Best Of 2019: Wrestler Of The Year

IMG Credit: WWE

I’m picking these using a random number generator and I didn’t intend for two of the biggest ones to be included on the first day. This might be the most important award of all and there were a lot of names to pick from this year. You really could go in a lot of directions with this one and that makes things all the more fascinating.

Adam Cole

Sometimes, you look at a wrestler and just see “it”. That’s not the easiest concept to define, but it’s something that you either have or you don’t. Adam Cole has it and he has a lot of it. There’s something about him that just screams STAR, which is impressive considering his not incredibly impressive physique (look back at his Ring of Honor days and see if you can find his biceps).

What you get from Cole is the complete package. He has a rather punchable face, some great promos and some even better matches. This was a year where Cole reached the top of the mountain in NXT and that isn’t something that people reach easily. It’s a big deal to make it there and it’s going to be a big deal when someone beats him. Cole has his reputation for a reason and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Kofi Kingston

Kofi is a weird case as he had the biggest and most successful career of his life (don’t forget a pair of Tag Team Title reigns to go along with the World Title) but….he’s always been this good. I can’t think of a single bad match Kofi has had in years. He’s been one of the top merchandise sellers for a long time now because of New Day and he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame both on his own and as part of the team. That’s an amazing run and this was the crowning achievement.

That being said, it was more a year of him finally getting a chance than him elevating himself that much more. It’s part of the curse of being that good: how much better can you really get? Kingston has been one of my favorites for a long time now and he’s FINALLY had his big moment and career day. Yeah he’s one of the best in the world, but how is that different than most years?

Seth Rollins

Now I know this one is going to get some people annoyed, but Rollins had one of the best years in a long time. You don’t beat Brock Lesnar twice in a single year and not get some praise for it and that’s what he did here. The problem though is how far Raw fell with him on top and that isn’t something that is going to go away.

I know Rollins is one of the best in the world once the bell rings, but there isn’t much to him as a face. When one of your biggest stories of the year was the fact that your girlfriend is a top star, your career is kind of in trouble, even if you are World Champion. Rollins is someone who can do all kinds of things, but being the top star does not seem to be one of them. It was a bad year for Raw and Rollins was on top for a lot of it, which isn’t a good thing.

Shayne Baszler

NXT deserves some attention here and Baszler was one of their best. There is something great to be said about being the wrestler who surprises you every single time by leaving as champion, especially when you’re sure it’s her time to lose. However, the catch with Baszler is that she always seemed to deserve to retain the title because she was that good. How many people can say that?

The thing that strikes me the most about Shayna is the fact that she is STILL down in NXT (though I’d be surprised if she isn’t in the Rumble). It says a lot that she has been one of its top stars during its breakout year and that is worthy of a lot of attention. She is learning how to command a ring and an audience and even though she may be older than a lot of the roster, she has a lot of things that they don’t and that was on display this year.

Chris Jericho

After TLC II at Wrestlemania XVII, Jim Ross said something like “just when you think these six men couldn’t raise the bar any more, they did it.” That’s how I feel about Jericho. How many times do you believe that he has to be done, only to see him reinvent himself AGAIN? It’s an amazing thing to see and he has done it again with Le Champion and the Little Bit Of The Bubbly stuff. It’s uncanny at this point and he just keeps doing it.

Jericho has put AEW on his back and carried them as far as they have gone so far. He’s easily the biggest star in the whole company and someone who feels important every single time he’s on screen. You don’t do that at his age and he’s making it look easy, because he really is that great. Jericho has earned this and when you throw in his stuff with New Japan, it’s even more impressive.

Daniel Bryan

I was lucky enough to be at Wrestlemania XXX when Bryan won the WWE Championship in one of the all time great moments. It’s one of the coolest things that you’ll ever see in wrestling as Bryan was the ultimate underdog and pulled off the miracle (not on Bourbon Street Cole, though it sounded great). That being said, he’s a better heel than face and that was on display in 2019.

Bryan turned into Captain Planet with Erick Rowan in one of the most bizarre yet oddly perfect teams in years and wound up tearing the house down most nights. Those promos he had are some of the best you’ll see all year, like having a hemp title so that a cow named Daisy didn’t have to suffer. That was one of those lines that made me wonder if it came to him in a dream because no human should be able to come up with it. This was a great year for Bryan as he showed how versatile he really is.

Becky Lynch

This is one where if it was done by PWI rules (as in July to June), Lynch would win in a heartbeat. The problem though is she cooled off a good bit down the stretch due to running out of people to face. I know that’s a weird complaint to make because she was that good, but other than Asuka now, who is supposed to be seen as a real threat to her (other than Charlotte, who she never needs to face again)?

That being said, the first half of her year included the biggest match in the history of women’s wrestling and a legitimate milestone/game changer moment. That’s something that no one is ever going to be able to take away from her and she deserves all of the praise and accolades that she gets from it. Wrestlemania made her a legend, but there were other things going on that year.

And now, for one of the biggest surprises of the year as the winner.

Bray Wyatt

Character means a lot in wrestling and sweet goodness did Wyatt have it in spades this year. The Firefly Fun House started off as some kooky idea from Wyatt and turned into absolute must see TV every single week. At first everything was a bunch of fun and games (literally in some cases) but then we heard about someone called….The Fiend. It was time to be off to the races.

One day we got to see the Fiend in person and while it was Wyatt in a mask, this felt different. Above all else, Wyatt felt like a different person and someone who was genuinely scary. I got to see him in person a few times and the crowd went quiet when he appeared. Not quiet in a boredom kind of way, but quiet in a “what are we seeing” kind of way. I’ve only heard of that from one person before and that’s the Undertaker. That’s as solid of a compliment as you can get and it worked every time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also -available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

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