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.

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:

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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.

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.

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: Worst Wrestler Of The Year

This is going to be a tricky one as it is going to depend on what you mean by worst. In my eyes, it is either someone who is completely inept in the ring or someone who makes me cringe anytime they come on screen. Usually it tends to be more of the latter, as almost anyone is going to be capable of having at least a passable match these days. However, there were some rather bad choices this year so let’s get to it.

As usual this is in no order until the final choice.

Goldberg

I know he barely wrestles and I know he was gone for a good chunk of the year, but my goodness the amount of apathy I feel when that music hits and it’s time for something important. Goldberg has made a mini career out of popping in, winning a World Title and then going home. That gets really annoying in a hurry and it is probably going to continue for years to come. He can’t even do his old stuff as well anymore, which is quite the trick when you only have two moves. It’s an easy pick but that is the case for a reason.

Dexter Lumis

I’ve been watching NXT since the beginning and this might be the first time where I just do not get it. Lumis is supposed to be some kind of tortured artist but that hardly makes him interesting. For reasons I don’t understand, WWE feels the need to present him almost as much as anyone else in NXT and it really isn’t working. I can’t say he’s the worst because there are far worse wrestlers out there, but the lack of interest I feel whenever he’s out there is incredible.

Marko Stunt

Yeah I know this is kind of a cheap answer but there comes a point where it isn’t believable. That’s where Stunt comes in, as he is nearly a foot shorter than most of the people he is facing. He can do a few cool things, but seeing him out there makes me cringe every time and I don’t need him on the show in any role other than a glorified mascot. This is far more on AEW than Stunt, but that doesn’t make it any better.

Those people were bad, but I get the point. I don’t get it with this one.

Michael Nakazawa

Nope. He isn’t funny, he doesn’t do anything worthwhile in the ring and there is no reason to have him on camera. His whole deal is the oil and the underwear and it isn’t worth my time or yours. Nakazawa is presumably there because he is Omega’s assistant or whatever it is and that is not enough to warrant time on either a national television show or a web series. This was a complete layup for me and likely will be as long as he is around.

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: Surprise Of The Year

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

Otis Is Mr. Money In The Bank

The words “I’m sorry what now?” apply here, as Otis went from a gyrating goof to a gyrating goof who won at Wrestlemania to a gyrating goof who caught the Money in the Bank briefcase. It came out of almost nowhere and while it didn’t wind up meaning anything in the end, it certainly had some awesome surprise value and it made Otis feel like a player.

Sting In AEW

This was certainly a moment, even if Sting has never quite been associated with snow. Just seeing Sting show up and instantly being used better than he was in WWE was a cool moment, though I’m almost worried about where all of this is leading. What matters here is an awesome debut though and Sting feeling like a legend, especially one who came out of nowhere.

Pat McAfee Is Awesome

You see a lot of celebrities pop up in wrestling but how often do you see someone who comes off like a natural? McAfee had a heck of a match with Adam Cole but what mattered was his insane talking ability, as he was instantly one of (if not the) best heels in all of wrestling. I wanted to see someone hit this guy in the face over and over again, which is the name of the game. Most people would have been happy with McAfee being adequate and then he wound up being great. Not a bad surprise.

Roman Reigns Is A Paul Heyman Guy

Sometimes the best way to make something like this work is with a simple camera swipe and that’s how they did this reveal. Reigns had returned at Summreslam and felt a bit different, but then we saw that he had Heyman by his side and it was a whole new ball game. What followed was one of the best heel runs of the modern age, but it all started with having Heyman, the ultimate evil in WWE, sitting next to him and I was absolutely stunned

But there was one thing better.

Edge Returns At The Royal Rumble

I had the previous entry winning but just couldn’t get around this one. If there is one thing that I have learned over the last few years in wrestling, it is that you can never say never. That being said, when you wait almost nine years, you kind of believe that something is never going to happen. That was the case with Edge, who made his return at the Royal Rumble in a moment I never thought I would see. Yeah he’s older and yeah he’s hurt again, but Edge got back in the ring and had a few matches all those years later. I lost it when that music hit and it was outstanding the whole way through.

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: News Story Of The Year

I’m not going to waste your time on this one.

For once, I’m not even bothering with the other nominees or even honorable mention. There is only one option here and it’s the SpeakingOut Movement (I consider Covid to be something wrestling dealt with rather than a wrestling story if that makes sense). SpeakingOut shook up wrestling, but it did so in a way that needed to happen. The things that were taking place behind the scenes could not continue and something had to be done about them.

That is where the movement comes into play and thank goodness it got rid of so many of the problems that were taking place. Those things cannot continue and the faster it cleaned everything out, the better it was going to be. There were so many horrible things taking place and it is great to see the people not only being taken to task for them but being flat out punished for them. That stuff shouldn’t have started and it should have ended earlier, but at least it is being pulled out into the light instead of being kept a secret any longer. This was the only real option and it’s a problem that needed to be addressed a lot sooner than it was.

