This was a low-key quality month for WWE professional wrestling. There was a TakeOver, a WrestleMania, and a Greatest Royal Rumble. Daniel Bryan returned to the ring. Finn Balor and Seth Rollins wrestled a bunch. The Usos and The Bludgeon Brothers wrestled a bunch.
The Top 25 are keepers, while the bottom 25 are a mix of solid TV matches that deserve some love and main event caliber matches that didn’t quite hit.
1. Unsanctioned Match – Johnny Gargano’s NXT Career on the Line: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
God damn was this a WRESTLING MATCH. The wrestling fan tolerates a lot of trash to get to this type of match, but when it happens it all makes sense. This had it all: the story, the atmosphere, the crowd, the emotion, the action, the viciousness, the everything. It was the perfect end to a blood feud without one drop of blood, a 30+ minute brawl that never wavered, never had a moment where it seemed like these guys didn’t want to hurt each other, never had a moment where the crowd wasn’t hanging on every moment and pulling for Their Guy, Johnny Wrestling.
2. SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Asuka (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
A big huge great god damn stadium wrestling match. These two went hard and brought a pro wrestling that just felt on another level from anything else: fast-paced, stiff, realistic, INTENSE. They brought some of the coolest hold-trading I’ve ever seen in WWE. Crowd was locked in from the bell and didn’t let up. Charlotte’s moonsault leading to Asuka’s triangle was an all-timer too.
3. Mixed Tag Team Match: Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
This is one of those WWE sports entertainment big event matches ala the first WrestleMania main event that was laid out for maximum fun. Ronda Rousey looks like a wrestling phenom, Stephanie goes all goofball MMA person, and Triple H goes back to 2000 Kurt Angle briefly before selling his ass off for Ronda which was so good it hurt. Had a great chaotic feel to it too, with the crowd hanging on everything. A great event match, both for longtime wrestling fans and folks who might be checking this weird thing out for the first time.
4. Ladder Match – NXT North American Title: Ricochet vs. Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
This had all the craziness of a big WWE multi-man Ladder Match but with the added aura of TakeOver opener buzz and the fact that all six of these guys come off as fresh, future superstars. There is just so much to flip out about in this match, and the three big bumps towards the end are mind-altering.
5. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (RAW 4/2/18)
Witness Rollins and Balor having the match everybody was sure they could have, even if it hadn’t been delivered on just yet. These two are just athletic freaks of nature and were flipping the crowd out with cool spots and counters that all felt like legitimate attempts to win a wrestling match. Some insane near falls towards the end too.
6. John Cena vs. Triple H (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
Classic professional wrestling, just a bunch of good clean basic fun from two extra-professional professional wrestlers. It was so cool to see these two take advantage of a crowd that was ready to pop for shoves and test of strengths. They took their time, built up a comeback, hit their over signature spots, and didn’t kill themselves doing it.
7. WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Finn Balor (RAW 4/30/18)
The sequel to their excellent match earlier in the month – similar deal with both guys just being athletic nutjobs, but also did a really cool job of putting over how much they know each other now, with counters for all their signature stuff. Real hot finish with both guys just blasting each other, and the Montreal crowd was on fire too.
8. NXT Women’s Title: Ember Moon [c] vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
Here is a match completely based in reality. It wasn’t fancy, didn’t exactly have the crowd early, but everything made sense in the confinements of the cool story they were telling and by the end I was loving it. I mean this was a WWE women’s wrestling match that built to a spot where a gal popped her shoulder back in on the turnbuckle post. C’mon! Incredible!
9. NXT Title: Andrade “Cien” Almas [c] w/ Zelina Vega vs. Aleister Black (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
A great, stiff championship match with a crowd that was tentative early eventually just losing their shit. Everything at the end is just do dramatic and frenetic, and this is another incredible Almas big match performance.
10. Triple Threat Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz [c] vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
Great match with an exciting WrestleMania opener atmosphere. They pulled off so many well-timed complex multi-man spots that all hit beautifully. Big time performances from everyone too, with everything having a little extra on it.
11. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 4/10/18)
I still can’t believe this match just happened two nights after WrestleMania. You could tell these two were so excited to do this, and it was basically a Dream Match based entirely on the mat. Lock-ups and hold-trading, baby. Some awesome counters towards the end too. Just a pleasure to watch these two guys do their thing.
12. If Owens and Zayn Win, They Are Rehired to SmackDown: Daniel Bryan (return) & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
This a fun as hell event match with an all-timer hot tag by Daniel Bryan. Bryan going down early was some weird stuff, but it’s not like you still didn’t have Shane McMahon doing crazy shit.
13. Kalisto vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 4/3/18)
An excellent match that’s even more impressive because it was between two guys with no real story. It felt like a classic 2005 ROH match, just two guys going buck wild to get noticed and doing a bunch of cool junior heavyweight shit along the way. Buddy is a beast and Kalisto is an insane person.
14. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Final: Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain w/ Paul Ellering (NXT 4/4/18)
A hell of a professional wrestling match with a great atmosphere, hot crowd, Roddy and Dunne bringing it to the AoP, tons of action, and the crowd just losing their shit over the possibility of their heroes winning.
15. Chad Gable vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh (RAW 4/23/18)
Any time Gable gets 10+ minutes he always gets it done… hell of a match that was perfectly laid out to set him up as a big time babyface. Great simple good guy vs. bad guy stuff, with the crowd buzzing any time Gable got a shot in. An incredible Mandy Rose-esque knee is thrown here by Jinder too.
16. 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
A hell of a fun crazy Royal Rumble match, with a whole bunch of randos like Tony Nese and Tucker Knight and a sumo wrestler. Rather than big showdowns and moments and surprises, we got Braun Strowman staring down Babatunde and Hornswoggle taking a superkick. And it was awesome! Daniel Bryan worked an hour and fifteen minutes, Mark Henry was disgusted with Mike Kanellis, Rey Mysterio looked incredible, Roddy Strong got a run, Braun got put over, Cass almost died, and Titus O’Neil became a legend.
17. Triple Threat Tag Team Match – SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) w/ Xavier Woods vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
A WrestleMania-worthy sprint with six guys who have been killing it all year showcasing their stuff.
18. WWE Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Kalisto (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
A fun as heck cruiserweight showcase that could’ve got “Please Come Back” chants anywhere in the world. Lots of good stuff here – Kalisto’s double springboard somersault plancha, Cedric’s face-cracking dropkick, a balls out tilt-a-whirl tornado DDT, and some tremendous counters for the finish.
19. Winners Earn a SmackDown Tag Team Title Shot at Greatest Royal Rumble: The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) w/ Kofi Kingston vs. The Usos (SmackDown 4/10/18)
When New Day and Usos lock-up on TV I always think: OK, we’re getting Diet New Day vs. Usos. And then we end up getting full tilt New Day vs. Usos. Another great showdown between these guys, with Jey and Xavier just throwing blows at each other being the highlight.
20. SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Bludgeon Brothers [c] vs. The Usos (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
Another great fast-paced intense quickie by these two teams. I liked how everybody just kept on each other here – The Bludgeon Brothers because they’re monsters, The Usos because they’re wrestling monsters. Check out this string that comprised the first few minutes: Rowan wrecks Jey, Jey gets a shot in but Harper tags right in, Harper charges at Jey but goes over the top rope, Jimmy tags in and dives onto Harper then dives onto Rowan.
21. Steel Cage Match – WWE Universal Title: Brock Lesnar [c] w/ Paul Heyman vs. Roman Reigns (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
This was a match that was basically all finishers – it might be cheap, or it might be exactly what this type of Boss Battle requires. Brock selling Superman Punches remains amazing. I found myself reacting viscerally to the hope of Roman winning at various points throughout the match, which I am not sure is a commentary on the match or me. Incredible stunt for the finish, though Roman’s poor neck likely does not agree. Booking aside, a pretty great match.
