WWE's 10 best matches of January 2019

January was a month that might be encapsulated with the look on Becky Lynch's face. There were high expectations, but the month didn't quite deliver. The Royal Rumble, NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, and NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool felt a little bit underwhelming compared to the strength of the respective cards.

Nevertheless, January was a solid month, with two bona fide match of the year candidates and comparatively little of the horrible booking WWE has become infamous for.

205 Live punched above its weight this month, notching three matches on the top 10 list, including at the Royal Rumble. The women again performed well on the main roster, but one particular match on SmackDown this month nearly stole the show, Royal Rumble and all.

As we now enter the second month of the year (that didn't take long) and the Road to WrestleMania kicks into high gear, these were 10 matches that you should go and watch again from January.

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#10 Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live, January 2nd)

205 Live started the year with a bang, delivering two excellent matches on the premiere episode of 2019. This one was a little better than its counterpart, as Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa had a stiff, wild match.

As we've come to expect from a 205 Live main event, these two battled on the outside for a while, landing some big, painful looking slams. Things eventually settled back in the ring, where it looked like the match would end in favor of Gulak after he reversed Tozawa's Senton Bomb into the Gu-Lock, but he managed to roll underneath the ropes and outside the ring to break the hold.

Eventually, Tozawa battled back to put Gulak away and punch his ticket into the fatal four way at the Royal Rumble in Phoenix.

#9 Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto vs. Hideo Itami (Royal Rumble)

This was a wild way to get the crowd amped up for the main card to come, and in truth, it felt like it should have been on that main card. It compared favorably to most of the matches on that card.

There were four fast-moving parts to this match, though Hideo Itami stayed outside the ring to open the match, smartly allowing his three competitors to gas themselves out before he got involved. That's what he tried, anyway. He soon found himself embroiled in the chaos.

From there, we saw some unhinged attacks that sent guys flying. The finishing sequence saw each competitor land stiff, nasty looking strikes that got the crowd crackling with energy. Eventually, Murphy was able to put Itami away in what would turn out to be his last match in the WWE.

#8 Cedric Alexander vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live, January 9th)

Hideo Itami might have been on the way out, but he didn't show it in this match with the former Cruiserweight Champion. Both of these guys put on a great main event where they stiffed each other pretty good.

This was for the final spot in the fatal four way at the Royal Rumble. The former champion, Cedric Alexander, wanted to get his stroke back, lest we all forget that most of 2018 was the "Age of Alexander."

Hideo Itami had other ideas, though. Whatever Alexander did, he would only find himself frustrated as his opponent found a way to fight back. Itami would ultimately get on to the winning end of the match while Cedric Alexander's stint in the wilderness continued.

Might he build himself back up to challenge Murphy at WrestleMania? Or will a certain someone debut from New Japan first?

#7 Undisputed Era vs. War Raiders (NXT TakeOver: Phoenix)

The long-expected showdown between the Undisputed Era and War Raiders finally came at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix. Building since the summer, this match was the natural follow up to what we saw at NXT TakeOver: War Games II - it was a fun, chaotic brawl that felt more like a Texas Tornado match than a proper tag team encounter.

The War Raiders were familiar with all of the Undisputed Era's tricks. This time, no amount of underhanded tactics or even lightning speed and technical finesse could save NXT's resident troublemakers from the overwhelming power of Hanson and Rowe, who made them go splat numerous times.

I could have done without the finisher kickouts, and it didn't quite get to the level of a match of the year candidate that we might have expected, but this was otherwise outstanding. The viking entrance was really cool, too.

#6 Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black (NXT TakeOver: Phoenix)

This was a bit of a disappointment, considering that it didn't rise to the level of their original NXT title match last July and wasn't quite a match of the year candidate that we could have ordinarily expected.

Nevertheless, it was still Tommaso Ciampa and Aleister Black, two of the best in the business today, so there was no way you weren't going to get something great out of it.

This was a psychological thriller instead of a hard-hitting shock spectacle that their match at Full Sail was. Tommaso Ciampa isolated Aleister Black's leg and kept attacking it for the entire match. Black sold the injury to perfection, as it was crucial to his defeat.

