WWE's 8 Most Valuable Players of 2019 so far

2019 has been a rough year for WWE fans, following a promising start that sputtered after the Royal Rumble. With one exception, WrestleMania season wasn't memorable, its main event being a giant dud, all things considered.

To say the least, most of the MVPs this year so far aren't the faces that you would ordinarily expect. Aside from the two obvious ones, you have to look deeper to find the most consistently entertaining performers in WWE this year.

We'll take a look at the eight now. Unfortunately, none of them are women. The women's division has seen the steepest decline in quality since last year. We can only hope that things will pick up in quality among the women as we head into the second half of 2019. Lest we forget, the women weren't having a good start to 2018 but picked it up dramatically in the back end of the year.

That being said, let's take a look WWE's 8 most valuable players of 2019 so far:

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#8 and #7 Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole

The fates of Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole have been intertwined in 2019. Their rivalry hasn't been a superbly told story as Gargano's was with Tommaso Ciampa last year. Instead, this has been more about wrestling. Though they were somewhat overproduced, the two delivered two match of the year candidates in a row at back to back TakeOvers.

They'll soon be set to go toe to toe once again in what could be Johnny Gargano's NXT swan song. We should witness at least one more match of the year candidate from them yet, putting forth an argument that either of them should be 2019's MVP when everything is said and done.

#6 Matt Riddle

Matt Riddle has lived up to the considerable hype that preceded him before arriving in WWE last year. The former mixed martial artist has parlayed his reputation on the independent circuit into high praise in NXT. After a solid start last fall, he was involved in several match of the year candidates in the first half of 2019.

His rivalry with Velveteen Dream was him at his apogee so far. Though he came up short in that contest, he definitely made a lot of new fans, both for his considerable skill in the ring and his ability to tell a story with his opponent.

Only good things await him from here on out. He's the heavy favorite to be the next NXT Champion after Adam Cole.

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#5 Ricochet

Of all the NXT call ups this year, Ricochet has surprisingly done the best. He was involved in many great matches in the winter alongside Aleister Black. After that alliance broke up, Ricochet was a consistent highlight of a string of some of the worst Raws of the year. His matches with Cesaro were oases in the desert.

Now, after a match with Samoa Joe that stood out on the Stomping Grounds card, it looks like Ricochet is going to enter a rivalry with AJ Styles. That should be awesome.

Ricochet hasn't blown the world away this year, but consistent quality is about the best you can ask for of WWE in 2019.

#4 R-Truth

Even by the standards of the post-WrestleMania slump, WWE programming has tanked through the second quarter of 2019. The Superstar Shakeup failed to make the impact it used to make and the "wild card" rule threw everything on the main roster into total disarray.

In the muck, one man stood out as the most entertaining superstar of the spring. The 24/7 Championship was introduced after Money in the Bank and R-Truth has dominated it. He has turned what could have been a disaster into gold every single week. The high views on YouTube prove it.

It seems strange, but R-Truth is having one of the best runs of his career as the dominant 24/7 champion. Long and often may he reign.

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#3 Velveteen Dream

Already one of the best out there, Velveteen Dream just gets better every year. This year, he won his first title, the NXT North American Championship. He has been, by far, the star of the yellow brand this year.

Dream has been involved in several match of the year candidates, but more than that, he's been the one that's carried NXT from a feud and storytelling perspective in what has been a down year overall for the show at Full Sail.

Dream's segments with Matt Riddle, Tyler Breeze, and the sing along with Dominik Dijakovic have all been among the year's best.

Dream has stolen the show in NXT this year and it isn't even close.

#2 Kofi Kingston

Kofimania was the saving grace of WrestleMania season. Up against a great heel in Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston struggled in one of the greatest rise to the championship stories of the decade. First came that majestic gauntlet match, the heartbreak in the Elimination Chamber, getting screwed out of Fastlane and in another gauntlet match, until his New Day brothers finally got him the title shot denied to him at WrestleMania.

There, Kofi Kingston won a hard-fought victory and his first WWE Championship in 11 years in what was easily the night's best match.

From there, Kofi Kingston continued his goodwill tour as champion. He hasn't been able to match his rivalry with Daniel Bryan in its intensity, but he's also been given underwhelming rivals in Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler.

The coming feud with Samoa Joe should be awesome.

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#1 Daniel Bryan

Obviously, we start with the former WWE Champion. Though it was a much shorter reign than his two immediate predecessors, Daniel Bryan's eco-friendly heel turn saw the WWE Championship get the best run that it's had in years.

Bryan was killing it on the mic every week, telling WWE fans that they were harming the planet. His promos proved consistently entertaining, to the point that the usually tired overlong opening talking segment was actually made good.

He added to his greatness on the microphone with great performances in the ring. Aside from one dud of a match with AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, his title defenses were always gold, and he was the vital heel in the equation that gave us the best organic rise to the WWE Championship for a babyface since, ironically, Daniel Bryan's own rise to the title at the head of the Yes Movement in 2014.