22. WWE U.S. Title: Jinder Mahal [c] w/ Sunil Singh vs. Jeff Hardy (RAW 4/16/18)
As with the best Jinder matches, super basic stuff that totally worked, with Jinder’s Boring WWE Heel shtick matching up perfectly with Jeff’s over babyface who bumps his ass off shtick. Tons of great cut-offs by Jinder here too.
23. WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Final: Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
This was a mesh of fun junior heavyweight stuff combined with the intensity which 205 has been good at recently. Probably needed a bit more crazy and it felt a little lukewarm for what could’ve been a career-maker, but it was still quality big show wrestling by two exciting young stars.
24. Sasha Banks vs. Ruby Riott w/ Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan (RAW 4/30/18)
Sasha Banks does it again, giving Ruby Riott one hell of a showcase. Great rope-running, selling, and Sasha looking like a bad mother on offense. Riott got to show some of what she could do versus Charlotte at Fastlane, but this felt like her best outing in WWE yet.
25. WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
A good match that was still a total bummer. Quality hold-trading and sweet moves all over, but they had a willing and excited crowd that very quickly just began sitting on their hands and they never really got them back. I can buy slapping on holds early and working for your spots in a match that’s going long, but for a hyped Dream Match five hours into a show it didn’t hit.
26. Ladder Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
A Ladder Match. In Saudi Arabia. That got a This is Awesome chant in Saudi Arabia. With four talented dudes. Good sell job by Balor, good finish, some nasty spots. It was a Ladder Match.
27. WWE Universal Title: Brock Lesnar [c] w/ Paul Heyman vs. Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
In a vacuum this is a good wrestling match; at the end of WrestleMania 34 this was a very bad wrestling match. Brock recklessly chucks around Roman while Roman sells his ass off, leading to Roman kicking out of the F5 and… getting no reaction.
28. Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
This was The Undertaker doing his thing in 2018 – the big pops for the sit-up and chokeslam were highly enjoyable. Just a classic case of working around what a guy can do, and Rusev going all over-the-top mid-90s WWF heel was great.
29. Gauntlet Match: Mustafa Ali vs. TJP, Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak, Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak vs. Kalisto (205 Live 4/24/18)
A match that went around 40 minutes with some good performances by everybody that was just unfortunately in front of a very quiet crowd. Great performance by Mustafa Ali, great bumps by Kalisto, and the thread of Drew Gulak being an aggressive piece of trash was great.
30. Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (RAW 4/23/18)
Owens and Zayn trading moves with Lashley was a bit weird but the build to and delivery of the Braun hot tag here is magical. Great bumps by Owens and Zayn for him too.
31. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa (205 Live 4/10/18)
This felt like a bunch of parts of a great match melded into what was ultimately just an OK match. They do a ton of really cool stuff but it also just felt so quiet.
32. Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh (RAW 4/30/18)
A fun 6-man brought up a few notches by the rabid Montreal crowd. Roman vs. Zayn, the Braun hot tag, and Owens and Zayn bumping for Braun were highlights. Finish had the crowd going insane.
33. Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, Bobby Lashley & X (Bobby Roode) vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, The Miz & The Miztourage (RAW 4/16/18)
This is a WWE 10-man tag team main event with a hell of a build to and hot tag for Braun Strowman. Didn’t re-invent the wheel, but it put smiles on some faces, let me tell you.
34. AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan vs. Rusev & Aiden English (SmackDown 4/17/18)
Another solid TV tag with a great build to and delivery of a hot tag, this time by Daniel freaking Bryan.
35. Fatal 4-Way Match – WWE U.S. Title: Randy Orton [c] vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
This was a whole bunch of good action in front of a hot Mania crowd that was still just a little eh. ACTION! FUN!! RUSEV TAKING AN RKO!!!
36. Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 4/17/18)
Jeff Hardy matches are typically good because people care about Jeff Hardy. These two also did a nice job of messing with what seemed to be convention that Jeff would win.
37. Triple Threat Tag Team Match – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final & NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
Not much to say about this one but it was a fun enough Triple Threat Tag Match with everybody going balls to the wall and the TakeOver crowd being into it. Nice turn at the end too.
38. Mixed Match Challenge – Final: Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair vs. The Miz & Asuka (MMC 4/3/18)
A perfectly fine end to the Mixed Match Challenge – excellent Charlotte/Asuka snippets, Bobby and Miz showing surprisingly good chemistry, and Asuka just wrecking anybody – man or woman – at the finish.
39. Seth Rollins, Finn Balor & Jeff Hardy (return) vs. The Miz & The Miztourage (RAW 4/9/18)
A fine 6-man tag – Finn took a beating, Hardy did Hardy things. Good solid stuff that the crowd got into at the end.
40. WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
One of those crap versions of a great match – it may still get three-stars, but there’s a billion other two-star matches I’d rather watch. As with the Mania match, it started with such cold stuff that they lost a game crowd early on, and then they kind of got them back with smooth counters and tight work and a strike exchange that was the best part of the match.
41. RAW Tag Team Title: – Bray Wyatt & Woken Matt Hardy vs. Cesaro & Sheamus (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
A good solid tag match in an interesting atmosphere – crowd was way into the shtick and they eventually put together a basic but enjoyable 10-minute tag – heat, comeback, all that stuff.
42. Jimmy Uso w/ Jey Uso vs. Rowan w/ Harper (SmackDown 4/24/18)
This is no four-star classic but was a real fun use of TV time. Dug Rowan starting the match with a straight-up dropkick, just refusing to accept Jimmy’s tope, and just pushing Jimmy off the top as he tried to get something going.
43. Jey Uso w/ Jimmy Uso vs. Harper w/ Rowan (SmackDown 4/17/18)
Another fun 60-second TV sprint by these guys – all action, with Harper as a big mean fella and Jey bumping and moving like a damn professional.
44. Winner Earns a RAW Contract: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (RAW 4/9/18)
Perhaps the most empty Owens/Zayn match ever, but it’s still an Owens/Zayn match.
45. Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Natalya & Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan (RAW 4/23/18)
A fine 10-woman tag that highlighted the new RAW women’s division and gave everybody a chance to shine. Ember hits an absolutely scorching tope here, and Ronda Rousey’s involvement towards the end is the good stuff.
46. RAW Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss [c] vs. Nia Jax (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
Not the right match for four and a half hours into a show, but on its own a good little TV match. Just a shocking amount of Alexa Bliss offense. They got something out of it, including a DDT near fall I totally bought, but oh man. A shocking amount.
47. Naomi vs. Natalya (SmackDown 4/10/18)
Not sure the post-Mania crowd was eager for a few minutes of Natalya offense but Naomi’s rana and slingshot legdrop and Natalya’s wild spinning sit-out powerbomb were sweet. A good solid match.
48. Mustafa Ali vs. Ariya Daivari (205 Live 4/17/18)
A bit higher-end than your standard Main Event match – Daivari showed some serious fire while Ali bumped like crazy for him.
49. Asuka & Becky Lynch vs. The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) (SmackDown 4/24/18)
A solid quick TV match that got a point across – IIconics looked good taking it to Becky and are such great pro wrestling characters, while Asuka was over as hell.
50. Randy Orton vs. Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 4/24/18)
A good solid version of a Randy Orton Match with Shelton being a pro. Didn’t blow anybody away but the folks popped for the DDT and stuff.
Honorable Mentions: John Cena vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18), WWE U.S. Title: Jeff Hardy [c] vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18), RAW Tag Team Title: Cesaro & Sheamus [c] vs. Braun Strowman & Nicholas (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18), Tornado Tag Team Match: Hideo Itami & Akira Tozawa vs. Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado (205 Live 4/17/18), No DQ Match: Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dain (NXT 4/18/18), NXT North American Title: Adam Cole [c] vs. Oney Lorcan (NXT 4/25/18), WWE U.S. Title #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match: Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (SmackDown 4/10/18), Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya (SmackDown 4/3/18), Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. The Revival (Main Event 4/25/18), Mark Andrews vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live 4/10/18)
