Best Of 2020: Worst Angle Of The Year

These are the ones you remember. There are so many angles and stories that take place over the course of the year that it is natural to have something stand out as worse than others. WWE tends to have a corner on the market for these things but there are always a few others that sneak through. That may be the case again this year, but you never can tell. Let’s get to it.

As usual, in no particular order until the winner at the end.

Raw Underground

I’m not sure how terrible this was, but it was so random and came and went so suddenly that I think it warrants an inclusion. Above all else, it was barely used and didn’t really advance anything, so I’d call it more lame than bad. That being said, I’m rarely a fan of something along the lines of “this is the REAL fighting” on a wrestling show and while it was far from the Brawl For All, it wasn’t exactly great.

Retribution

It bothers me to have to put this one on here but it was such a pathetic story for so long that it’s hard not to. I like most of the people involved and I was really glad to see Ali get something to do, but egads how worthless did this team seem for so long? They’re getting better now, albeit at such a low level that it’s hard to make myself care. T-Bar had some amazing moments in NXT and Ali is one of the easiest people to cheer for in WWE today. Why is this the best they can do for them?

Viking Profits

Now I know this one was popular with some fans and that’s fine enough. I did like pieces of it but the whole thing went on for SO long without actually having a match that it felt more like a badly scripted reality series (The Raiders can play basketball but get confused by various common modern references?) than anything else. The cinematic deal with the ninjas and various Marvel/Star Wars references was entertaining, but (and yes this is the old school traditionalist in me), when you advertise a match after weeks/months of buildup, I’d kind of like to see it happen rather than another wacky skit.

Goldberg Returns, Wins Universal Title

So this one was the most infuriating at the time, especially when it was designed to set up the Battle Of The Spears at Wrestlemania, but Goldberg was in the ring less than ten minutes. We’re long past the point where WWE is going to care about how annoyed fans get at Goldberg, so you just kind of learn to live with it. Annoying yes, but at least Goldberg was gone at Wrestlemania, never to be seen…..never mind.

Then there is this, which is worse for one reason.

Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt

As I saw pointed out on SCF, this went on for THREE MONTHS with three pay per view matches, including Money in the Bank and whatever the Swamp Fight was. WWE seemed to think that Strowman was interesting enough to carry half of this feud and oh sweet goodness no. This clinched the worst as soon as you realized that they were going to a third pay per view no matter what. Strowman isn’t very good in the first place (at least not in situations like this) and then he feuded with Wyatt for three pay per views because he was an enforcer for the Wyatt Family (one of three). This just kept going and that’s enough to be the worst.

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Best Of 2020: Group/Tag Team Of The Year

Tag team wrestling has had a much better 2020 than you likely would have bet on and a lot of that is due to AEW, who treat tag team wrestling as a much more important deal than WWE has in probably decades. WWE has actually done a few nice things as well though and we could be in for some rather good choices this time around. I’m sure there’s another team from somewhere else in there too. Let’s get to it.

As usual, in no order until the winner at the end.

Team McAfee

I’ll get the easiest one out of the way first as Team McAfee was great (or at least McAfee was) with the talking alone being outstanding. It helps that they won some titles and then moved on to the pretty awesome WarGames match. They weren’t around very long, but they made the most out of the time that they have. I could go for Ridge Holland being involved as well, but what we got worked out rather well.

New Day

You almost have to include these guys, even though the trio was split. Even still, the two man version did rather well as the team (in both forms) combined to win multiple Tag Team Titles. That is the kind of thing that at least earns them a spot on the list and it would be hard to imagine New Day not being here. Yes the team is different than it was before, but at least they still had a very good stretch before being split. Kofi and Woods will be fine too, because the team still is that good.

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

I’m made my thoughts on a lot of AEW’s issues rather clear over the years but these guys figured out how to be an awesome team despite having almost no history together before winning the Tag Team Titles. They went on to have some outstanding matches and a heck of a run with the titles before having a great mini feud as well. Odds are we’ll be seeing that again later, but for now, it was just a great tag run.

Young Bucks

If you’re going to mention Page and Omega, you have to throw these guys in too. As is always the case, the Bucks are going to have all of their flips and dives, but when you can get past those (which are rather good) and have them do a more traditional match, they’re as good as anyone going today. Their matches with FTR and Page/Omega were incredible and I can always go for more of that kind of thing. The flips are their signature deal, but they have all kinds of talent elsewhere and that is worthy of a spot.

