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.