It was also nice to see Ciampa's ghastly luck continue to hold, as he rolled over the wrong way after the Black Mass and so couldn't get pinned in quick enough time.

The finisher spam to end the match detracted from the finish, but it was still a fun match.

#5 Moustache Mountain vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake (NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool)

Easily the best match of the NXT UK brand's first major show, this was an explosive contest that fell just short of being a true match of the year candidate. It saw the action spill all around the ringside area. Gibson and Drake hit hard, even putting Tyler Bate and Trent Seven into a double Shankley Gates for a near finish, but they were unable to put the UK pioneers away.

For a long while, the fight continued, with neither side gaining an advantage. After even more stiff moves and counter moves (let us not forget the insane electric chair drop and suicide dive combination that we saw towards the climax of the match), Gibson and Drake finally hit their ultimate finish to shock and anger the Blackpool crowd in becoming the first ever NXT UK tag team champions.

#4 Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks (Royal Rumble)

Ronda Rousey requested this match for a reason because it gave her best singles match to date. Rousey looked like a gritty, determined, and nasty champion in ways she hadn't before (which will serve her well during her coming feud with Becky Lynch). Sasha Banks, for her part, revived some of her old Boss persona, much to the delight of the audience.

Sasha Banks' technical wizardry kept Ronda Rousey guessing through some of the matches, and the use of pieces of her attire during an application of the Banks Statement put the match over as an even nastier one.

Eventually, banged up hand and all, Ronda Rousey put Sasha Banks away with an armbar, and thus passed another important test. Ronda Rousey showed she could carry weaker workers like Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss, but would she be able to keep up with the better workers on the roster, like Sasha Banks? The answer was an emphatic yes.

#3 Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (Royal Rumble)

This lived up to the dream match people had ever since Asuka's days in NXT. It couldn't have gone much better. In everything from strikes, to grappling, to submissions, to brutal spots, these two put on a clinic to open the show.

The story raised the stakes. For weeks, Becky called Asuka a paper champion, but this time, her big mouth came back to haunt her. We indeed saw the old Asuka in this match, the one that ruled the NXT roost for 500 days. The one that took everything Nikki Cross threw at her in that last woman standing match. The one that kicked out of Ember Moon's Eclipse.

The thrilling finishing sequence saw Becky come close. She even applied the Asuka Lock onto Asuka. Unfortunately for The Man, Asuka was quicker on the draw with reversals, bridging the Asuka Lock into a Cattle Mutilation that gave Becky no choice to tap out to.

Asuka wiped off any stench of illegitimacy to her reign in the biggest win of her career. Becky lost nothing because she would secure her own biggest career win later that night.

#2 Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas (SmackDown, January 15th)

Shame, Andrade got the name-shortening treatment just as he had what was easily his best match on the main roster. This was a bona fide match of the year candidate and the best seen on WWE television in quite some time.

Almas and Mysterio got the time they needed to put together the match we all knew they were capable of having, and boy, did they deliver. There was brisk action, insane spots, and thrilling near falls that kept you guessing until the very end.

Ultimately, Zelina Vega made herself known, and the distraction allowed "Andrade" to hit the Hammerlock DDT from the second rope to secure the biggest win of his main roster career in beating a legend such as Mysterio, who lost nothing.

This was a breakout performance and the feud has continued. Let's hope it all ends with Almas going over and securing the US title at WrestleMania.

#1 Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Phoenix)

It's Johnny Gargano in a TakeOver match. What did you expect? That formula leads to a #1 match of the month with near-mechanical certainty. The one hiccup in 2018 was when his opponent, Ricochet, was featured against Adam Cole.

This was a wild, crazy ride that saw Gargano fully embrace his dark side as things came to a conclusion. After big moves - everything in his arsenal - failed to put Ricochet away, Johnny Gargano knew that the only way to win was to mimic Tommaso Ciampa. He did so by using the exposed concrete in the ringside area.

Triumphantly proclaiming "I win!" afterwards, Gargano put Ricochet away to secure his first ever singles title in WWE, ending by standing tall alongside the man who had sent him down this course, the NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa.

It was the perfect combination of work rate and shock value.