The North

This is a team that started off as almost nothing and turned into one of the best things going in wrestling. They held the Tag Team Titles for over a year and it felt like an actually epic moment when they finally lost the things. I know Impact doesn’t get the same kind of viewership and the team is split up, but these guys were an absolute hidden gem and the best thing about the company for a long time.

Golden Role Models

It’s true that the team probably dragged on a bit too long and might have been repetitive at times, but you can’t argue with them having two titles each and absolutely owning both women’s divisions for a long stretch. It’s a story that would only work for the two of them and then they had the big blowoff feud to end Bayley’s record setting reign. That’s a story you don’t get to see very often and it took the right people to tell it, which is what you had here.

Street Profits

They aren’t aimed at me, I don’t know what yum yum juice is and I have no earthly idea what the heck they’re talking about half the time but sweet goodness these guys are fun to watch. It’s like a cruiserweight version of the Hart Foundation with the power and speed (a lot of speed in this case) and they became one of the few truly established teams by hold some form of the Tag Team Titles for most of the year. Ford is the breakout star waiting to happen but Dawkins has more than held up his end and has a heck of a future of his own. I love these guys and thankfully they seem set for a long time to come.

That leaves one and you know what time it is.

Hurt Business

What started off feeling like a new Nation of Domination has turned into its own thing and what a thing it has been. These guys have all you could ask for with some titles, an awesome look (a team in suits will always look great) and one heck of a mouthpiece manager with MVP in a career renaissance. These guys could be around for a long time and have been one of the few highlights of a mostly dreadful year for Raw. They’re pretty easily the best for me and hopefully they’re around long enough to be in the running next year.

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Best Of 2020: Match Of The Year

We were lucky in 2020 as there were some awesome matches to pick from throughout the year. That is one thing that has grown incredibly well in recent years, as the in-ring work has gotten more and more polished. There were choices from multiple promotions and some of them were absolutely great. I had fun making these picks and there are a lot to go through. Let’s get to it.

As usual, no order until the winner at the end.

Stadium Stampede (Double Or Nothing)

Opinions on cinematic matches are going to be all over the place most of the time and that was the case with Stadium Stampede. I had a blast with this as you could see a lot of creativity throughout the whole thing with some great ideas. If nothing else, Hangman Page riding a freaking horse into the stadium to chase Sammy Guevara off was outstanding and the bar fight worked well too. It’s not for everyone, but this was a blast all night long and you could see the effort they put in.

Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso (Clash Of The Champions)

This one makes it for a few reasons, with the biggest one being just how out of nowhere it was. Think about it for a second: it was JEY USO in a pay per view main event and it was awesome. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this and then they went out and had a classic. It wasn’t the kind of a match that was supposed to have a ton of drama and the ending wasn’t in doubt, but they had an outstanding match and the things they pulled off deserve praise.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (Wrestle Kingdom Night One)

Oh like these two weren’t going to make a list like this. These two put on a Wrestle Kingdom worthy major match and it felt every bit as big as you would expect. New Japan’s wrestlers can do this kind of match better than anyone in the world and even though I wasn’t exactly clear on the story (as tends to be the case), I got sucked into the match, as tends to be the case. Outstanding stuff and, as usual, worth seeing.

Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi (Wrestle Kingdom Night One)

It’s from the same night and might have been the better of the two matches. This was all about high flying and doing one crazy spot after another until the other person couldn’t get back up. Ospreay might be the best in the world at doing just that and they tore the dome down with this one. These two are some of the better and more consistent performers on New Japan’s already great roster and this was no exception.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (Tables Ladders And Chairs)

Much like the Uso match, there was no drama in the finish but they had me coming really close to believing that they might pull the trigger. Owens just kept getting up and the whole thing was perfect given the story that had been told coming in. It was an awesome showcase for both of them with Owens continuing to earn his reputation as one of the best in WWE. It takes a lot to make me want to cheer someone to keep going but they pulled it off here. That’s pretty impressive.

FTR vs. Young Bucks (Full Gear)

This was the dream match that a lot of people had wanted to see for good reason. The question was whether or not FTR could make their old school style work with the Bucks certainly non-old school style and indeed they did, with some rather nice bonuses thrown in. Above all else, there was a stretch of classic double team moves thrown in which was incredibly charming. This was two great teams doing everything you could want to see them do and telling a great story throughout. I know the Bucks don’t have the best reputation, but they are outstanding when they are given the right circumstances.

Undertaker vs. AJ Styles (Wrestlemania XXXVI Night One)

Of all the matches I saw all year, this is the one that I enjoyed more than any other. These guys beat the heck out of each and it was one of the best things WWE has done in a long time. This felt like a fight between two people who wanted to hurt each other and that’s exactly what they did, with all kinds of bonuses thrown in. I left this thinking I could not have asked for more and the fact that it wound up being historic made it even better.

Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov (NXT UK TV – October 29)

This is the definition of the big fight feel as the two of them beat the living daylights out of each other. The match felt like a struggle between two people who were fighting over a prize and that is about as good of a thing as you are going to see. No one brings it in a big match these days like Walter and Dragunov had been built up as a real threat and they lived up to the entire thing.

You could pick a few different matches for this but this one stuck out more than any other.

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page vs. Young Bucks

I wasn’t sure what was coming during the buildup to this one and they blew away the expectations. There were so many ways to go and the question was which way they chose. One of the best feelings in all of wrestling is not knowing what was going to take place going into a huge match and that was the case here. Then there was the match itself, which was two great teams having one amazing sequence after another, including a bunch of near falls and saves. I loved this match and it stuck with me more than anything, which is the best thing you can have.

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Best Of 2020: Worst Match Of The Year

This is one of the interesting ones as thinking back to all of the bad matches over the course of the year can pull up some horrible memories. There were some matches that I had forgotten about and I wasn’t thrilled with having them pop back into my head. The in-ring product has come a long way in that you have a certain baseline for most matches, but the bad ones really fall apart. Let’s get to it.

As usual, in no particular order until the winner at the end.

Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt (Money In The Bank)

These two were stuck in one of the worst situations two wrestlers can be in: being part of a feud that isn’t as big as the company thinks it is and running with it. That’s the case here, as Strowman and Wyatt may have been stablemates but it wasn’t like it was some big deal. This was the match where everything stopped for the sake of Bray trying to control Strowman again and then Strowman just won. I’m not sure why this is supposed to interest me, but that is the case with anything Strowman does.

Dasha Gonzalez/Rachael Ellering vs. Ivelisse/Diamante (AEW Women’s Tag Team Tournament)

I know I’m in the minority on the tournament but I thought it was one of the biggest wastes of time I’ve seen in a long time and one of the only times AEW completely misfired. This was the complete bottom of the barrel as Gonzalez wasn’t a wrestler (not her fault) and Ellering was recovering from a torn ACL. That left Ivelisse and Diamante to carry the thing and that was always going to be a disaster. This was terrible and perhaps the worst match AEW has done to date.

Bayley vs. Tamina (Money In The Bank)

This one falls under the category of “what were you expecting”? Bayley has gotten a lot better over the course of the year but Tamina was just a fill in challenger until they could get to the showdown with Sasha Banks. The problem is that it’s Tamina, who is perhaps the least interesting main roster star. I feel sorry for Bayley and it isn’t Tamina’s fault that she is put into these spots, but this never had a chance.

Women’s Survivor Series Match (Survivor Series)

You never can tell what is going to happen with something like this, but this was at the height of the Nia Jax Puts Lana Through A Table Every Week period. As a result, this was ALL about Jax tormenting Lana until there was a massive countout to give Lana the win. It was a bad story, bad execution and a bad ending. What more could you have expected from something like this?

Goldberg vs. The Fiend (Super Showdown)

The only thing this match has going for it is that it was short. They had less than three minutes, but man alive it was a frustrating and bad three minutes. Goldberg managed to hit four spears and the Jackhammer for one of the most irritating results of the year. This is more on the booking than the wrestling, but that doesn’t exactly make things that much better.

I went back and forth on this but I couldn’t come up with anything to beat it.

Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt (Extreme Rules)

This was the Swamp Fight and that means it’s time for Wyatt’s crazy antics. I know they sound cool on paper but they were doing this for the sake of having a second match between the two of them, making it a long, drawn out exercise in putting out whatever insanity they felt they could put on screen. I’m (almost) completely over these cinematic matches and a lot of Bray’s stuff is more tiring than anything else. It went long too, making this as bad as it got all year.

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Best Of 2020: Feud Of The Year

This is another one of the more important ones as you need a good feud to make people care about what they are going to be seeing. If you can find a hot rivalry, it can carry the entire promotion on its back, which is one of the more important as well as difficult things to do. There were some good ones to pick from in 2020 so let’s get to it.

As usual, in no order until the winner at the end.

Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

This is a rather simple concept turned up to eleven, which is where AEW can shine. They were partners, then Page started going nuts with paranoia over not being elite and they dropped the Tag Team Titles. Page lost to Omega in the finals of the #1 contenders tournament, but it seems that this is going to be revisited later. This was all about the deep storytelling and drama between the two of them, which made for some great moments week to week between the two of them.

Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso

I had to decide between this one or Reigns vs. Owens, because Reigns was good enough to be on the list twice. There was one difference though: the Owens feud was always going to be good because you know what Owens can do. This was Jey Uso having a crazy good pair of World Title matches on pay per view. Just the surprise of seeing something like that made the feud that much better and it’s enough to get the win here.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley

This one was built almost entirely on the promos but then the match was good enough to carry its own weight. There wasn’t a ton of drama about Kingston becoming champion, but that is not always a bad thing. It was about the journey instead of the conclusion, and Kingston’s promo work was among the best, if not the very best, of the year. Moxley did his thing too, but this was the Kingston show.

Randy Orton vs. Edge

This is another one where I had to pick one over the other, as Drew McIntyre and Orton had a rather long feud of their own. I liked this one better than, if nothing else because it didn’t drag on as long. Throw in that I was one of the few who liked the Last Man Standing match and it was a heck of a way to bring Edge back. Granted I hope they don’t relaunch it again when he is healed up, but it worked out well here.

Team McAfee vs. Undisputed Era

Earlier on I said that you were going to see McAfee’s name in this a lot and that is going to be the case here again. What was originally going to be Ridge Holland turned into Pete Dunne (at least that seems to be the case) and Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch with McAfee as the mouthpiece against the best faction NXT has ever seen. They had a great singles match and then a great WarGames match with the promos being even better. It came and went in a hurry, but what we got was great.

However, there was one thing that was built up and then paid off very well too.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

These two have been joined at the hip for years and that is likely going to be the case for a very long time to come. They spent most of the year as friends, dominated the title scene, and then Bayley turned on her before Banks could do it, which is a rather brilliant way to go. The matches were very good but the story was better, because the history was there. That’s what makes a great feud exceptional, and that’s what they did here.

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Best Of 2020: Wrestler Of The Year

You can’t have a wrestling show without them. It all comes down to this as wrestlers are the thing that makes the shows move forward. Your individual taste in wrestlers may vary again but I’ll be going for a bit of a mix of everything here. Odds are you are going to have a few different options, but there were several good choices to pick from this year. Let’s get to it.

As usual, no order until the ending.

Roman Reigns

I’m not going with him as the best choice as he was only around at such a level for four months. Reigns was incredible while he was around though and that is the kind of performance that deserves some recognition. Odds are he is going to be one of, if not the, best stars of 2021 but the back quarter of his 2020 was some of the best work throughout the year.

Io Shirai

Shirai is someone who is going to fly underneath the radar but she has been NXT Women’s Champion for about seven months and has run through some rather stiff competition during her reign. She keeps getting better and better and still has one of the best moonsaults going. I could go for seeing her holding that title for a long time to come and at the pace she is on, that is exactly what she is going to do.

Randy Orton

I know a lot of people aren’t wild on him and I can understand that, but Orton is still one of the more consistent performers in all of WWE and has been for a very long time now. He had multiple big feuds this year and had at least a few good matches in each of them, which is better than almost anyone else can say. Yes Orton has been around for a long time now and has been on top for a good while, but there is a reason for that: he has earned the spot.

Asuka

She might be the best woman on the main roster (or the best person on any roster) and there is no shock that she was handed the keys after Becky Lynch took time off. Asuka can do it all and has more charisma that she knows what to do with most of the time. She feels like a star and is someone who should be able to be near the top of the women’s division for as long as she wants to be.

