WWE's 2019 match of the year candidates so far

#15 Pete Dunne vs. WALTER (NXT TakeOver: New York)

All good things must come to an end. 685 days after he won the UK Championship in WWE's 2017 match of the year, Pete Dunne's time was finally up.

It wasn't easy for WALTER. Despite his size and power advantage, Pete Dunne used his gritty wrestling style for maximum leverage, going after his opponent's weak spots. No matter how big you are, having your fingers bent in unnatural ways is always going to hurt.

Still, WALTER was more enduring, and he wound up winning the war of attrition. It was the most appropriate way to end a legendary reign.

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

This was the first match in WWE history to get a rating of over 5 stars in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but that's surely absurd. This wasn't better than Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart, for example. It also had some tropes that are annoying in modern wrestling. The constant finisher kickouts, including double team ones, bordered on the absurd.

What saved it, though, was that everyone expected this to finally be Johnny's big night after a two-year journey full of the highest highs and the lowest lows. As he himself put it, he was "starving."

Despite all the odds against him, Johnny Gargano prevailed. It was as good a substitute for a triumphant win over Tommaso Ciampa as could be found. The odds needed to be stacked absurdly against Johnny that night and they were.