2019 Ongoing MOTY List: Cesaro vs. Mysterio

65. Rey Mysterio vs. Cesaro WWE Raw 9/16

ER: Two perfect dance partners doing cool things that most guys aren't capable of doing? Sure I'll hang out and watch that. This is all about these two being unleashed, Cesaro showing off his crazy lift strength on someone that everybody can lift, and Rey finding a couple new ways around old favorites. This was a total "cool things" spectacle, and that was clear the moment Rey rushed Cesaro only to eat an uppercut to start the match. Nice suplex, really nice elbowdrop, and then we get Rey with a huge rana to counter a powerbomb, and Cesaro flying into the post. I got giddy by the time Rey swung a 619 right into Cesaro's kidneys. I mean, sure, a suicide dive into a tornado DDT is cool, but I was rewinding so I could keep watching Cesaro sell his kidneys the way Rick Rude would sell an atomic drop, while also finding out Corey Graves doesn't know where organs are located (yeah Corey, he got him in the liver, you dummy). Who knows what we missed during commercial, as we get one of those moments where Cesaro is bounced off his head on the floor, but the next time we see them he's hitting a beast of a lariat back in the ring. I hate that. Every time Cesaro caught Rey out of midair it was exciting - that stuff was always going to look good - but while Rey gets caught and flipped into bonkers moves, he's also running full force into Cesaro boots and strikes. Rey eats boot like a man, Cesaro flips over as fast as anyone for the around the Manami Roll. I dug the 619 variations here: the one Cesaro took standing to the kidneys was great, and it lead to a cool moment of him catching the one after that, and then the more traditional one at the finish. I would be fine with these two just out there every month or so working on material.

PAS: This was a weird little artifact of a match. These two have amazing in ring chemistry, with Cesaro being one of the great bases in wrestling history and Rey being one of the most creative tecnicos. This felt like it was setting something up, and then they never had another singles match. Cesaro has such wild strength, and Rey has always been a great foil for a strong man. Lots of moments where Cesaro snatches Rey out of the air, only to get caught in a rana or armdrag. The spot where Cesaro catches the bodypress, rolls through, flips him up, only to get caught in a crucifix was so cool. It feels like it should be a legendary wrestling spot and instead felt a little wasted on a random RAW TV match. Still, this was a very cool random RAW TV match. 

2019 MOTY MASTER LIST