Bayley

There is a heck of an argument to have Bayley near or at the top of this list as she was all over the television shows and was awesome throughout. Couple that with an epic title reign and the big fight feel against Sasha Banks and it was really tempting to give this to her. Bayley managing to become one of the best WWE heels going today is impressive as I loved her face run that much, but I wouldn’t have expected this to work nearly so well.

Drew McIntyre

I’ve been a huge McIntyre fan for a very long time now and I was so happy to see him finally win the World Title that he had seemed primed to get for so long. He went on to have a heck of a year and even won the title back. The best thing about McIntyre is that he feels like a World Champion, which is not something that you get to see very often anymore. WWE made a star out of him and that is something they have been needing to do for years now.

This could have gone a lot of ways but the more I think about it, the more this is the best choice.

Jon Moxley

Much like McIntyre, Moxley just feels like a World Champion. You look at him and you feel like he is the biggest star in the company, which is exactly the point in putting the title on him. He has the talking abilities, the look and the brawling to make it work, which is why he held the title as long as he did. This made sense and Moxley is deserving of the top spot, because he was the best of the year.

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Best Of 2020: Non-Wrestler Of The Year

These are the people who can do a lot of things that the wrestlers just can’t. Every now and then you have a talented wrestler who needs a little bit of help and that is where some kind of backup can come in. It might be a manager, a trainer, a coach or some combination of them all, but they can do a lot of good in a hurry. That is where we are going today as there has been a bit of a resurgence in the last few years. Let’s get to it.

As usual, in no particular order until the end.

MVP

Yeah I’m cheating a bit with this one as MVP does wrestle occasionally but mainly serves as a mouthpiece these days. I was never a big MVP fan back in his day but my goodness he has been a breath of fresh air these days. The Hurt Business has gone from being just another bunch of guys to one of the best things in all of wrestling and I could go for seeing them get a much larger push. MVP is the reason that works and he is well deserving of some notoriety.

Alexa Bliss

Given that she has had three matches since July, I think it’s fair to call her mainly a non-wrestler at this point. The amazing thing about Bliss is how much of a transformation she has made in recent months. To go from your run of the mill heel/face to the Harley Quinn inspired Fiend disciple is a heck of a change and there have been times where she is genuinely creepy. This is also going to be a lot better for her long term health as Bliss has never been able to stay off the injured list full time.

Paul Heyman

This is a weird one as Heyman is kind of the current king of this generation, but he really hasn’t done much this year. Other than standing behind Roman Reigns and the occasional promo, how many things do you remember from Heyman? Reigns has done most of the talking, but this is a case where Heyman’s reputation carries him forward. You don’t see Heyman doing the talking, but you know how much he is in Reigns’ ear behind the scenes, turning him into this monster. Throw in Heyman’s disturbed looks at Reigns’ carnage and he is the key to the greatness we are seeing on Smackdown.

Taz

We’re going back to the MVP mold here as Taz is absolutely the catalyst that makes everything work for his team. He has a reputation from his career and can work a microphone like few others these days. I buy into the idea of Team Taz as threats to anyone at any time and Taz does feel like the kind of person who could become one of the more important players in AEW at the drop of a hat.

And now for the winner, which is going to be a bit of cheating again but he’s worth it.

Pat McAfee

Again, yeah he wrestled but it was twice all year and he is far more known for his talking than what he does in the ring. McAfee debuted over the summer and became possibly the best heel in all of wrestling in the span of a few months. That is not something you see every day and he comes across as someone you want to see get hit in the mouth. McAfee was a highlight of NXT and the best at what he did all year against some stiff competition.

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Best Of 2020: Major Show Of The Year

There are a lot of options here, which is what can make something like this all the more interesting. For the sake of simplicity, I’m including pretty much anything other than regular television, because otherwise it could get into a bit of a tricky question of what is or isn’t major. Therefore, we’ll go with a pretty broad range of options and hope everyone is happy. Let’s get to it.

As usual, in no order until the end, where the top choice is last.

Sidenote: there were A LOT of highly rated shows this year so I’ve cut it down to the best one from each area (New Japan, Network Special, WWE, AEW, NXT). There were several on the same level, but I trimmed it down for the sake of not needing another week to list all of them.

