It’s been a weak year for WWE in-ring and on top of that September had a real slow start. But once Hell in a Cell hit, September brought the wrestling. There’s no clear standout MOTYC but a ton of fun stuff highlighted by Hell in a Cell, Mae Young Classic Round 1, and Andrade “Cien” Almas.
1. NXT North American Title & NXT U.K. Title: Ricochet [c] vs. Pete Dunne [c] (NXT 9/19/18)
This felt like a great Best of the Super Junior final, just two athletic freaks doing all their wild wrestling spots in front of a game crowd. Every spectacular thing they did, no matter how complex, was delivered perfectly. These two just seem made to wrestle each other too. There’s something to be said about MODERN WRESTLING!! feeling empty, but when the crowd is flipping out so hard it’s hard to argue.
2. Hell in a Cell: Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
There was a little too much wandering around early, but they got 25 minutes and built it into epic territory as both guys just felt completely exhausted the more it went on. Hardy sold the Cell like death and the ear lobe screwdriver spot was high art. Just a wild fun WWE gimmick match.
3. RAW Tag Team Title: Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
These boys can close a match up – great hot tag build, great hot tag delivery, and a finish so hot it turned Michael Cole into Mauro Ranallo. Seth has worked Dolph and Drew SO much over the last few months but they still kept it hot and fresh.
4. WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Samoa Joe (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
Samoa Joe is an intense as hell badass who makes means faces, while AJ Styles is selling his ass off and bumping like a damn fool. This was quality professional wrestling from bell-to-bell.
5. Mixed Tag Team Match: Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
You’ve got Maryse running from Brie Bella, Miz pointing to his head to show how smart he is, and Brie getting her hands on not just Maryse but also Miz. In between it all, Daniel Bryan and The Miz are wrestling each other and it’s very good. Tremendous sports entertainment.
6. SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Becky Lynch (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
WWE wrestling becomes real any time Charlotte Flair gets 10+ minutes on PPV, and Becky Lynch is her ideal dance partner. This has got compelling trading of wrestling holds, snug strikes, and big intensity. It might not have had “Fight Forever” chants but this was a hell of a wrestling match.
7. AJ Styles vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 9/18/18)
This is pretty much a 10-minute finishing sequence and it is awesome. It felt like Styles was caught off guard the whole time and just barely keeping up with this fired up newcomer. Each guy threw big shots and Almas did a bunch of cool stuff, taking big bumps and doing springboard dropkicks and a double foot stomp onto the apron. Gorgeous finishing sequence too.
8. RAW Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey [c] w/ Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss w/ Mickie James and Alicia Fox (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
This was another good Ronda Rousey PPV match. Alexa Bliss looking dominant opposite her shouldn’t work but it does, and it’s probably because there’s such a unique roughness to these matches – the suplexes aren’t wrestling school suplexes, they are throws. The strikes are not perfectly executed elbows, they are wild swings. The Rousey Death Stare delivery was tremendous too.
9. Daniel Bryan w/ Brie Bella vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 9/4/18)
If he can’t get 20 minutes on PPV, I’ll take Almas getting 10 minutes on TV. This is just quality wrestling from quality wrestlers. Bryan sells a limb and Almas bumps like a nut.
10. Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Xia Li vs. Karen Q (MYC 9/19/18)
A match starting with kung fu poses could easily come off as goofy but these two brought the intensity and made this a credible, awesome wrestling match. Kick dodges, intense strike flurries, boots to the face… this was god damn Strong Style.
11. Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Mia Yim vs. Allysin Kay (MYC 9/19/18)
This was a great match – these are two girls who have a history and pair up well and in between the well-done wrestling sequences they took breaks to punch each other in the face. The chop to the post was a great spot too.
12. Big E w/ Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Sheamus w/ Cesaro (SmackDown 9/25/18)
Sometimes ya wish hosses just hossed and didn’t do a bunch of STUFF but there was too much fun stuff here to complain. These two big boys just went AT IT with non-stop big spots. Spinal stenosis Sheamus took an armdrag to the floor and a powerbomb and I don’t know what to think. And it ended with an all-timer Brouge kick.
13. Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Io Shirai vs. Xia Brookside (MYC 9/26/18)
Perfect introduction match, with Io Shirai having the AURA of a special newcomer and Brookside playing her part as spunky young gal who’s here to get kicked in the head.
14. WWE Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Drew Gulak w/ Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher (205 Live 9/19/18)
Lost me a bit at the start but this is a match with a roll-through suplex on the floor and the skill it takes to hit that well is undeniable. Plus they used all their signature spots well and the finish was really intense.
15. The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs. Constable Corbin & The Authors of Pain w/ Drake Maverick (RAW 9/24/18)
It’s THE SHIELD! And they’re back! And so the match is at a minimum good, because it’s The Shield. Rollins took a beating, Ambrose rocked a hot tag, and the crowd went crazy as they headed towards the finish. The Reigns/Rezar staredown is awesome too.
16. Finn Balor w/ Bayley vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Alicia Fox and Sunil Singh (RAW 9/24/18)
Great example of an ideal WWF TV match. You’re god damn right there’s at least three chinlocks, but the comeback got OVER and Jinder timed all his stuff great.
17. R-Truth w/ Carmella vs. The Miz (SmackDown 9/25/18)
This is a match in which there is a good guy and a bad guy and the finish is setup with a thumb to the eye. Fantastic.
18. Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live 9/26/18)
Once they got past the usual quiet early stuff this became a blast – Itami beat some ass, the crowd bought in, and Ali’s comebacks were awesome. They also pull off the Tanahashi/Okada Destruction in Kobe finish and that’s very cool.
19. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream (NXT 9/5/18)
Herein lies a match that hits all the notes of a good match in 2018, though I wasn’t really feeling it. It’s got wild bumps, This is Awesome, Mauro screaming, stiff kicks, and big near falls… but Gargano post-Ciampa is missing something and for all his skills the Dream can’t pull off the Indy Dream Match thing yet.
20. WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Constable Corbin (RAW 9/17/18)
An abbreviated Roman Reigns singles match, and I miss Roman Reigns singles matches. Wild run-in-filled finish too.
21. WWE U.S. Title: Rusev [c] w/ Lana vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 9/18/18)
Grappling, kicks, and a Rusev comeback. This was good.
22. Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Toni Storm vs. Jinny (MYC 9/19/18)
Toni Storm has got some incredible babyface swagger and Jinny has got some incredible heel swagger and that made for a fine wrestling match.
23. Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Meiko Satomura vs. Killer Kelly (MYC 9/5/18)
This is a match all about Meiko Satomura being on WWE TV for the first time and it is very fun. She gets in some awesome spots, but she also applies a headlock like a motherfucker.
24. Raul Mendoza vs. Lars Sullivan (NXT 9/12/18)
A delightful little 3-minute wrestling match… loved Raul’s determined look as he charged to the ring to get clubbed to death by Lars.
25. Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Rachel Evers vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto (MYC 9/26/18)
These two brought the physicality and that physicality kept the crowd bumping.
Honorable Mentions: Hell in a Cell – WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Braun Strowman (Special Guest Referee: Mick Foley) (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18), Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush vs. Elias w/ Kevin Owens (RAW 9/24/18), WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW 9/17/18), Gran Metalik vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 9/11/18), Tye Dillinger vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 9/25/18)
Kofi Kingston w/ Big E and Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro w/ Sheamus (SmackDown 9/18/18), Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre (RAW 9/17/18), Finn Balor vs. Elias (RAW 9/10/18), RAW Tag Team Title: The B-Team [c] vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (RAW 9/3/18), Zack Ryder vs. Apollo Crews (Main Event 9/12/18)
SmackDown Tag Team Title: The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) w/ Xavier Woods [c] vs. Rusev Day w/ Lana (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18), The Authors of Pain w/ Drake Maverick vs. Nathan Bradley & Ronnie Ace (RAW 9/10/18), Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 9/11/18), Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair (NXT 9/12/18), Shayna Baszler vs. Violet Payne (NXT 9/12/18)