Best Of 2020: Title Reign Of The Year

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

Bayley – Smackdown Women’s Title

I’ve been a big Bayley fan for a long time now and I’m in awe of what she has been able to do with this new heel run. Seeing her turn was like seeing the Easter Bunny become a monster and I can’t believe how well the whole thing has worked. She is great at what she does and it’s so easy to hate her on sight, but at the same time you want to see how great she is at everything. This might be more for the turn itself, but holding the title for over a year (plus an extra 140 days only broken up by a five day Charlotte reign) is more than worth a mention.

Drew McIntyre – WWE Title (First Reign)

If there is one thing that WWE needs to work on, it is making a new star. That is partially what makes McIntyre’s rise and victory at Wrestlemania all the more frustrating: they clearly know how to do it and yet they just don’t for so long. McIntyre won the title at Wrestlemania and held it for about six months before getting it back a few weeks later. His opponents were not the strongest (not his fault) but he comes off like the World Champion in everything he does and that’s a heck of a trick to pull off.

Io Shirai – NXT Women’s Title

You might not have noticed it, but Shirai held the title for more than half the year and has been champion for over seven months. By the end of this week, she’ll have the fifth longest reign in the title’s history and could very easily go even further. There is such a natural grace to her movements in the ring and that moonsault is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. This has been a surprisingly long reign but she has been awesome throughout.

Street Profits – Raw Tag Team/Smackdown Tag Team Titles

This is cheating a bit but they literally didn’t lose the titles in between reigns so I’m calling it the same one. Outside of the New Day, it has been a LONG time since WWE truly established a team and it’s great to see someone as charismatic as the Street Profits getting the chance. They completely hit their stride this year and the entrance with the full crowd is one of the best going today, just due to the high levels of energy alone. They deserve credit for such a reign and they’re a heck of a team who have moved up a lot during their reign.

Jon Moxley – AEW World Title

AEW was one of the few promotions to not really be hurt by the pandemic as far as their on-screen product went and Moxley was champion for the majority of the year. He also had some awesome, hard hitting matches while coming off as a major star. It was kind of inevitable that he would lose to Omega in the end, but what he got to do was great and made him look like a star throughout.

I went back and forth with McIntyre and this one for the win but there was something that pushed the other over the edge.

Roman Reigns – Universal Title

Reigns is going to come up a lot this year and there is a good reason for that. This is the kind of run that WWE has not seen in a long time as Reigns feels like someone who could be champion for years (plural) without missing a beat. He’s that great at the moment and the thing that pushes this over the edge is how they’ve made it work. Reigns got two pretty excellent pay per view title matches out of JEY USO. Someone being able to bring a career tag wrestler with nothing as far as singles experience up to that level is worth the pick and the more I think about it, the more interested I am in seeing how far Reigns goes with this.

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

Well That Blew Up In A Hurry (Sexual Assault/Harassment Allegations)

This might be sticking around for a long time.Earlier this week, various allegations were made against independent wrestler David Starr, who said that while some of them weren’t true, he did some things that he shouldn’t have and acknowledged that his career might be over. That is a horrible thing to hear, but it was the tip of a really big iceberg.

Since then, wrestling’s version of the MeToo movement has taken place, with all kinds of allegations of both sexual assault and harassment coming out in droves. There are more people accused than I can name and I’m not going to try to cover everyone involved. It started as mainly a list of UK based wrestlers (several of them being part of NXT UK) and has since spiraled out to all kinds of names around the world, including Jim Cornette in a matter almost entirely separate from most of this.

I have no idea what happened here but it is clear that there is something very, very wrong in this whole thing. With so much being said and so many stories coming it, it is ridiculous to believe that there isn’t a good bit of truth to a lot of them. They should all be investigated thoroughly, but you can almost guarantee that a lot of people are either going to be fired or pretty much never heard from again as a result. That would be a major blow to wrestling, but cleaning it up is a lot more important than having wrestlers around. This shouldn’t have happened in the first place and it’s amazing to see so many people having the gut to come forward. It is a lot harder than it sounds and good for them for fighting back against something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Thoughts? I’m sure there are going to be several of them.

This One Hits Home A Bit

411’s Larry Csonka has passed away.

Larry Csonka Has Passed Away

I didn’t know Larry on a personal level but I was a member of the 411 staff a bit back in the day. I would regularly read his reviews and while I didn’t always agree with him, I understood how he came to most of his conclusions. He was a machine at reviewing material and it’s sad to see that he’s not here anymore. There was no cause of death given but he’s had some health issues over the years, including losing a leg.

Back On The Mouth Of The South Shore Radio Show

I haven’t been on the show in awhile but it was a lot of fun as always. We talk the goings on in wrestling today, including the problems with Raw, some of the upcoming stars of WWE, some of the smaller stories in wrestling that might be going under the radar and Kenny Omega. Check out this one, plus check out the show every week. You’ll find the links to everything below and please subscribe to/rate it and like their Facebook page. In other words, press some buttons to help out a good show that has been incredibly nice to me over the years and gives you an awesome wrestling discussion at the same time.

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