Wrestle Kingdom

I’m combining the two nights into one as I had both shows rated about the same. You can only say so many things about a Wrestle Kingdom because they’re always awesome shows with some of the best matches of the year. This has always been the case and likely will be for a long time. This was another great show and you have to include it on such a list.

Worlds Collide

I thought about putting this one on the top. This was a big coming out party for NXT UK as they got to show that they were here. You have a host of big matches, but then the main event was all you could ask for, with Imperium (ok Walter) taking on the Undisputed Era and even winning despite it turning into a handicap match. I loved this way more than I would have bet on and it was one of the best things all year.

Clash Of Champions

Yeah I barely remember it either but apparently it was a heck of a show. This was the night of the McIntyre vs. Orton ambulance match and the first Reigns vs. Uso showdown, plus the pretty crazy awesome ladder match with Sami Zayn winning the Intercontinental Title. I had a blast with this show and it was a sneaky surprise, so I’ll certainly put this on a list of greatest shows of the year.

Double Or Nothing

AEW has one of the best pay per view track records of all time and Double Or Nothing might be the biggest show of their calendar. This year’s show was just as good, with the card being strong up and down and a host of awesome matches. AEW pay per views are up there with Takeovers for guaranteed levels of awesome. They know how to make a great presentation and they did it again here.

Believe it or not, the winner is from NXT.

Takeover: Portland

Who would have thought the winner of this would come from what felt like a nothing Takeover? This show was the classic Takeover formula with one awesome match after another. I loved this show and it was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a good while. It may not have been the best by much (and I wouldn’t argue with about a dozen shows beating it out), but it was a heck of an event and one of the best in a long time.

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Best Of 2020 – Promo Of The Year

Your tastes may vary on this one as there are different styles of promos. Some of them are meant to build up a match but some are meant to build up a character, many times through comedy. That’s what we have a nice mixture of here today, as there is some serious stuff plus a little comedy thrown in because when a wrestling promo is funny, it’s hilarious. Let’s get to it.

As usual, in no order until the ending.

Pat McAfee Retired The Undisputed Era – NXT, November 4

McAfee continues to have no reason to be this good this fast but he became the best heel in wrestling overnight. You want to see this guy get taken apart and that’s what the Undisputed Era did, but not before McAfee retired them, throwing an Undisputed Era banner in a trashcan. This was one of the most charismatic and energized heel promos you’ll see in years and it was outstanding throughout, just like McAfee.

Edge Is Back On Raw – Raw, January 27

There are things in wrestling that you’ll never believe you’re seeing and this was the latest entry. Edge was not supposed to wrestle again. After having to retire nearly nine years ago, Edge was one of the last names I ever would have expected to see get back in the ring and you could feel what it meant to him. It was even better than I would have expected, had I ever been able to expect something like this.

Becky Lynch Vacates The Raw Women’s Title – Raw, May 11

We’ll stick with the emotions here and have a moment that shook things up. Becky had become one of (if not the) biggest stars in WWE and it was almost impossible to believe that she could ever actually lose the Women’s Title. It looked like Asuka, as Miss Money in the Bank, was next for her but the night after Asuka won the briefcase, Becky said that Asuka was the new champion. Asuka could go be champion, because Becky was going to go be a mother. How much sweeter of a moment can you get than that?

Bayley Explains Herself – Smackdown, September 11

Bayley and Sasha Banks have had one of the longest stories in modern WWE and a lot of it took place over the course of 2020. They teamed together for a very long time, but then Bayley turned on Banks, continuing a heel run no one knew she had in her. Bayley had to explain herself and she did so very easily: she turned on Banks before Banks could turn on her. It was a logical explanation and right to the point. That’s all you could want from this and far more.

Big E. Is Doing Work – Smackdown Exclusive, December 25

This was a YouTube exclusive after Big E. beat Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Title and…..he talks about taking down Sami’s tights, bending him over and doing work. As in construction work. Like, he mentions picnic areas, low income housing and a business district. He’s even wearing a construction hat. This is the crazy, charismatic and completely hilarious Big E. that people have been hyping for years now.

