Wrestling MVPs 2019

Hi guys,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I can't believe it's already 2020 and 2019 seems like a distant memory...

But, what a 2019 it has been? Never mind what a year it's been in professional wrestling.

It seems as if I've been spending more of this year watching wrestling and writing about it than anything else. Because of this, it almost seems impossible for me to write about a year in wrestling because I wouldn't even know where to start. Even if I just looked at one promotion, for example my fave New Japan, there could be a post per month which is crazy.

So, I thought that the best thing to do would be to look at all the promotions I watch and pick my MVP wrestlers of the year. I'm taking on board a lot of different things when making these choices including level of improvement, how much I've enjoyed watching them and obviously how well they've done in matches this year. However, I've given myself a near impossible task by only picking 5 and I can promise you it wasn't easy. Also, the list is in no particular order.

1. Jay White

I know it seems like such a cliche to have Jay White on this list, the same as last year. But he's not given me any reason to take him off the list. Starting off the year, he beat Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in record time and then went on to beat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in February - the youngest Gaijin champ. Even though he didn't successfully defend it at Madison Square Garden, he managed to single-handedly sell the venue out himself (or so he likes to think). From there, it just seemed like Jay White could no wrong, even with a few obstacles in the way. Jay managed to fine a new momentum and, despite losing his first three matches, managed to go through the rest of the G1 undefeated and finding himself in the final against Kota Ibushi. Once again, even though he didn't win, his wins in the tournament had won him a shot at the Intercontinental title against Naito - which he won in a pretty clean match. Fast forward to December, and he's one of the people vying to be the first ever double heavyweight and intercontinental champion and it could easily be Jay with his talent, brains and skill.



Whilst achieving all these accolades, he still managed to stay true to himself even if it meant that crowds were booing him so much that he couldn't get a word out or that his winning was making fans leave the venue early. He continues to prove why he is the best heel in the world of professional wrestling at the moment and does it with this style and ease. I always find it funny when people talk about the best heel and miss out Jay White. Without being too flashy or over the top, he manages to radiate this energy that you just want to hate in such a subtle way He combines, style, skills and this almost mesmerising presence that has audiences on the edge of their seats and being vocal, whether positively or negatively.

On a more personal note, he is still one of the nicest people in professional wrestling and really made my Royal Quest experience really amazing. A lot of people hate on Jay White, but really he deserves everything he's achieved over the last year and it's crazy to think that he's only 27 and has a long ass career ahead of him!

2. Rhea Ripley

If somebody's year has changed more, then none has been so drastic as Rhea Ripley. Starting the year, Rhea made her main roster debut by taking part in the 2019 Royal Rumble and showing the WWE Universe how dominating she actually is by Kacy Catanzaro, Dana Brooke, and Zelina Vega. If people didn't know who she was before this, they definitely knew now. From there, Ripley continued to have amazing matches across the UK cementing herself as one of the best wrestlers in the UK. However, even for someone who's made a home in the UK, you always aim higher and Rhea did that to the extreme. Packing up her bags, Ripley returned to NXT in August 2018 interrupting the dominant women's champion Shayna Bayzler. This started one of the best feuds in NXT for 2019. Bayzler is known for her rule breaking, but Ripley showed that she's no pushover pushing the Queen of Spades to her limit, before getting DQ'd. This, coupled with her amazing performance in not only the first women's War Games but also Survivor Series where Team NXT dominated.

However, even with all this under her belt, plus an NXT UK title reign the previous year, she still had one accolade that had alluded her: the NXT's Women's Championship. On December 18, in the main event of an NXT taping, Rhea achieved that pinning Bayzler in an amazing match to win the prestigious title. This match had to be one of my favourites from NXT from the whole year and really showed Ripley as a babyface without diminishing her power and attitude.



At only 23, Rhea Ripley has achieved more than most people do in a lifetime and it's sort of depressing because she's 10 days younger than me and what am I doing with my life? However, she still has a long career ahead of her and 2020 is going to be an even bigger year for Ripley.

3. Lance Archer

The American Psycho and Suzuki Gun member Lance Archer is a veteran in the wrestling industry, so why is it now that I've popped him on my MVP list? Maybe because this year has been Lance Archer's year in so many ways. Previously known as a tag team star with his partner Davey Boy Smith Jr, 2019 was the year that Archer broke away from this and solidified himself as a singles competitor. He gave us a glimpse of the 2019 he would have in the New Japan Cup, but really made his mark come the G1 in July. Although not getting as many wins as he would have liked, he put on some amazing matches where he could have easily picked up some huge wins. However, his matches were some of the best in the tournament against the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and fellow stable mate Zack Sabre Jr. The highlight had to come at King of Pro Wrestling, After Jon Moxley had to vacate the US championship, Lance Archer was thrust into a title match with Juice Robinson. Despite only having literally 24 hours notice, the no DQ match went ahead and Archer thrived from the chaos and carnage he could create. After throwing Juice into a stack of chairs and an EBD claw, Lance Archer won his first New Japan singles and it was better late than never!



