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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
20. Shayna Baszler
Points: 1466 (ranked higher because of higher high vote than Matt Riddle)
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Joey O., Nicholas Reed)
Last Year's Ranking: 7th Place
Joshua Browns: Another person I voted for on the basis of not only what they did for themselves, but for what they did for others. Shayna delivered over and over again in 2019, and got a bunch of people over in the process. In an era where the idea of “believability” gets flogged to death by a tiny subset of bad-faith actors, I think it’s important to remember that it still is fairly important that a wrestler look like they’re really trying to beat up their opponent. The women of the current era bring a lot of different things to the table, but nobody looks like they’re trying to hurt somebody as much as Shayna Baszler does. If I were a woman trying to get over as a babyface, Shayna Baszler is the person I’d want to be in the ring with.
Joey O.: Baszler comes off as a dangerous threat every single time she walks in the ring, carries herself like a star who will legit choke out anyone and everyone, and never has a bad match. She's a pure heel and a true "submission magician." Putting aside her MMA background, I don't know if there's anyone more believable when it comes to in-ring violence than Shayna 2-Time. With the booking of the women in the WWE, she's the only one with the credibility to knock Becky Lynch off the top of the mountain... if only she'd won the Royal Rumble...
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 1487
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Bill Hanstock)
Last Year's Ranking: 24th Place
TH: It's no secret I fell off watching WWE sometime last year, and I miss certain wrestlers. Asuka is 100 percent one of them. Her match with Becky Lynch at the Rumble may have been the best women's match in main roster history, and a close third after the two Bayley/Sasha Banks NXT main events overall. No one in that company has the gift of graceful snugness like she does.
Joey O.: From her crisp kicks to the addition of the green mist to her arsenal, Asuka is still one of the most talented and entertaining wrestlers (and YouTubers!) in the world. When WWE remembered that and gave her the spotlight, she was electrifying.
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| Photo Credit: NJPW1972.com |
Points: 1523
Ballots: 16
Highest Vote: 1st Place (TH, Bill Hanstock)
Last Year's Ranking: 65th Place
TH: There once was a time that I didn't care for Takagi. Back in the Dragon Gate USA days, I found him brusque and extra. I don't know if he changed. Maybe I did. I don't know. However, his run in New Japan in 2019 was in a word eye-opening. Every match he was in was hard-hitting and epic in scale. He was inarguably (at least to me) the MVP of the G1 Climax. Shingo Takagi was the best in-ring wrestler in the world in 2019, and I'm not sure anyone was all that close.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 1526
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Cosmis)
Last Year's Ranking: 41st Place
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| Photo Credit: Lee South |
Points: 1571
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Brandon Kay)
Last Year's Ranking: Not Ranked
TH: PAC is probably the shortest male wrestler on the roster, or at least one of them, and yet he's the most effective aggressive heel. It's a wonderful paradox that helped back up his self-proclaimed "bastard" aura, and because the tallest members of the AEW roster haven't debuted yet, it's effective because everyone's not much taller than he is.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 1575
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Jarrett Saidler, Brandon Kay)
Last Year's Ranking: 3rd Place
Joey O.: After her history-making Mania main event, The Man seemed to get stuck in second gear match-wise for too much of this year, feuding endlessly with Lacey Evans, then never having a true challenger on her level for much of 2019 (aside from Sasha Banks and her endless frenemy Charlotte). Hopefully, the main roster women heal and/or the NXT women step up so Lynch can shine as much as we all know she can.
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| Photo Credit: NJPW1972.com |
Points: 1575 (Ranked ahead of Becky Lynch because he received more votes, which is the second tiebreaker after high vote)
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Matt T., Rizz)
Last Year's Ranking: 67th Place
TH: Cagey old veteran Chris Jericho has been a lot better in the ring than advertised. Although he breaks out the lionsault every once in awhile, he's based his game more on being a grumpy old brawler. Whatever works works I always say.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 1582
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Chris McDonald, Joey O., Andrew Hewitt
Last Year's Ranking: 1st Place
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 1583
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Rizz)
Last Year's Ranking: 12th Place
Joey O.: I never stopped using his "full" name, but Andrade is always such an exciting presence in the ring and has clicked with so many different performers. Of course, he's worked best with his fellow legacy luchador Rey Mysterio but any time El Idolo gets 10+ min on TV, you're guaranteed to see something great.
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| Photo Credit: NJPW1972.com |
Points: 1608
Ballots: 17
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Don Becker, Chris Striegel, Bill Hanstock, Mat Morgan)
Last Year's Ranking: 8th Place
TH: Lil' Kazu spent most of the year with the Japanese Big Gold Belt, and as par for the course, his main events were at least watchable, which I swear isn't damning with faint praise. I think him leaning into being lauded as the best worker in the world has allowed him to act cockier in the ring, which actually enhances his matches.
