by Rey CAUGHT by Ricochet to setup a deadlift suplex, and Robert Roode of all people fitting in pretty seamlessly especially opposite Rey.
8. RAW Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Sasha Banks (Clash of Champions 9/15/19)
Very much a First Match of what will probably end up being a lot of them, but these two are superstars and there were a lot of brilliant bits here: Banks’ heel act, a bunch of sweet Bank Statement setups and counters, and a missile dropkick near fall that actually got a This is Awesome chant. Becky was throwing shots like a mad Man too. The finish isn’t very good, but up until then this is a blast.
9. Street Fight – NXT #1 Contender’s Match: Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain (NXT 9/25/19)
This went all over the arena and I liked it a lot, with less dragging each other around and more Riddle sizing up big Dain to get in shots. A nice mix of old school brawl and modern day stunt show.
10. SmackDown Tag Team Title: The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) [c] vs. The Revival (Clash of Champions 9/15/19)
It feels like there have been a hundred of these, but it’s not like many of them aren’t casually great. Revival Beatdown + Fired Up Babyface Woods = good shitt.
11. Triple Threat Match – WWE Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak [c] vs. Lince Dorado vs. Humberto Carrillo (Clash of Champions Kickoff 9/15/19)
The Kickoff Show Cruiserweight Title matches have become the place where guys who usually have to wrestle these weird long quiet matches on 205 Live get to have these awesome to-the-point matches where crowds are actually into the really cool stuff they’re doing. Dorado and Carrillo did some amazing stuff, but Gulak was the glamorous glue that held it all together.
12. RAW Tag Team Title: Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman [c] vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode (Clash of Champions 9/15/19)
This tag was so basic and stupid that I ended up loving it. There’s nothing new here, and I think something happens to my brain now when Ziggler and Roode begin to wrestle where I lose concentration, but god damn was this a fantastic little formula tag. Rollins and Ziggler know how to work each other, Braun is an easy hot tag, and Roode again just quietly fit in.
13. King of the Ring – Quarter Final: Chad Gable vs. Andrade (SmackDown 9/3/19)
This was pretty short (ha) but these two talented grapplers just went at it with fun fast-paced wrestling. Gable was working a waistlock like the best possible B. Brian Blair and Gable’s German suplex counter of Three Amigos gave me uncomfortable Eddie/Benoit flashbacks. Tremendous drama for the finish too.
14. King of the Ring – Quarter Final: Ali vs. Elias (SmackDown 9/3/19)
This all about Ali being really, really good. He makes Elias look like a beast by launching himself like he’s some stunt man or something, and they get things bumping at the end thanks to that. King of the Ring ruled this month.
15. WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contender’s Match: Oney Lorcan vs. Lio Rush (NXT 9/18/19)
A fast-paced badass match and something that maybe wouldn’t work cold on the main roster but ruled at Full Sail. Oney was aggressive, Rush blew minds, and Rush admirably struggled in very tight wrestling holds.
16. NXT Women’s Title #1 Contender Fatal 4-Way Match: Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae vs. Bianca Belair vs. Io Shirai (NXT 9/18/19)
An action-packed match that went only 10 minutes and had a countered reverse rana – it felt like a direct shot at AEW akin to Cody hammering the throne. A fun way to kick off the new NXT on USA era, with these four going out there and getting all their shit in.
17. WWE U.S. Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Cedric Alexander (Clash of Champions Kickoff 9/15/19)
A short but unsurprisingly quality match between later stage AJ Styles and Cedric Alexander, who sometimes comes off as the younger version of AJ. Lots of pep and whatnot, and a willingness to take some pain on the bumps.
18. WWE Title: Kofi Kingston [c] vs. Randy Orton (Clash of Champions 9/15/19)
I’ve got a confession: I like this pairing. This, much like the SummerSlam match, features an absolute snoozer of a Randy Orton beatdown, but I also can’t deny just how god damn SOLID he is, doing everything so casually that I am both somehow bored and compelled at the same time. These matches kind of expose Kofi as a babyface who can’t quite take advantage of it all, but overall the work is just so… solid. Great finish teases at the end too.
19. Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan (SmackDown 9/24/19)
A match that had a special energy thanks to the frantic way it came together, a dramatic mini-David vs. Goliath as Bryan just casually became a great bayface again. He sold for most of it, with well-timed cut-offs and some fantastic shaking as he mounted his comebacks. He did a missile dropkick to the BACK and countered a chokeslam with a guillotine into a YesLock and it ruled.
20. Triple Threat Match – King of the Ring – Semi Final: Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin (RAW 9/9/19)
A match that, in between the This is Awesome, got a point across. I dug the use of Joe, whether he was throwing hands with Corbin or swatting down Ricochet. Ricochet flew around like the most impressive wrestler in the world , but also got destroyed like the same too.
21. Ali vs. Shinsuke Nakamura w/ Sami Zayn (SmackDown 9/24/19)
A quick, quality match – Ali will bump and backflip his way into a great match with anybody, and IC Champ Nak with is having a little wrestling renaissance. Nice TV finish too.
22. Piper Niven vs. Rhea Ripley (NXT UK 9/4/19)
A pre-TakeOver: Cardiff match that delivered as a feud ender that really should’ve been on the actual TakeOver: Cardiff match. Ripley does a fun job working over Piper’s back and the eventual delivery of the Riptide is impressive as hell.
23. WWE Universal Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Braun Strowman (Clash of Champions 9/15/19)
A solid David vs. Goliath match that also felt a little rushed, like let’s just get this over with. You could tell Braun was going hard, and Seth usually will but I also didn’t completely buy him as competitive opposite big Braun let alone dominant. A serviceable main event, but that’s about it.
24. NXT Title: Adam Cole [c] vs. Jordan Myles (NXT 9/4/19)
Ggood old-fashioned cocky champion vs. undersized newcomer TV match that’s always fun when it comes around. Cole might be trying to be a Flair type but instead of fun bumps and shtick he does superkicks and bullshit. Myles meanwhile rocks the role, and has a nice walk-off moment at the end.
25. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks (RAW 9/9/19)
A good match, better than the usual top-of-the-hour RAW TV match but also a top-of-the-hour RAW TV match. Becky in particular seemed fired up, going hard on the bump to setup her taking heat and then going hard when she got a hot tag later on. Bayley launching Becky to both escape the Disarmer and break the Figure-Eight was Good Wrestling too, and it was nice seeing Sasha vs. Charlotte again.
Honorable Mentions: WWE Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura [c] w/ Sami Zayn vs. The Miz (Clash of Champions 9/15/19)No DQ Match: Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan (Clash of Champions 9/15/19), NXT North American Title: Velveteen Dream [c] vs. Roderick Strong (NXT 9/18/19), Cedric Alexander & The Viking Raiders vs. AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (RAW 9/16/19), Pete Dunne vs. Arturo Ruas (NXT 9/18/19), Humberto Carrillo vs. Angel Garza (205 Live 9/24/19), Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks (RAW 9/16/19), The New Day vs. Randy Orton & The Revival (SmackDown 9/17/19)
KUSHIDA & TBD (Breezango) vs. Imperium (Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel & Alexander Wolfe) (NXT 9/25/19), The Viking Raiders vs. The O.C. w/ AJ Styles (RAW 9/23/19), The Viking Raiders vs The O.C. (RAW 9/30/19), Ricochet vs. Cesaro (RAW 9/30/19), King of the Ring – Quarter Final: Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe (RAW 9/2/19), Pete Dunne vs. Angel Garza (NXT 9/11/19), NXT UK Tag Team Title: Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster [c] vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK 9/11/19), Nikki Cross w/ Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks w/ Bayley (RAW 9/23/19), Natalya vs. Lacey Evans (RAW 9/2/19), Aleister Black vs. Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 9/3/19)
If Lince Wins, He’s Added to the Cruiserweight Title Match at Clash of Champions: Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado (205 Live 9/3/19), Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville (SmackDown 9/31/19), Damian Priest vs. BOA (NXT 9/11/19), SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (Clash of Champions 9/15/19), King of the Ring – Semi Final: Chad Gable vs. Shane McMahon (SmackDown 9/10/19), Trent Seven vs. Noam Dar (NXT UK 9/25/19)
