5 Takeaways from WWE Backstage (December 31st, 2019)

As was the case with the Christmas Eve edition of WWE Backstage, the latest episode also utilized a countdown featuring the Top Five Matches of the Year. There was nothing new announced in terms of news. The final RAW episode of the year was also not discussed. It was strange to see that since the wedding between Lana and Bobby Lashley will be talked about for a long time for many different reasons.

This week was primarily a clip show centering on the matches that were chosen as the best in the company in 2019. The picks were from the Backstage crew and not necessarily from the WWE itself. One segment that continued was the usually entertaining bits with stars visiting shrink Rachel Bonetta. This week, it was Daniel Bryan's turn to 'get analyzed'.

The panelists also gave their personal New Year resolutions for 2020. Renee Young wanted to have both AJ Styles and Randy Orton join the show while Booker T said he was looking forward to a 'revitalized' tag team division. He even joked about showing up to both manage the Street Profits and have one more match with The Revival. Christian kept things simple by saying that he wanted to see the Brock Party back or at least Brock in the Bank or Beatboxing Brock.

It was interesting to watch the matches back (some four to twelve months later than they took place). With that said, here are five takeaways from the last episode of WWE Backstage from 2019 with the focus on the matches of the year.

#5 Match of the Year - Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade from Jan 15th SmackDown

The first match on the list was actually from an episode of SmackDown and not a PPV. Once Mysterio and Andrade finally had their chance to face off in a WWE ring, it was magic. The pairing was simply a case of two great performers going back and forth with each other in a Lucha-centric match. The fantastic reception to their match would lead to a 2-out-of-3 Falls match and a few bouts involving the United States Championship later in the year.

Christian stated that between Mysterio and El Idolo, "the chemistry is off the charts". He also added that "everybody has good chemistry with Mysterio" because "he's everybody's dream match." Captain Charisma finished off saying, "Andrade at this point is underrated and I think 2020 is going to be a huge year for him."

El Idolo is starting this year as the US Champion, so things are heading in the right direction as far as Christian's premonitions are concerned. Although Booker T seems to always mispronounce his name, he also feels that big things are in store for Andrade in 2020.

#4 Match of the Year - AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins (Money in the Bank 2019)

Styles was the first contender for Rollins as Universal Champion

When AJ Styles joined the WWE, fans immediately salivated over the potential matches for The Phenomenal One. A no-brainer choice was obviously against the Architect, Seth Rollins. Along with Roman Reigns, he was the face of the company. Rollins was also one of the most exciting in-ring performers in WWE.

I was not personally a fan of the two men squaring off so quickly after Rollins won the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35. Although it let out that that the Kingslayer would retain the title he had won a month earlier, it didn't take away from the quality of the match.

The panelists didn't really elaborate much on the match, turning attention to the weekly psychiatrist segment with Rachel Bonetta instead. This week's subject was former WWE Champ, Daniel Bryan.

His session took place before his now infamous locks were torn to shreds by The Fiend Bray Wyatt. Bryan actually sounded like he had a lot to say as he was still in his Planet's Champion phase. Bonetta didn't really seem to pay attention to the former WWE Champion, which infuriated him. She eventually left the room before Bryan started to try and have a conversation with a bust of Aristotle.

#3 Match of the Year - WWE Championship match from Elimination Chamber

Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan closed out the Chamber match

As with the Rollins-Styles match, the panelists didn't spend much time reflecting on this one. While it was a step on the road towards KofiMania, it wasn't as memorable to Young, Booker, and Christian as the final step on that journey.

The funny part of the whole ride for Kingston was that his spot in the Elimination Chamber match was actually supposed to go to Mustafa Ali. But the high-flyer got hurt prior to the event and had to be taken out of the match. The New Day was in turn given the spot and decided as a group that Kingston would replace Ali in the match.

While winning the title wasn't necessarily the planned endgame for the latter, it ended up being the case for the former due to the incredible support from the WWE Universe. Instead of having to wait through a few more years just in order to get a title shot, The New Day member was able to have a similar path to the title as Bryan had a few years ago.

The former WWE Champion (Kingston) obviously possibly had the best year in his WWE career as one of the top stars in the company. He's now back in the tag team division, which is somewhat disappointing due to the incredible year he's had.

#2 Match of the Year - Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell

Lynch defended her title in a brutal match against a returning Banks

The brutal Hell in a Cell match between Lynch and Banks took the second spot on the WWE Backstage list. It signaled Banks' return to the company after a several-month hiatus following WrestleMania 35.

A lot of people thought that if Lynch was going to lose the RAW Women's title, it would be at HIAC to Banks. Well, it didn't happen, with The Man continuing her dominance as the hottest star in all of WWE. After such a successful year, Booker said that in regards to 2020 for Lynch, "Becky's doing her thing" because "she wrote her own ticket." Regarding Banks, he felt that she's still "trying to find her footing" and that "whatever she does she'll have to do it behind Lynch because Becky's on fire."

Christian added his take on the Boss, stating that he "thinks she's better when she has that chip on her shoulder." Similar to many other stars, she works better like that and should "go out there with the mentality that no one is going to have a better match than me." Booker added that "when Becky became the Man, no one had done that in the business before." Young added that "it (Becky's success) shook her (Sasha)."

#1 Match of the Year - Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35

Kingston's story was completed at 'Mania by taking the title from Bryan

A match from WrestleMania 35 was certainly going to take the top spot on the countdown. While it might have been the triple threat match between Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey that closed out the show, one performer's amazing year continued instead.

After winning both Tag Team of the Year and Male Performer of the Year, Kingston also took home the Match of the Year award alongside Daniel Bryan for their match at this year's 'Mania. Kingston's journey mirrored Bryan's own climb to the top from a few years ago and the panelists made the point to praise both stars.

Christian felt that "the story couldn't have written itself any better, especially with Bryan's past years ago" and because "it was organic." Booker T added that for Kingston, "it was a lot of hard work and travel for Kofi" over the years while also praising "all the work Kofi did before The New Day."

After 11 hard years of work, the two-time Hall of Famer added that "timing is everything in this business and seizing on it is everything too" for storylines and their payoffs. The current tag team Champ certainly had a year for the books and his journey was lauded as pivotal for getting him to the heights he achieved this year. Booker added that regarding Kingston, he was "the least likely guy to get to that point."

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