Best Of 2019: Major Show Of The Year
IMG Credit: WWE
Believe it or not, there is something other than Takeover on here. This is what everything builds towards as the weekly television shows are designed to set up the big show, usually on Saturdays and Sundays. I know the weekly shows are basically terrible, but the big shows have actually been rather good. Or maybe that’s just NXT and Takeover.
Survivor Series
We’ll start with one that might be more of a sympathetic vote because I was in the house for the event. This show was built around the idea of a three way battle between Raw, Smackdown and NXT and that created one of the best and most interesting dynamics that we could have had. The whole thing was a smash hit and that’s more than you could ask for.
Then there was the show itself and it was quite the night of action. Save for a not great main event, you had one of the most entertaining shows I can remember in a long time, with NXT shocking the world by winning the Battle For Brand Supremacy and turning into the third brand instead of the developmental show for a first time. The wrestling was great, the build was better and the execution was awesome. What more can you ask for?
Takeover: Toronto
This is kind of a weird one as the show is kind of forgotten because of everything that took place before and after. The most memorable match on the show is the main event blowoff between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole, but the rest of the show was outstanding as well and it made for one of the best shows of the year.
As usual with NXT, it was the complete structure that made the whole thing work. There were five matches on the card and the worst was completely watchable. The main event is what people remember though, with the 2/3 falls match running nearly an hour. It’s a great show up and down and another good example of an NXT show that was a blast to watch and of high quality at the same time, because that’s what NXT does.
Takeover: WarGames
I was in the house for this one too and what a special feeling it was. What mattered here was the team battle situation and that made you feel something different. The two WarGames matches meant we had two reasons for William Regal to come in and shout WARGAMES so it was already a good day. There was other stuff on the show as well, but come on. Like anything else on the show really mattered here.
The main event was an absolute war though, with the big ending legitimately having me scared to look as Adam Cole was upside down above the top of the cage. This felt like a special event and having WarGames in there made it even better. I loved the show and there was nothing bad on it, which always tends to be the case. In other words, it was Takeover, again.
Double Or Nothing
This one is a different kind of major show as there was barely anything to set it up. AEW was still more of a concept than a company at this point so the expectations were both high and also almost non-existent at the same time. Then they went out there and had an incredible show with some great action and drama, plus the big surprise at the end of the show.
I know the big reason people are going to remember this show was the Moxley debut at the end and….well yeah it makes sense. That was one of the most important things to happen to AEW so far as they now had a big deal that they could point to with Moxley jumping over rather quickly after leaving WWE. Add in the Dustin vs. Cody blood bath, Omega vs. Jericho and the Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks and it was a great show with a big surprise at the end.
That’s going to be hard to top. This one did it pretty easily.
Takeover: New York
Every now and then you see a show that makes you remember why NXT has its reputation. This was NXT on the biggest stage in the biggest city under the brightest light and they hit it so far out of the park that you couldn’t even see the ball anymore. This was the show of the year and one of the best of all time with nothing below great and a show that left you wanting more when it was over.
I can’t praise this show enough and it’s up there with the other legendary NXT shows (most of which seem to take place over Wrestlemania weekend). Gargano finally winning the title was a special moment and I can’t even comprehend how high the show is if it’s Gargano vs. Ciampa as planned. This is an all timer and it’s one of the best NXT shows ever, which is as high as the praise gets.
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