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April is supposed to be WWE's biggest month. With its hosting WrestleMania, an NXT TakeOver event, and the annual Superstar Shakeup, we can usually expect several match of the year candidates to come during those 30 days when the weather starts getting warmer and the spring blooms come out (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, in which case, never mind!).
April 2019 delivered on that promise with five match of the year candidates, though that was mostly thanks to the NXT TakeOver event. WrestleMania 35 only delivered one true classic match, but what a match it was!
In fairness to the Show of Shows, though, it boasted two other of April's best matches, even though they weren't quite match of the year candidates. Elsewhere, you could find some on Raw and NXT. Velveteen Dream in particular featured in two of the month's best matches.
The Superstar Shakeup freshened up the rosters, but did it influence any of April's best matches? Without further ado, here are the 10 matches you should go back and watch from the month of April.
#10 Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania 35)
At long last, the nightmare is over! Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35 to liberate the long-suffering Universal Championship. The match was actually decent, too, though not a world-burner.
In a deviation from the standard Brock Lesnar match, the champion attacked the Rumble winner before the bell rang, laying him out in the ringside area and exhausting him. Then, when the bell rang, Lesnar looked the favorite to win the match, but a twist of fate made the referee stumble.
Seizing the chance, Rollins hit Lesnar with a low blow and three curbstomps to capture the campionship. It was a hot opener to the biggest show of the year.
#9 The Usos vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. The Bar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WrestleMania 35)
Little did we know it, but this would be The Bar's last tag team title match together, as they mysteriously went their separate ways after the Superstar Shakeup. It was a good way for the former champions to go out, though. Cesaro's big swing of Ricochet was just one of the highlights of this match.
Sheamus beating the air out of the chests of every competitor was also another fun way for The Bar to say goodbye.
Aleister Black and Ricochet stood out in this match with their respective spots and The Usos picked up a surprising victory, particularly given their subsequent move to Raw. With all those pieces on the board, there wasn't any way that this was going to wind up being a bad match. There was little break from the action here.
#8 AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio (Raw, April 22nd)
Triple threats are usually lame (see the WrestleMania 35 main event for more on that), but this was a strong showing on Raw. Joe, Mysterio, and AJ Styles worked well together to get an opportunity to advance closer to the Universal Championship.
Mysterio and Styles kept the pace up, while Joe exploded to obliterate them where he could. The match seesawed for a long while and though AJ Styles was always going to be the inevitable winner, it didn't feel too much like a spoiler at the time.
AJ Styles eventually Styles Clashed Rey Mysterio onto Samoa Joe and pinned the latter. While that result was a downer (why this company loves pinning its champions in non-title matches, I have no idea), it didn't take much away from this match, which was nearly all action from the moment the bell rang.
#7 Velveteen Dream vs. Buddy Murphy (NXT, April 17th)
As usual, Buddy Murphy has had a hell of a month, but this was the best of his three marquee matches. Velveteen Dream taunted Murphy after he lost his Cruiserweight Championship to Tony Nese, and when the match was announced, naturally we were all excited. It lived up to the hype.
The serious Murphy, probably more skilled than his opponent, had to deal with a style he hadn't been used to from 205 Live - a flamboyant, over the top opponent. Velveteen Dream took a lot of punishment, but was more than ready to match with the former juggernaut of the purple brand.
Dream eventually won, and though the victory felt a little bit sudden, no one could complain about the action that these two put on. Dream continues his reign as North American Champion while Murphy will now try his luck on SmackDown.
#6 Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre vs. The Miz (Raw, April 22nd)
Surprisingly, this match was better than the first triple threat match which boasted Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Rey Mysterio. The Miz was the real anchor here, gluing it together and keeping the match hot, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. He is an all-round performer of immense caliber at this point in his career. Miz came close to victory on numerous occasions, but it just wasn't to be.
