This has been a down period for WWE, but the in-ring has been strong. The Top 10 are great, the rest of the Top 25 are good, and there is a lot of solid stuff that’s well worth watching in the Honorable Mentions.
1. Chicago Street Fight: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18)
In which the Gargano vs. Ciampa feud got its’ Empire Strikes Back moment. They might’ve gotten a little stunt-showy at the start, but this thing delivered: an untouchable heated atmosphere, both guys being all intense, big nasty spots, the ring being torn up, and Gargano’s selling all came together to deliver something wild. The cinematic last 10 minutes and stunned silence at the brutal finish are keepers. This is a special feud.
2. RAW Women’s Title: Nia Jax [c] vs. Ronda Rousey (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
The pro wrestling is at its’ finest when it feels real. What a great god damn wrestling match this is. Nia Jax doesn’t always hit but from the matches with Asuka we know she is capable of playing a perfect monster when put in the right situation. Here she is put in a situation with Ronda Rousey, who after two matches I am ready to call an elite wrestler. Her stuff here felt more realistic than anything in WWE right now – the strikes, submissions, and selling were all great, and little stuff like the quick “whoa” as she found her balance on the top rope added to the presentation. The judo throw on her comeback was incredible too.
3. NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) (NXT U.K. Championship 6/26/18)
All these fellas have some excellent chemistry and it resulted in an epic wrestling match. Strong and O’Reilly are in a groove as a team and got to do their thing on this occasion against Moustache Mountain who are as over in London as prime Dusty Rhodes in Florida. It started well with Seven selling big, got great once Bate got the hot tag, and got beautiful as they headed home. Some of the saves at the end here gave me Real World Tag League flashbacks. So good.
4. WWE Title #1 Contender’s 5-Man Gauntlet Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Big E, Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz, The Miz vs. Rusev (SmackDown 6/19/18)
Witness the spirit of the American Dragon return, having two great matches in a row with Big E and Samoa Joe that were all about his selling and fired up comebacks. This 40-minute match has got Big E and Bryan exchanging wristlocks, Big E chucking Bryan around, and Samoa Joe chopping Bryan’s chest until it looked like ground beef. Seriously man – Bryan’s selling here. All-time great stuff. Miz vs. Rusev at the end lost a little steam, but a solid 75% of this match was some absolutely captivating work by Daniel Bryan.
5. British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (WWE U.K. Title Tournament 6/25/18)
A match filled to the brim with wonderful content, a classic 6-man tag with the London crowd treating British Strong Style like GODS. This has Dunne kicking Strong’s ass, Bate flipping everybody out with his strength, and as they are to do, everybody throwing bombs at the end and the crowd losing their shit. An absolute blast.
6. Ricochet & Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (NXT 6/27/18)
NXT’s visit to the U.K. brought all kinds of Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain and Friends stuff, including this match that happened a week later at Full Sail. This was a classic 6-man tag that did a great job of getting Ricochet more over. Fun early run by the good guys + an insane Ricochet hot tag + a big crazy finish with everybody throwing bombs and Ricochet almost pulling out a win over Adam Cole = awesome.
7. NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] w/ Adam Cole vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18)
This was a great match that would have been downright incredible had the crowd been less into chanting Adam Cole Bay-Bay and more into Oney and Danny. They brought the awesome tag team wrestling, but boos or indifference for the good guys at key moments was a bummer, especially when they brought the pain – a nasty headbutt on Kyle here, a somersault bump from the top rope to the apron there. Despite all that, the performances were great, and the finish is a certified epic.
8. WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW 6/18/18)
This was a match all about the selling – they had some cool stuff planned, but in between everything took their time and sold their asses off. Rollins’ struggle as he tried to climb the top towards the end, Ziggler’s big bump off the Ripcord knee, Rollins taking a Fameasser on his head, and just their general exhaustion as the match went on… tremendous.
9. WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Kyle O’Reilly (NXT 6/13/18)
This is basically a 15-minute sprint with non-stop grappling and grabbing limbs and headbutting and kicking limbs and countering, all with the crowd 100% into it the entire time. Katsuyori Shibata approved. So good.
10. NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Toni Storm (NXT U.K. Championship 6/26/18)
Great story, great drama, great match. Baszler is an excellent character wrestler and Storm’s Euro wrestling being able to match up against her until it didn’t was a fine story to tell. Storm’s selling was great too – her scream of pain after the stomp to her ankle had a feel of “WHY?” to it. Storm making a comeback, refusing to lose, still going for the win despite the fucked ankle, and the POP for when she rolled out of the sleeper was special stuff.
11. Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Ember Moon vs. Lana vs. Alexa Bliss (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
These ladies had some STUFF planned and stringed it all together really well, which is the best case scenario for the overplayed MITB gimmick. Ember Moon and Naomi looked especially awesome, providing the big car crash spots and bumps and adding a certain amount of beautiful recklessness to the proceedings. Becky being super over and Sasha taking a buckle bomb into a ladder were highlights.
12. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18)
This wasn’t the star-making banger both guys probably wanted, but it was still a blast of a match between two great characters. It had the insane rope-running, big spots, and a fun thread of both guys trying to out-do each other. Plus there were some wild near falls and a superplex to the floor. Also: THE AURA. The future seems bright.
13. WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Zack Gibson (NXT U.K. Championship 6/26/18)
Big Match Pete is one of our finest wrestlers. Witness him have a great main event title match with a guy who got put in a few big spots this month but isn’t someone I think is very good yet. Either way, Dunne brought the great dramatic babyface selling, a great bump off the lungblower, and the crowd was all about their guy.
14. Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
You are not getting some deep piece of art with Big Cass on one side of the ring, but what you do get here is Daniel Bryan getting 15+ in a PPV opener and no matter the opponent that is good stuff – fire, selling, building to a comeback, delivering on that comeback, and just being OVER. I actually bought that Cass was winning off a big boot at one point too. Not a bad farewell match to have.
15. Triple Threat Match: Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 6/19/18)
This had some Triple Threat BS but also a lot of REALLY AWESOME STUFF. Itami is laying it in to everybody, there’s 5 whole minutes based around each guy just kicking each other in the spine, Buddy takes two head drops within ten seconds of each other, and Itami kicks Ali’s head mid-air as he tries a moonsault. Plus there’s a god damn Spanish Fly off the commentary table. Crazy ass match.
16. Last Man Standing Match – WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
Probably the best match they’ve had but I always say that. It was a very good gimmick match that didn’t really make me feel anything. Maybe that’s on me. Maybe that’s on them. AJ Styles remains a spectacular guy to watch wrestle and Nakamura remains a spectcular guy to watch react to things, and AJ dodging the low blow and Nakamura getting up at 9 and doing the “COME ON!!!” stood up against the table were cool spots, but why are we still doing this?
17. WWE Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler [c] vs. Seth Rollins (RAW 6/25/18)
Another fun match between these two, though the long stretch of Ziggler offense was a bit much. Despite that, this was good solid work all the way through and the last 5 minutes saw the crowd legitimately smiling with joy as Rollins made his comeback. Big fan of a Workhorse IC Title Main Event on Monday Night RAW too.
18. Mustafa Ali w/ Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese w/ Buddy Murphy (205 Live 6/12/18)
A very good match that would’ve come off even better with more crowd heat. Awesome babyface performance by Ali (check out the slow-mo replay on him getting launched into the turnbuckle post), and even Nese brought it with some hurty strikes and a sweet spot where he counters a frankensteiner and immediately charges 60 mph into Ali with a vicious clothesline. Good pacing and drama too – a double-down clothesline spot towards the end makes it feel like they just went through a war.
19. SmackDown Women’s Title: Carmella [c] vs. Asuka (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
I didn’t know there was a planet where Carmella looked credible versus Asuka, but we landed on it. These two are both very good at what they do, but what they do is very different. For the first 5 minutes Carmella was annoying and talked shit, while Asuka threw hip attacks and was all fired up. Then it just kept going, with Carmella finding ways to either stay on or escape Asuka, and it was kind of awesome – good timing by Carmella, great selling by Asuka. The JAMES ELLSWORTH return is tremendous too.