Alongside these amazing performances, Archer has showed how versatile he is as wrestler. As well as introducing the world to the EBD (Everybody Dies) Claw, we saw a Lance Archer that easily could've fit into the Jr division. There were moonsaults, top rope walking and dives outside of the ring. We say that high flyers and hard hitters are dangerous, but what happens when you combine the two? Lance Archer is the answer!

Still holding the NJPW United States champion and with a Texas Death Match scheduled for Wrestle Kingdom against Jon Moxley, 2020 is set to be even better for the Mohawk Monster. Even with his scary demeanour and love for scaring children, fans across the world are falling in love with Lance and I see so many more singles titles in the future.

4. Toa Henare

Sometimes the number of wins someone has doesn't always equate to how much someone has achieved during the year. This is definitely the case with Toa Henare who, if you looked statistically, shouldn't be on this list. But, it's my list, so I can do what I want and I think Henare deserves to be on here as much as anyone else. I can be honest though and say Henare may have not had the year he wanted, in terms of the win/loss record. I mean he's picked up some solid and expected victories over some of the Young Lions, and lost against some of the more experienced guys. However, this hasn't stopped Henare. Not once has he moaned or complained about not getting opportunities or cried because he hasn't been booked right or made excuses about his losses. Every time something knocks him down, he shows us his Warrior Spirit not wanting to back down and making sure he does everything to get better, or to make sure he gets that next opportunity that was given to someone else.



For me, the reason he is on this list is down to being a work horse and how much his hard work has led to results (even if not in the standard way). No matter what tour New Japan has whether it's the Best of Super Jr, the G1 or the Dontaku tour, he is in those tag matches. When he's given a massive chance from being involved in the New Japan Cup to teaming with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the World Tag League, he put his soul into it. All of this is just going to help Henare in the long run! On top of that, we've just seen Henare improve leaps and bounds from last year from his physique, strength and just overall technique. His move set is expanding every match and getting more diverse and refined.

Never Surrender. https://t.co/UbeU95uyt3

— Henare | ヘナーレ (@HenareNZ) December 5, 2019

I really think that 2020 is Toa Henare's year and once New Japan realises that he's not a Young Lion anymore, he has the potential to become the company's top babyface. The crowds love him, the fans love him and now it's down to the company to realise what Henare can do!

5. Chris Brookes

There was a collective cry from fans after Kid Lykos announced that he had to retire from professional wrestling due to an injury. There was also a combined sense of worry about what that would mean to CCK partner Chris Brookes. Luckily, none of us had to worry because he hasn't made this list out of pity: Chris Brookes has slayed 2019!

Throughout the year, Brookes put on some amazing shows up and down Britain in all your favourite promotions from Attack!, IPW, Revolution Pro Wrestling and Defiant. For me though, the stand out had to be in when Chris made his way to Japan for DDT because it started something beautiful. We saw this amazing tag team partnership form with Masahiro Takanashi and Brookes embrace everything the company has to offer from a match in a water park and a battle royal for a bag of rice. However, the highlight was Brookes' performance in the D-OU GRAND PRIX 2020. It was really what opened a lot of people's eyes to how amazing a singles competitor he was. For me, the stand out matches had to be his matches against Yuki Ueno,  Konosuke Takeshita and the time limit draw bout with Damnation's Tetsuya Endo. Crowds fell in love with him and we got to see so many sides of Brookes during this tournament.



Then you think about everything else he's done for wrestling, and there's one word to describe that: Schadenfreude. During a time where people thought British Wrestling was dead, alongside Lykos, Dunkzilla and Kyle Fletcher, they showed that this wasn't right. They have sold out every single show in mere minutes combining amazing wrestling and comedy in one promotion. It not only showcases their talent, but a lot of upcoming wrestlers and giving fans a completely new wrestling experience.

#SCHADENFREUDE MASTERS OF WRESTLING. pic.twitter.com/paJAqiVxp4

— Chris Brookes クリス・ブルックス (@OBEYBrookes) November 30, 2018

He has proved so much as both the tag team specialist we know he is as well as an amazing singles competitor. He's travelled the world, made a name for himself in Japan and had some laughs along the way. With a place firmly cemented for him in DDT and a plethora of British promotions still fighting for Brookes, I don't see 2020 slowing down either.

So, that's my wrestling MVPs for 2019! It has been a crazy year for the industry and I couldn't imagine my life without it or these wrestlers that have made such an impact in my life. I easily could've put 5, 10, even 20 more names on this list - but ain't nobody got time for that, am I right?

As always, let me know what you think and talk to me on my social media: 

(@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB and WrestlingChatter96 on IG)! I

Also, keep an eye out for my fortnightly podcast where I talk a lot about all thing wrestling: https://www.mixcloud.com/WrestlingChatter/! 

Until next time,

Bye