Kirk Dessler: The best closing streak in the business: MSG G1 Supercard. Nothing more to say.
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| Photo Credit: NJPW1972.com |
Points: 1613
Ballots: 18
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Mat Morgan, John Bills)
Last Year's Ranking: 25th Place
TH: Everyone's favorite sentient bowling ball continued his run as CHAOS' official gatekeeper and NEVER Openweight Championship contender. His G1 as always was a masterclass in dumptruck battles, especially with Moxley and Taichi. If Ishii is on the card, you know you'll have something more than the main event to look forward too, unless he's in the main event.
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| Photo Credit: NJPW1972.com |
Points: 1631
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Kirk Dessler)
Last Year's Ranking: 10th Place
Kirk Dessler: 2019 is the year in which Kota Ibushi's suicidal tendencies have been more latent than ever. Legitimately knocked out at Wrestle Kingdom 13, he did not hesitate to engage in a mortal spectacle against Tetsuya Naito at MSG. He crowned his year with an immaculate G1 final against Jay White a match perfectly contrasting the methodical style of heel Jay White and the unstoppable reckless Ibushi.
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| Photo Credit: Bob Mulrenin |
Points: 1657
Ballots: 23
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Don Becker, Matt T.)
Last Year's Ranking: 45th Place
TH: Everyone's favorite fearless skeleton found a nice groove as a tag team specialist with his brother. His hard-hitting hammer nature is a great complement to Rey Feníx's peerless aerodynamics.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 1683
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Joshua Browns)
Last Year's Ranking: 80th Place
Joshua Browns: I’m a latecomer to the Keith Lee party – I remember folks involved in the Austin scene talking him up and I’d seen a few viral clips of him and Dijak from Evolve and PWG, but it wasn’t until his match with Dasher Hatfield in Chikara (during what turned out to be the early stages of his indie farewell tour) that I really got to see what he was all about. I’d almost certainly have him fairly high on my list no matter what kind of a year 2019 had been for him; “giant hoss dripping with charisma who will also occasionally do 2nd-rope moonsaults and avalanche Spanish Flies” is about as EXTREMELY MY SHIT™ as you’re likely to get, but for me, what made him an easy #1 choice is the simple fact that nobody did more to get both themselves AND their opponents over in the ring this year than Keith Lee. He showcased his own incredible set of skills while also helping to rescue Dijak’s stalled NXT momentum, he elevated Roderick Strong from B-level Undisputed Era henchman into unstoppable cardio monster who can credibly take punishment from a guy three times his size and still keep coming, and, well, he pounced Adam Cole into low Earth orbit, which didn’t really do anything for Cole (not that he really needs the help), but was metal as shit. Oh, and then he showed up at Survivor Series and started laying the foundation for what could be a main-event-of-Mania-level career on the main roster. That’s a pretty goddamn special year.
Scott Raychel: Keith Lee’s feud with fellow big boy Dominik Dijakovic was so good it made NXT themselves finally realize that Lee is the resident hoss they should’ve been pushing all along instead of Dijakovic. Look no further than their match on the August 28th episode of NXT. It’s the best in their series and in ten minutes, those two put together a glorious hoss battle better than any 30+ minute NJPW epic that some nerd will try to tell you is great because an even bigger nerd with a paid subscription blog jerked off a random number of stars all over its numerous false finishes and Tokyo Domes. Anyways, Keith Lee is the light, the truth, and the way. BASK.
Joey O.: Keith Lee defied the laws of physics in his mind-blowing series of matches with Dominik Dijakovic, then took everything to another level at the end of 2019, including his WarGame/Survivor Series weekend showcase. The guy truly is limitless. Bonus points for the pounce that launched a thousand GIFs.
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| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 1784
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Chris McDonald, Joey O., Sara Hates 2 Tweet)
Last Year's Ranking: 37th Place
Adam Blount: Adam Cole has got down the art of match finishes. The closing stages of his matches nearly always improve them from good to great. And leave you feeling like you just witnessed an epic. The dude is charismatic as all get out too. And he sells like a champ. He had more big matches that delivered than just about anyone else last year. You gotta rate him.
Joey O.: Adam Cole went above and beyond as the linchpin of NXT all year long. A deserving champion, he started 2019 in that Super Bowl halftime trios match (remember what a blast that was?), had that incredible series of Takeover title matches vs. Johnny Gargano and wrapped up the year as the victim in Keith Lee's Greatest GIF. He had that run of amazing, grueling matches around WarGames/Survivor Series week too! Cole seems to never get as many accolades as his opponents, yet that's another reason why his work in 2019 was so great. Always in the mix at the top of NXT cards, Cole was easily my pick for #1 in this year's TWB.
Tomorrow, the TWB enters THE TOP FIVE.