20. WWE U.K. Title Tournament – Round 1: Jack Gallagher vs. Drew Gulak (UK Title Tournament Exclusive 6/13/18)
This is a very cool almost completely mat-based match, with both guys just locking up, applying a hold, and either manipulating said hold or fighting out of it. After 7 minutes or so of transcending matwork, someone finally throws a strike and they throw some cracking elbows and kicks and chops at each other until Jack throws a headbutt that ends it. Very, very cool.
21. Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 6/5/18)
Good match, intense strikes, jaw-dropping spots. There’s some structure with Buddy working over Ali, but this was all about Buddy taking a reverse rana and apron X-Factor on his head, Ali’s tilt-a-whirl DDT to the floor, and a few other phenomenal things that popped even the tired 205 Live crowd.
22. WWE U.K. Title Tournament – Final: Travis Banks vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Title Tournament 6/25/18)
This was a good match with a great last few minutes, but ultimately felt like a weak tournament final. It’s all about Gibson going after Banks’ bandaged arm, and while Banks sold well and his comebacks were fired up it didn’t really click until the very end. When things did click it got kind of awesome, and the tournament final gimmick added some gravitas, but it took them a while to get there.
23. NXT Title: Aleister Black [c] vs. Lars Sullivan (NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18)
This was basically a mid-90s Undertaker vs. Giant of the Month match with way cooler moves and I mean that as a compliment. Lars is moving around well and catching a moonsault outside while Black is playing his role well as guy who needs to stay on Lars. Epic Black Mass botch too!
24. WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Elias (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
A solid lengthy Rollins title defense with some awesome big spots, though the in-between stuff could’ve been punched up a bit. Elias is a star, but not the best working a lengthy WWE beatdown. Those big spots hit though, and the last few minutes were great.
25. Lucha House Party (Kalisto, Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado) vs. Brian Kendrick, Jack Gallagher & Drew Gulak (205 Live 6/12/18)
This is by far the best of this endless series of matches – all these guys are good, just nobody really cares. Fun flying + good old-fashioned tag work by the bad guys + a neat finish = FUN! Best part of the match was Lucha House Party flying all over, then Gulak tagging in and just elbowing Dorado in the face. Second best was Kalisto shaking his ass and getting what might’ve been the biggest pop of that evening’s wrestling.
Honorable Mentions: Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. EC3 & Velveteen Dream (NXT U.K. Championship 6/26/18), Dakota Kai vs. Bianca Belair (NXT 6/20/18), Daniel Bryan vs. Harper w/ Rowan (SmackDown 6/26/18), Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English vs. Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe (Money in the Bank 6/17/18), Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans (NXT 6/6/18), WWE U.K. Title Tournament – Semi Final: Flash Morgan Webster vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Title Tournament 6/25/18)
WWE U.K. Title Tournament – Quarter Final: Jack Gallagher vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Title Tournament 6/25/18), Daniel Bryan vs. Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 6/12/18), SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Bludgeon Brothers [c] vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (Money in the Bank Kickoff 6/17/18), SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Bludgeon Brothers [c] vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (SmackDown 6/17/18)
Jeff Hardy & The Usos vs. SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) (SmackDown 6/26/18), Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch (SmackDown 6/5/18), Fatal 4-Way Match: Sasha Banks vs. Natalya vs. Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss (RAW 6/11/18), WWE U.K. Title #1 Contender Fatal 4-Way Match: Mark Andrews vs. Travis Banks vs. Flash Morgan Webster vs. Noam Dar (NXT U.K. Championship 6/26/18)
Braun Strowman & Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens & Baron Corbin (RAW 6/18/18), Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live 6/19/18), Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 6/12/18), The New Day vs. The Miz, Samoa Joe & Rusev (SmackDown 6/5/18), Candice LeRae vs. Lacey Evans (NXT 6/27/18), Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal & Elias w/ Sunil Singh (RAW 6/4/18)
Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Asuka, Naomi & Lana vs. Carmella, The IIconics, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville (SmackDown 6/12/18), Samoa Joe vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (Special Guest Referee: The Miz) (SmackDown 6/12/18), Danny Burch vs. Roderick Strong (NXT 6/6/18), Ligero vs. Mike Hitchman (UK Title Tournament Exclusive 6/27/18)
