The 10 best WWE matches of 2019

#5 Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole (NXT TakeOver: New York)

It all came down to this. Johnny Gargano was going to have another shot at the NXT title, and filling in for the injured Tommaso Ciampa was Adam Cole, who won a fatal five-way match that was itself worthy of the match of the year consideration.

This was a match that combined everything. It was a great technical encounter for the first two falls but showed some high drama in the third fall. Adam Cole channeled Tommaso Ciampa with the Fairy Tale ending on the announce table, which saw Gargano barely making the count of 10.

There was the interference from the Undisputed Era, but even that wasn't enough. Johnny Gargano finally won the "big one" and became NXT Champion. With Ciampa gone, the odds needed to be stacked against him in some other way, and this did it.

Then there was the aftermath with Johnny's family and, in more callback, Ciampa coming out with the copyright on the bottom of the screen, but not to attack Gargano. Instead, the two buried the hatchet and ended their long feud.

As far as substitutes go, you couldn't ask for anything better.