WWE's 10 best matches of February 2019

In many respects, February was a month that overperformed. While January is usually much more exciting because of the Royal Rumble, February was the month which had better match quality, giving us five match of the year candidates within its four weeks.

That's a great percentage rate. In fact, given that it was the shortest month of the year, we can say that this time around, it had the highest per capita rate of excellent matches, all despite a mostly lackluster build to WrestleMania 35.

Aside from those four match of the year contenders, there were many other notable matches, some of which performed well above the way they appeared on paper, so ranking them all wasn't easy, but here we are on the last day of the month, with a proper pecking order all lined up.

If you're going to go back over the month of February 2019 in the future, these are the 10 matches that you're going to want to check out.

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#10 Randy Orton vs. Mustafa Ali (SmackDown, February 5th)

The newcomer Ali put up a valiant fight against the 13-time world champion, laying stake to his claim of being "the heart of SmackDown live." Ali almost got the better of the Viper, after the action had spilled outside the ring.

Ali's one of the best guys in the company when it comes to taking bumps, so that aspect made the match more memorable, especially at the end of the match. Orton countered a move from the top rope into the RKO and just like that, it was over.

Unfortunately, this match gave Ali some injuries which forced him to miss the much more monumental gauntlet and Elimination Chamber matches, but it was a great performance from him which put his name on the map as someone to watch in the future.

Ali will just have to wait for his next chance.

#9 Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream (Worlds Collide)

It's Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream. Of course, it was going to end up on a match of the month list! Both men have knacks for producing match of the year candidates, and while this didn't quite get up to that level, it was nevertheless a great match that you'll want to go back and watch in your spare time.

The final of the Worlds Collide tournament was a great highlight to both guys. Bate's raw strength was impressive, and Velveteen Dream's selling ability has improved a lot, as we saw with his "injured ribs." There were times he almost faded.

Eventually, Velveteen Dream would be able to put Bate away with the Purple Rainmaker, earning himself a title shot of his choosing in the process. Safe to say, this won't be the last time we see his name on this list.

#8 Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. The Riott Squad vs. Nia Jax and Tamina vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. Carmella and Naomi (Elimination Chamber)

To say that this match overperformed would be an understatement. It somehow transcended its horrible on paper lineup to produce something that was memorable and quite a bit better than last year's women's Elimination Chamber match.

This was in large part thanks to Sasha Banks and Bayley, who this match was always going to depend on. It was a great show of how these two have always been linchpins in the "women's revolution," who have been used unfairly over the last two years. That, thankfully, wasn't the case in this important match.

Their victory in the Chamber and securing of the women's tag team titles should make for another injection of life into a division that has done all the right things since SummerSlam.

#7 Matt Riddle vs. Drew Gulak (NXT, February 6th)

Drew Gulak made a visit to NXT and used his submission game to defeat the instantly popular Eric Bugenhagen, but he demanded a more worthy challenge. Out came Matt Riddle, who had the best match of his WWE career thus far.

This match saw some great mat-based wrestling and trading of submission holds. It was one of the best pure technical matches of 2019 so far. Gulak almost seemed to get the better of Riddle, but the former mixed martial artist was always able to respond. He would eventually win the chess match and force the submission specialist to tap out.

No one would be sad to see a rematch between these two, or for Gulak to make another appearance on the black and yellow brand. As for Riddle, this match did more than any of his matches with Kassius Ohno to show us how capable he is.

#6 Ricochet vs. Adam Cole (NXT, February 13th)

This match didn't match their original encounter at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 last August, so it fell short of a match of the year candidate, but it was still one of the better TV matches seen in WWE this year so far, and you'll want to go back and watch it if you haven't seen it.

Is it a stretch to say that Adam Cole and Ricochet have the best superkick timing ever seen? We saw it here and we saw it earlier in the month in a match we'll soon highlight. I could watch Adam Cole superkicking a Ricochet in mid-air all day. The timing is that good.

Ricochet's selling in this match was impeccable, but he would still go on to defeat Adam Cole for the second time, and so the string of bad luck for the Undisputed Era continued.

#5 Aleister Black, Ricochet, and Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Adam Cole (Halftime Heat)

Now we get into the five match of the year candidates, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that the "NXT 6" produced one when they were put into the ring together for a huge six man tag match.

Many people said that this was the best part of Superbowl Sunday, taking into account the boring halftime show this was meant to replace and even the boring game itself.

Classic wrestling fans might not like this match. It was a spot fest from beginning to end, but dammit if it wasn't fun from beginning to end, too! It was a blistering sprint that kept you smiling through the whole thing, and the hot crowd at the Performance Center made sure it stayed white hot.

It wasn't a surprise to anybody that the babyfaces eventually won the match after a hilarious finishing sequence.

#4 Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton (SmackDown, February 12th)

And so #Kofimania was born.

A last-minute replacement for the injured Mustafa Ali, Kofi took the ball and ran with it. The heart and fire he showed in this match instantly made him the most over male superstar in the company. This came long after Kofi Kingston had paid his dues, so why not get behind him and try to push him over the top.

Kofi Kingston began by pinning the WWE Champion (unfortunately, a lot of people do these days). He then survived Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe, getting eliminated by AJ Styles only at the end, who would in turn get eliminated by a surprise RKO from nowhere.

This match was even better than last year's gauntlet match on Raw. Unlike last year's it didn't drag for any of it.

#3 Tony Nese vs. Noam Dar (205 Live, February 12th)

This match might just go down as the hidden gem of 2019 - the match of the year that no one's ever heard of.

Sadly, that's the position 205 Live is currently in. The program just hasn't worked in attractind widespread attention and one wonders how much longer it can go on.

Nevertheless, it delivers great wrestling on a routine basis. This was one such standout and the best match on the program in 2019 so far. Tony Nese and Noam Dar concluded their long rivalry in this no disqualification match which saw some innovative use of the age-old steel chair weapon.

The pace was blistering, the selling was on point, and both guys put their hearts into getting this match into third gear. Make sure you aren't one of the people that misses this match. You deserve it.

#2 Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream (NXT, February 20th)

Fresh off his victory in the Worlds Collide tournament, Velveteen Dream surprised us by using his title shot on the newly-crowned North American Champion Johnny Gargano. Dream has had success against Gargano in the past, so it made sense.

When this match was recorded, it had alternate endings, so that made it feel even more important and exciting.

As we should expect when members of the "NXT 6" meet each other in combat, we got a clinic. You could see the exhaustion from both guys as the match neared its conclusion. Unfortunately for "Johnny Champion," however, he wasn't able to go further than Velveteen Dream, and he lost his title in his very first defense after a blistering round of last minute offense from his opponent.

For over a year, we've been talking about how good Dream is and how fast he's improved. Nevertheless, he's lost most of his big matches. After winning the Worlds Collide tournament and the North American title, we can say that February 2019 was the month that the Dream finally arrived.

#1 Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (Elimination Chamber)

Was there ever any doubt?

You had a stunning lineup and a Houston crowd that came unglued for Kofi Kingston, who had suddenly caught nuclear fire. With those ingredients, there was never any way that this match wasn't going to be memorable.

It was one of the best Elimination Chamber matches in years.

Kofi Kingston somehow survived to the end, again, and for a while, it looked like he almost had the champion, but Daniel Bryan would take advantage of one final opportunity that presented itself and put the red hot challenger away to walk from the Chamber with his title intact.

The heartbreak on Kofi Kingston's face was apparent, but his story wouldn't end in Houston. Now, it looks like he's finally going to get that huge WrestleMania match that's eluded him for over a decade.