Drew McIntyre would eventually lay out the A-Lister with a Claymore kick, but Baron Corbin stole the victory by throwing the huge Scotsman out of the ring. This would set up tension between the two allies, especially when he choked later in the night against AJ Styles. That tension erupted last night.
This was a match that belies its on paper appearance and was the best effort from the red brand during the month of April.
#5 War Raiders vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet (NXT TakeOver: New York)
All the way back when they were known as the War Raiders, they had a tremendous TakeOver match with the departing Aleister Black and Ricochet. The result was never in doubt, but this was an excellent way for two of the beloved "NXT 6" to say goodbye to the yellow brand.
Little did we know it at the time, but this may have been the final TakeOver match for the War Raiders as well.
Either way, the action was red hot and the electric crowd helped. Seeing the then-Hanson trade acrobatic spots with Ricochet was eye catching because it was so unique. That was the high point of the match, but there were many other hot moments as well.
The crowd gave Aleister Black and Ricochet a heartfelt farewell at the end of the match and the two teams embraced in respect.
#4 Pete Dunne vs. WALTER (NXT TakeOver: New York)
This was just a brutal, bitter fight. It lasted a tad bit longer than it should have, and the crowd was exhausted even by then, but the intensity that Pete Dunne and WALTER displayed made up for these shortcomings.
WALTER used his massive size and power to gain an advantage on the long reigning champion, who had to use every technique in his gritty arsenal to make up for his physical disadvantage.
One could tell that the odds were against Dunne, but he kept fighting and fighting, forcing WALTER to get progressively more brutal to finish him off, requiring aerial maneuvers to do so.
And with that, Pete Dunne's title reign came to an end after a gargantuan 685 days. It was a fitting end to the longest title reign of the modern era, a record which won't probably be rivaled anytime soon.
#3 Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle (NXT TakeOver: New York)
Another match of the year candidate for the Dream!
Matt Riddle put on his best match to date in NXT as well.
This match wasn't just a pure work rate fest, it was actually a well-told story. Velveteen Dream was visibly inferior in the ring to his challenger and his flamboyance was put to the test. The man that came to the ring with heel tendencies started becoming more and more the babyface in the match, as Riddle went further to his vicious side in order to finish the flamboyant North American Champion off.
Ultimately, Dream got lucky by reversing the Bromission into a rollup, keeping Riddle strong in defeat while adding an important notch on the champion's belt.
The crowd was still super hot for this match as well, lending an even greater atmosphere to the way it unfolded.
#2 Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole (NXT TakeOver: New York)
A shame what happened to Tommaso Ciampa, because nothing would have been able to overcome the emotion in such a match, but Adam Cole was a fine, if not quite equal, replacement.
The beginning and middle of the match were well worked, if academic, but the home stretch is when the fireworks really began to fly. Johnny Gargano overcome everything thrown at him - interference, tag team finishers, multiple finishers, etc., to finally become NXT Champion.
Your mileage on this match may vary. Rightly, many people were criticizing the otherwise ridiculous nature of the ending, with Gargano suddenly becoming superman. Yet, with Ciampa absent, the odds needed to be stacked against Gargano in some other way, and the crowd was as intense as a hurricane in willing their hero to victory.
The format worked, but it probably prevented it from becoming the undisputed match of the year that the final Gargano vs. Ciampa encounter may well have been.
#1 Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston (WrestleMania 35)
Without a doubt. It was the best match of WrestleMania 35 and probably the best match in WWE this year so far, including NXT.
The emotional high of this match was equaled by its superb work rate, and the action in the ring was crisp, as well as thrilling. Kofi Kingston felt very much like he was fighting against the odds.
In the end, Kofi Kingston finally managed to put Daniel Bryan away after Trouble in Paradise. He celebrated his long-sought WWE Championship victory with his two sons and his long friends in the New Day. It was a classic "WrestleMania moment" that hearkened back to the feel-good 1980s.
Understandably, the crowd was exhausted with a long show still yet to come, and after this emotional high.
As we knew going into MetLife, this was the real main event of the biggest show of the year.
