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Alllllrighty, it's been a minute because I've been busy and low on energy, but I'm gonna round out my top 50 over the next few days, for real.

#15 - Shingo Takagi vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW - G1 Climax Night 16, August 8th
Back when it was pretty much a pipe dream, this was probably the number one matchup I and a lot of other people dreamed about happening if Shingo ever jumped to New Japan. And lo and behold, it actually happened.

The "official" signal that he was going to be a legitimate force in the heavyweight division booking-wise came a few days later when he nearly decapitated and then pinned Hirooki Goto, but this was the sort of match that proved to anyone who may have had doubts that Shingo was capable of having the New Japan heavyweight-style hoss fight. And Ishii was his regular self here, playing the part only he's capable of where he's somehow the underdog and unkillable bully all at once. Fighting spirit, near falls, one-count kickouts, a hot crowd, and a healthy dose of LARIATOOOOOS - this is everything that's awesome about modern-era New Japan put on by two of the ten best wrestlers on the planet.

#14 - Rocky Romero vs El Phantasmo - NJPW - Best of the Super Juniors Night 9, May 24th
Rocky does it again. Another BOSJ match, another classic pro wrestling story. The Ospreay match told an innocent one - there was no malice, no disrespect, just a simple question of veteran vs young gun.

But you throw in the smarmy, dickhead ELP energy and add in just a dash of Rocky being in a must-win situation to keep himself alive in the tournament, then top it off with one of the best wrestling crowds of the year? There's a recipe for something really special. It played off expectations perfectly. The live audience gave Rocky no chance initially against the undefeated Phantasmo, but they slowly started to believe in him as the match wore on. And then ELP eventually realized he was in trouble as he just couldn't put the guy away and he began resorting to the chicanery that had brought him so many victories already and that everyone was already tired of, and it was almost deflating - seeing Rocky get screwed would just hurt. It built to a perfect crescendo of false finishes without resorting to finisher kickouts, and the subsequent ending is absolutely impeccable.

This match may be "all the way down" at 14, but in terms of something memorable? There's not much from 2019 that will eclipse it there.

#13 - PAC vs Kzy - Dragon Gate - Truth Gate Day 5, February 10th
I've talked pretty extensively about PAC's year, so let's make this Kzy Time for a second.

One of my all-time favorite DG matches is the 2016 Unit Disbands match between VerserK, Monster Express, and Dia.Hearts. There's a lot of reasons why, but one of the big ones is the spotlight Kzy got. I wouldn't call myself a big fan of his or anything, but there's few wrestlers in the world who excel at showing pure heart like he does. His desperate attempts as the last man standing against the unbeatable asshole team of YAMATO and Naruki Doi in what was ultimately a futile attempt to save his team had me out of my seat the first time I watched even as someone who had no real attachment to the unit. It finally made me buy him as a potential top guy instead of the great midcard worker I always thought he was.

And then this title match catapulted him past whatever glass ceiling may have remained for him. PAC worked this match with a surgical viciousness that a lot of people, myself included, thought was forever lost to him. And Kzy sold like death for it. This is the defense that legitimized PAC as someone that wasn't just around for a quick stop and easy dollar before moving on to bigger and better things, and while that wasn't completely due to the guy standing across from him, it just wouldn't have worked without Kzy's never-say-die underdog spirit. I don't know if he'll ever win the Dream Gate, but he set a precedent here - if you want to keep it from him, you're gonna have to survive an absolute onslaught of elbows to the head, and you're gonna have to do something drastic, like maybe a Tombstone Piledriver off the second rope.

Nobody does emotion quite like DG, but even without that sort of investment, you could enjoy this match. It's just great stuff.

#12 - Will Ospreay vs Robbie Eagles - NJPW - Best of the Super Juniors Night 10, May 26th
A match defined by choices. For instance, Robbie had the choice to not take the easy way out in joining the Bullet Club when he first came to New Japan. But he did, and after a couple of years, some consequences crept up. But this match had more immediate choices.

The rematch in Southern Showdown that concluded the story between these two doesn't hit the highs it does without this match setting it up. The cracks in Eagles's facade start to show here - he starts as a heel, refusing to shake Ospreay's hand, but he doesn't do anything underhanded. Sure, he works over Will's hurt leg, but that's just smart.

Then ELP comes out, and we get a rare occasion where interference makes a match more interesting. Eagles may not be on speaking terms with Ospreay right now, but he doesn't want to resort to BC shenanigans to beat him. He wants to prove he didn't need Ospreay's recommendation to get into NJPW, which means he needs to win on his own.

And yet, amidst all the distractions and the hurt limb, Ospreay still gets his chance to win. But when confronted with the choice of hitting that dangerous Hidden Blade on someone he respects and still considers a friend, he can't do it. Shortly thereafter, when ELP seizes a chance and slams Ospreay's knee with a chair, Robbie has another choice. Does he take advantage of it or not? Is he satisfied with the decision afterwards? The answers to those questions have already had big repercussions that promise to only get bigger over the next year. It was a very compelling story as it was happening, and when combined with a very well-worked match with typical Ospreay/Eagles smoothness and high spots, it made something awesome.

#11 - Jordan Devlin vs David Starr - PROGRESS - Super Strong Style 16 Night 3, May 6th
The one disappointment about this match is that it didn't happen during PROGRESS's golden years. 2/3rds of the best indie wrestling feud since Steen/Generico meet in the finals of what was for a short period the most prestigious tournament in British wrestling, and it was everything you'd expect from that sort of matchup. These two blend strikes and technical work as well as anybody around right now, and they just work so well together - everything has that extra personal edge to it and it always makes for a great atmosphere.

Plus, I'm a sucker for callbacks, and this match had the best one of the year. D