Los Parks Cook Pork – MLW Fusion, May 2

Every now and then, you see something that comes out of nowhere, is completely and utterly over the top, and you can’t stop watching it. This is the 2020 edition, as LA Park and his sons (LA Park Jr. and El Hijo de LA Park) join us from the kitchen where they make a pork dish, step by step, for about twelve minutes, all while Park Senior stops to rant about their upcoming match with Pagano and Psycho Clown. It’s all in Spanish with subtitles but I was cracking up throughout this entire segment. You don’t need any backstory because it’s all in the delivery. And you’ll see how to make a tasty looking dish.

Eddie Kingston And Jon Moxley Know Each Other – Dynamite, November 4

I had to cut myself off at one Kingston promo because he may be the best talker in wrestling right now. The idea of the feud is that Kingston and Moxley have known each other but Moxley forgot about him on his way to fame and fortune. Kingston wants revenge, but they can’t touch each other until the match. This sends them into an intense as heck back and forth, with Moxley talking about how he promised Kingston’s mother that he would take care of him, which is why he didn’t bring Kingston along. Kingston was shaking and I wanted to see these two rid each other apart. That’s how it’s done.

And now we have the winner. I don’t care that it’s stupid. I don’t care that it didn’t lead anywhere. I don’t care if it’s something I would make fun of most of the time. This is one of the greatest things I’ve seen in wrestling in years and I’ve watched it back more times than I can count.

Brandi Rhodes Meets Jade Cargill – Dynamite, November 11

This is the one I’ve watched more times than anything else from the year because DANG. Cargill had threatened Cody Rhodes with Shaquille O’Neal (because of course she did) and here comes Brandi, who is NOT HAVING IT. Brandi then gives the most passionate, emotional performance of her life, screaming and yelling at Jade…..who gives her a little spank. And then pretty much nothing ever happened again because Brandi was pregnant, but this was the best thing she’s ever done in wrestling by a mile.

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:

http://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




Best Of 2020: Spot Of The Year

These are the ones that you remember. A match has a lot of different moving parts but sometimes something is going to happen that you remember more than anything else. The big spots are the ones that make the highlight reels, most of the time for better than worse. That is something worth remembering a lot of the time and while some of them were cut off in 2020, there were still some good picks. Let’s get to it.

As usual, in no order until the end.

Io Shirai’s Trashcan Moonsault Off Of WarGames

There is something to be said about someone taking a trashcan and diving backwards off of a cage onto a bunch of people. I think the description says it all, because that sounds completely insane. Shirai can do one of the best looking moonsaults today but to do it on that stage with that kind of accuracy makes it all the more impressive. It just looked cool and that’s enough to warrant a mention.

Pat McAfee’s Swanton Off Of WarGames

You might say that this is a good way to do something like this. You’ll probably be hearing about McAfee again on this list and there is a good reason for that. McAfee had no business being as good as he was in these situations and yet he kept pulling it off, including with this great looking dive from the top of the cage onto everyone else. He shouldn’t be doing that and yet he made it look even better than almost anyone else could these days. That’s hard to believe, but he made it look easy.

Jeff Hardy’s Swanton Onto Elias

This is better known as the one where Hardy slammed his head into the steps because Hardy is kind of freaking nuts. I almost left it off because of the landing but it wouldn’t feel right to not have Hardy included in here somehow. It was an awesome looking dive and while the landing is what people will remember the most, Hardy can still do this like few others, even at 43.

Sammy Guevara And The Golf Cart

Now THIS is the one that people remember and with good reason. The image of Guevara being chased down by a golf cart of all things and then taking a heck of a bump off of it, all of which continued a feud with a maniacal Matt Hardy was the kind of stuff you can only hope to script. AEW shot it perfectly and it was just awesome, with everyone playing their part perfectly.

Then there is the winner, which was exactly what I wanted.

Hangman Page Rides A Horse Into Stadium Stampede

Every now and then you find someone who is perfect for the character they are playing. That is the case with Page, who is the definition of a cowboy wrestler. He looks like one, dresses like one, talks like one and acts like one. The line of “I’M GONNA DO SOME COWBOY S***!” is still maybe the best line AEW has ever had and Page is one of the best characters on the show. Then he rode a horse into a football stadium, because that’s what a cowboy is supposed to do, especially in the spot of the year.

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:

http://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