Csonka’s Top 26 Matches of June 2019: Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson, Will Ospreay vs. Shingo, More

WELCOME back, back to the column that makes lists and hopes that you enjoy them. This week’s column will look back and the month of June 2019 and the top 26 matches I have watched for the month. I always hear a lot of people saying that they can’t decide what to watch because they do not have enough time to follow everything, so maybe this will help those of you short on time find some stuff to check out. Have fun, and always, thanks for reading. Also, if you saw matches from companies I do not regularly catch; feel free to share them with the others. The more wrestling we share, the more fun we can have. Thanks for reading! As always, consider this my play list of great matches, recommendations for the month. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

* 26. From WWE Stomping Grounds: Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese vs. Akira Tozawa [****]
* 25. From WWE 205 Live 6.25.19: Tony Nese vs. Akira Tozawa [****]
* 24. From NJPW Kizuna Road 6.17.19: Kazuchika Okada, Big Tom Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, Sho, & Yoh vs. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Lance Archer, Taichi, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [****]
* 23. From Beyond Wrestling Uncharted Territory 6.05.19: Chris Dickinson vs. Josh Alexander [****]
* 22.From Beyond Wrestling Uncharted Territory 6.12.19: Joey Janela vs. Kris Statlander [****]
* 21. From AAA Verano de Escabdalo 2019: The Young Bucks vs. Te Lucha Bros [****]
* 20. From WWE 205 Live 6.11.19: Akira Tozawa vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Drew Gulak vs. Oney Lorcan [****]
* 19. From Rev Pro Live at the Cockpit 42: PAC vs. Michael Oku [****]
* 18. From OTT WrestleRama III: Scotty Davis vs. Darby Allin [****]
* 17.From AEW Fyter Fest 2019: Cody vs. Darby Allin [****]
* 16. From AEW Fyter Fest 2019: Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela [****]
* 15. From OTT WrestleRama III: Bandido vs. Rey Horus [****]
* 14. From NJPW Dominion 2019: Taichi vs. Big Tom Ishii [****]
* 13. From NXT Takeover: XXV: The Street Profits vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish [****]

12. From NJPW BOSJ 26 Finals: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White [****¼]: I really enjoyed this and felt it was their best match together so far. White’s aggression here was absolutely outstanding and something he’d been missing, and while Tanahashi is seemingly falling apart, there are few who can still deliver like he does, especially as a babyface fighting from the bottom and showing tremendous fire. This was great stuff with the finish playing into the arm work earlier in the match and allowing White to sneak away with the win ahead of the G1.

11. From NJPW BOSJ (Day 14): Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [****¼]: Big match Guch and big match Willie delivered a banger here in the B block finals. It started slow, was playful at times, and then kept getting better as it went along and worked into a really tremendously done homestretch that really ha the crowd buying into a Taguchi win. Ospreay winning was the right call, as a Shingo vs. Ospreay final is just sexy as fuck and has MOTY potential written allover it. This was really great and a perfect way to close out B block.

10. From AEW Fyter Fest 2019: The Elite vs. The Lucha Bros & Laredo Kid [****¼]: This was great and exactly the match I expected and wanted from these six. It was a great high-octane sprint, with lots of great moves and tremendous pacing. Everyone looked great, the crowd loved it and Laredo Kid got to shine in front of a big audience. It was also completely different from everything else on the show, so even tough it wasn’t anything revolutionary, it sticks out and did its job.

9. From NXT Takeover: XXV: Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong [****¼]: This was a great, hard-hitting, sprint style match that worked perfectly as the opener for the show with an absolutely great pace. Strong’s work of the back and ribs was a good play following his parking lot attack on Riddle leading into this match, and the homestretch was spectacular. Strong is greatly under appreciated, and it was great to see him shine in a Takeover singles match.

8. From NXT Takeover: XXV: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano [****½]: While not quite on the level of their Takeover NYC match, these two put on an excellent match here, with a great layout, strong pacing, and good early work on the arm and knee that paid off in subtle and small ways down the stretch before Cole got completely ruthless and started just dismantling the knee of Gargano to the point that he had issues standing during the home stretch. Add in a hot crowd, great swings in momentum, Gargano’s babyface fire and selling juxtaposed against Cole’s desperation and ruthlessness and they delivered once again to the surprise of no one.

