Blue Demon Jr vs Dr. Wagner Jr. (AAA - 8/3/2019)

As of this moment, this is my MOTY and I think deserves serious consideration for a few reasons.

First, this match, from start to finish, has a big match feel. From the moment they are both lowered from those construction trucks with the basket they can elevate (I am sure they have a name) opposite one another.  This is top notch lucha pageantry that sets the right kind of stage for the match itself.

Second, I think Blue Demon Jr. puts on one of the better rudo performances I have ever seen and Wagner's technico is not half bad either. We all know of his physical limitations, but I would say he really turned it on here and played to his strengths. He was brutal and outright mean throughout. He is over here using a hammer to try to cripple Wagner, let alone shave his head.  Wagner plays protagonist here really well to. I think Demon's individual performance is a little more impressive, but that is honestly because of expectations and because... well... Wagner helps him look that good. His selling and timing were great. Wagner's ability to kind of sit still while Demon takes longer than needed to go get something or set up his next move without the whole thing feeling too terribly contrived is so impressive.

Third, drama... drama.... drama... Ok, so I watched this match more or less smack dab in the middle of the G1. Now, I am loving the G1. I think we are getting a lot of really high quality matches out of this year's tournament. But even the most ardent NJPW fans feel fatigue from this much action. This match served as a perfect pallet cleanser because here they accomplish so much with relatively little (at least in terms of their physical ability. A great deal of this match is is more or less Blue Demon trying to pull Wagner's arm off while we - the viewer - wait with bated breath to see if Wagner will tap or if he will get out.  Its not built around anything super complex. It is built around two dudes beating the hell out and dismember one another. In that, it feels sort of like a throwback performance from both men.

This is a solid contender in my mind. As of right now I wouldn't say it is likely to make my list, but it is in the conversation for MOTY in a year where we have seen a lot of good wrestling in a lot of different styles.