Top WWE Wrestlers of 2018

2018 was a weird year. And probably one that will be looked back on poorly.

The last few years saw WWE go a lot of changes. Their talent recruitment strategy changed from hiring only big beautiful muscular boys to hiring seemingly anybody who could get over on the independent scene, a strategy developed not only after the success of guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan but also likely informed by said independent scene having a hot last few years, highlighted the successful All In event. They refined their developmental process and developmental program NXT to a science. Guys like AJ Styles and The Shield emerged as legitimate replacements to John Cena after over a decade of Cena dominance. The brand split came back. Women’s wrestling started being treated seriously. Shinsuke Nakamura Samoa Joe became regulars on WWE TV. So did Patrick and Mandy from Tough Enough.

During this there was a lot of good wrestling and storytelling. There was also a lot of bad wrestling and storytelling. The former kind of outweighed the latter though, and there was still hope that exciting NXT prospects were primed to make things even better.

2018 continued the changes, as a period of 365 days tends to do – continued global expansion, cold war with the no-longer-really-independent scene, John Cena completely scaling back his appearances, and The Man Becky Lynch to name a few – but the wrestling kind of stalled until the last few months of the year and the stories mostly stunk.

SmackDown was led by a disappointing last half of the AJ Styles WWE Title reign and Carmella inexplicably ruling the women’s division, all while it struggled maintaining a balance of interesting scenarios for its stacked roster. RAW meanwhile was was so consumed by Roman vs. Brock and Shield nostalgia that it forgot about building up the rest of its roster. A lot of interesting stuff went down, but I can’t shake that this year was a down one. So much happened and yet so much felt stuck on pause.

The WWE in-ring formula felt exposed this year more than ever too – the roster is filled with more Performance Center-trained people than ever and there’s more and more programming to fill with them having very average matches where they went to the back and got told by Arn Anderson to work holds harder and show more fire or something. The recruitment of independent talent brought the spectacular up, but even the coolest talents feel bogged down by a strict diet of chinlocks and over-scripting. This was also a year when a lot of guys who were going hard the last couple years kind of slowed down – the rigors of the road felt it got to guys like Styles, Zayn, Owens, Nakamura, Ambrose, and others.

Plus everybody just felt like they got de-emphasized at the same time. WWE writing has been inherently dumb since the beginning of time, but the writing this year just felt lazier than normal, like there was some directive to get nobody over. That hurt a lot of matches too. A lot of guys in the Top 10 weren’t wrestling on TV week after week after week – the perception of the ones that did suffered.

SmackDown has closed the year strong, but neither brand had a hot run like RAW did in 2017 and SmackDown in 2016.

Of course, I still watch this stuff or a reason. There might not have been bangers on TV week-to-week, but there was still a ton of great wrestling from some talented wrestlers I will talk about below.

Also in 2018: Eco-terrorist WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, Elias and Drew McIntyre and Mustafa Ali emerging, Rey Mysterio still being awesome, the Gargano/Ciampa saga, Velveteen Dream promos, Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain, a Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel push, Ronda Rousey being ready on day one, that random Cruiserweight Title tournament, Lesnar vs. Bryan actually happening, The Riott Squad beginning to gel, the Evolution PPV being a thing, Samoa Joe and Usos and Miz promos, Charlotte Flair in big match scenarios, NXT TakeOver still being the most reliable ticket in wrestling, BECKY LYNCH. There was a lot of good stuff.

Counterpoint: Saudi Arabia, General Manager-elect Baron Corbin, the use of Sasha Banks and Bayley, