2019 Ongoing MOTY List: Kingston vs. WALTER

20. Eddie Kingston vs. WALTER Progress Wrestling 7/6

PAS: If Eddie Kingston is retiring this year, he is going out as the best wrestler in the world. This is another absolute corker and exactly what you want from this match up on paper. Kingston is going try to stand up and fist fight with a bigger stronger guy, and going to fail in a spectacular way. This is a perfect combination of a guy who chops super hard, and a guy who sells chops better then anyone. They have a chop exchange, like every other indy match ever, but in this one Kingston does this incredible delayed sell of the chop, he rears back to crack WALTER and all of the synapse in his body collapse. I loved how both guys adjusted their normal offense as they got deeper in the weeds, Kingston can't drop WALTER with normal backfist, so he switches up to a fucking spinning straight punch, and instead of the slap down German, WALTER slaps down one arm and does a head and neck suplex which straightens Kingston's toes. I really loved this, heavyweight professional wrestling at its absolute best. Don't go Eddie, don't go.

ER: I like the different Kingston approaches to matches depending on his opponent. Here he comes in like a guy who knows odds are not on his side against a opponent who outguns him in nearly every category. WALTER hits harder, he's bigger, and he's got less injuries; Kingston is going to stand with WALTER, and Kingston knows more than anyone that is likely a losing gambit. Kingston's selling was great here - great enough that it seems almost too obvious to bring up - and I loved all of his reactions to WALTER's chops. I love when the pain hits him at different times, love when he crumbles and feebly slaps at WALTER's leg to keep him at bay, love him playing possum since he knew he was at WALTER's mercy at a couple points, love him wiggling his fingers to get some feeling going in his arm, love how he holds back midway through a chop as his shoulder flares up, etc. 

WALTER crushes as WALTER will crush, caving Kingston with chops to the chest and kicks to the head, and is right there when King starts throwing brutal backfists (not sure if intentional, but I loved that when King threw three backfists the third was lighter than the other two, like he used up "the good backfist energy" on the first two and his body was naturally holding back because his hand was hurting by the third) and a brutal rolling elbow which was arguably the nastiest shot of the match. The finish was pretty sick, Kingston getting tossed right onto his head and shoulders with a savage trap suplex, then floating over to sink in the choke on an already passed out King. I didn't love King getting thrown rudely and violently off his shoulder and popping up to hit a lariat, felt a little too on the nose 1999 All Japan (and the suplex was arguably the meanest part of the match up to that point, though little did I know what the finish would be), but that was really the only time that kind of moment was used, so the restraint actually made the other nasty throws mean a bit more. Kingston is the best in the world in 2019, the pure master of a competitive and timely losing match.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST