Csonka’s Top 64 Matches of 2019: #49-40 – Okada vs. Suzuki, Fenix vs. Omega, More

WELCOME back, back to the column that makes lists and hopes that you enjoy them. This week’s column will look back at 2019 and will share my top 64 matches of the year. In order for a match to make the list, it had to have taken place sometime in 2019, and rate on my list at least at ****½. I am trying to create a best of playlist here with the idea behind it being for the person who has watched no wrestling in 2019 and are looking for the best things they missed. One thing that I have realized over the past few years as I have constantly upped the quantity of wrestling that I have been watching from all over the world, is that since 2014 or so, things have constantly been getting better and better. In terms of in ring quality, we’re really in a golden age with some spectacular performers putting on bigger, better, and more amazing matches and it’s an absolute joy to cover. Remember, this is just one man’s opinion; I hope that you enjoy, and feel free to share your thoughts and or list. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful of other’s opinions and don’t be a dick.”

49. From NJPW BOSJ 26 (Night 13): Shingo vs. Taiji Ishimori [****½]: Shingo goes undefeated, following in the footsteps of Liger & Devitt in that accomplishment. This was excellent stuff, with Ishimori overcoming his real life injury issues to put in a really great performance against the dominant Shingo. It wasn’t flashy or filled with bells and whistles, but was extremely competitive, with both guys delivering at a high level and a layout that allowed Ishimori to look more than competitive against Shingo as he went undefeated in the block. The real success of these Shingo matches are the layouts, he always comes across as a big star, but the key is making him appear vulnerable enough that his opponent FEELS like he could win, and they did that here. Ishimori has a strong tournament, beat Lee, and lost nothing losing to Shingo here.

48. From AEW Double or Nothing 2019: The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros. [****½]: This was an excellent match as tag team wrestling was featured again. It was completely different from Cody vs. Dustin, but with an amazingly hot crowd, balls to the wall action, and both teams shining as they emptied their entire arsenals to try and not only one up each other, but also to win and be champions. Everyone was on point here, everything worked, and it more than delivered on expectations. This tag division has so much talent and potential to be great and a true highlight of the promotion.

47. From NJPW BOSJ 26 (Night 8): Shingo vs. Dragon Lee [****½]: Following Ospreay vs. Bandido, these two had a lot to live up to, and they did. Shingo continues to deliver, remains undefeated, and now lays claim to a title shot even if he doesn’t win the tournament. Shingo comes off as such a star, and Lee looked great here, taking Shingo to his limit and looking like he could actually beat the undefeated. But at the end of the day, Shingo was just too much and Lee couldn’t overcome, even using his best stuff and unloading almost his entire arsenal on Shingo, but Shingo overcame, and proves to be the superior dragon as he continues to mow down the field while delivering killer performances.

46. From NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5.04.19: Big Tom Ishii vs. EVIL [****½] : This was fucking awesome, and exactly the type of war they had built to all tour long and it didn’t disappoint. In my preview, I explained how this would resemble a fight more than a professional grappling contest, and that’s exactly what we got here. This was a beautiful symphony of violence, with a highly invested crowd, great drama, Ishii delivering because he’s big match Tom, and EVIL putting in one of his best overall singles efforts to date. If he can take what he did here and do that more often, he’ll certainly be a main event player. All hail Big Tom Ishii, now give that man a title shot.

45. From AAA Heroes Inmortales 10.19.19: Fenix vs. Kenny Omega [****½]: This was for Fenix’s AAA Mega Championship, and was set up by a challenge that Omega issued at Triplemania XXVII in August, where Fenix, Pentagon, & Laredo Kid defeated Omega & The Young Bucks. They had an excellent match, similar in quality to their previous meeting for NEW. The took their past and used it well here, working at a great pace and bringing all of the goodness you’re used to from these men. Fenix is an absolutely dynamic highflier and was working at a main event level here, while big match Kenny was in the house. The closing stretch, including a bloody Fenix, was off the charts and put this over the top, with some spectacular counter work. The crowd was great for this and Omega won the championship with a powerbomb, piledriver and one winged angel for the murder death kill finishing sequence.

44. From NJPW BOSJ (Night One): Sho vs. Shingo [****½]: This was an excellent match, as they took all of the great groundwork they laid during the Dontaku tour and expanded on that here. They kept the same fire and tenacity, and while Shingo won the day, Sho had a great showing and was again clearly positioned as Shingo’s main singles rival. This was everything I was hoping for from these two, as they had set the stage very well, and again, took all of that great work they did and made it all worth it and delivered a certified banger here. Sho came close in ways, showing that his submission game may eventually be the key to winning, but not today. This was beautiful violence; Shingo is awesome and Sho will only get better.

43. From AJPW Champion Carnival (Night Seventeen): Naoya Nomura vs. Suwama [****½]: Nomura is a really good fight from the bottom performer, and while he’s in a position to succeed here, he still played that role here. He also thrives against bigger performers from what I’ve seen, and that was also on display here. Suwama throttles him, tossed him around and dominated until Nomura fired up and showed the fighting spirit that largely defines him. Nomura slowly wears down Suwama, and then they work into a tremendous closing stretch filled with awesome fire, trading bombs, showing fighting spirit, and some really well done near falls that were so great until Nomura finally won. This was some excellent pro wrestling.

42. From NJPW WrestleKingdom 13: Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay [****½]: This was an excellent match to kick off the main card, as they gave you what you wanted in parts, but also took you in a different direction. There were great callbacks, and the change in pace that led to a way more physical match than anyone expected. I loved that it didn’t overstay its welcome and we got a decisive winner, which was a theme on this card.

41. From The NJ Cup Finals: Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA [****½]: While it started a bit slow, it smartly built throughout and while SANADA failed again to beat Okada, it feels as he’s getting closer and closer to really taking one of those top spots and a win over Okada. The build was strong throughout, the crowd was hot and the closing stretch of about 10-minutes absolutely ruled and it really felt like SANADA had a chance to pull it off. This was excellent pro wrestling, and while I would have loved a SANADA win, the story with Okada main eventing MSG against his foil White makes the most sense.

40. From NJPW Royal quest 2019: Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki [****½]: This was an absolutely excellent main event as these two continue to show some unreal chemistry. As expected, Suzuki dominated and brutalized the champion throughout and not only looked great, but not being in the G1 was likely the best thing for him because he feels so fresh and revitalized like he now has another decade left to kill fools. It was a great and physical war of a match, While there was about zero chance of a Suzuki title win, he always felt like a threat and that there was a small chance that the king could pull it out. Some of the best parts were how they played to the crowd and got so much out of the little things. This ruled.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 77. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Jeremy Lambert break down their 2019 Wrestling Awards, the Cubsfan returns to talk the world of Lucha, & Steve Cook joins the show to discuss Vince McMahon’s loyalty to Jerry Lawler before the annual airing of the grievances. The show is approximately 210-minutes long.

* Intro
* The 2019 Wrestling Awards: 4:35
* Talking Lucha With The Cubsfan (Sin Cara, The Ingobernable Stables, Rey Horus, Rush Losing The ROH Title, More): 1:32:45
* Discussing Vince McMahon’s Loyalty to Jerry Lawler & The Airing of The 2019 Wrestling Grievances With Steve Cook: 2:10:20

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– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.