7. From AAA Conquista Total Gira 6.09.19: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Laredo Kid [****½]: This one got a lot of buzz, and due to that and the fact that I really enjoy both guys, knew I had to check it out. This was two young guys, with all the athleticism you could ask for, weaving it together into an excellent wrestling match. They mixed in some effective ground stuff when Vikingo “banged his knee up” to allow Laredo Kid the heat. That played well, and then the action really hit the next level and got properly crazy with imploding 450s, the Laredo Fly, and great near falls and fights for the ropes. Had they been able to really dial up the anger & intensity to peak the drama to that next level, it would have been even better and a high level MOTY candidate. This has been called the lucha MOTY, and I can certainly see why.

6. From NJPW BOSJ 26 Finals: Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson [****½]: This was an excellent and intense battle, with Moxley looking VERY motivated, in great shape an delivering the goods in his debut. His intensity was off the charts here, and was beautifully juxtaposed against Juice’s babyface fire. Juice has been in dead end feuds over the US Title, but finally got someone to dance with here and while he lost, out in a tremendous effort. This was a beautiful plunder filled brawl and was so different than anything else on the show it really stood out. A reinvigorated Moxley is great so far.

5. From NJPW Dominion 2019: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito [****½]: To the surprise of no one, these two killed it again, delivering a crazy and at times, dangerous match that played into their history very well. They started out differently than the previous two matches, but slowly escalated the action and intensity until finally peaking at the end with Naito winning back the championship. The apron German spot was terrifying, but the rest was what you come to expect from these two, high stakes action, maximum effort and while it obviously isn’t for everyone, they again delivered big time.

4. From NJPW Southern Showdown in Melbourne 2019: Will Ospreay vs. Robbie Eagles [****½]: This was an excellent piece of professional wrestling, properly paying tribute to their past matches, creating great hooks in terms of teasing an Eagles win, delivering amazing action, and also playing off of the established angel with Eagles and Phantasmo. I could have done without the Phantasmo involvement, but it never hurt the match and played a big part in the story, which was Eagles looking to prove himself and win on his own. Ospreay delivers again, and this should without question make Eagles a made man in NJPW as he was also excellent here. The Eagles angle with Bullet Club/Phantasmo also continues to be one of if not the best angles in NJPW right now. This should have main evented the show.

3. From OTT WrestleRama III: WALTER vs. David Starr [****¾]: These two have had a rich rivalry spanning many countries and promotions, and with WALTER losing his OTT Title to Jordan Devlin (an awesome match), Starr was looking to get into title contention by beating WALTER here after failing in MANY attempts. I though that the match smartly played off of past meetings but excelled through Starr’s character work as well as trying a new gameplan to finally beat the Big Daddy, and while it largely worked, it was Starr’s arrogance that ended up costing him as he tried to win via DQ with the Eddie Guerrero belt spot, only for Devlin to put a stop to that bullshit. Starr’s insistence on attacking Devlin led to his ultimate downfall as WALTER choked him out after an absolutely tremendous and emotionally charged match and effort from both men. If you aren’t watching these two in 2019, you’re really missing out.

2. From NJPW Dominion 2019: Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee [****¾]: This was an amazing and insane match, with Ospreay coming off of the MOTY contender against Shingo and making the most of his BOSJ win by winning the championship here. Both guys were absolutely great here, and Lee may have lost, but looked great in doing so, putting in another top notch effort. A mix of tremendous pacing, ambitious athleticism, and just two guys working extremely well together allowed this to be a complete success, and finishes Ospreay’s BOSJ tournament run and sets up his first title match with Eagles, who beat him in the BOSJ. Ospreay’s case for most outstanding performer of 2019 continues to grow.

1. From NJPW BOSJ 26 Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Shingo [*****]: This was a battle of two of the very best in the world delivering in the main event spot and maybe even surpassing the lofty expectations many had for this. This was an amazing match, and if Shingo had to lose, this was the way to do it as Ospreay had to empty his entire arsenal and then some just to keep up with him and survive long enough to have a chance to win. They obviously have huge plans with Ospreay and Shingo loses nothing after that amazing effort, and still has a title shot in his pocket due to beating Lee during the tournament. The pacing was tremendous, the drama was great and the crowd added a ton to this match. It was a match that had such high expectations that it could have disappointed in some way, but these two said not today and just destroyed each other in a beautiful war that constantly got better the longer it went along. This was absolutely off the charts and a more than fitting end to what is the best BOSJ tournament I’ve ever covered. This is in the clubhouse for my MOTY right now.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 32. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka; the guys will discuss and review the ROH Best in the World 2019 and AEW Fyter Fest 2019 events. Plus, a Daryl Takahashi cameo! The show is approximately 93-minutes long.

* Intro
* ROH Best in the World 2019 Review: 2:30
* AEW Fyter Fest 2019 Review: 42:12

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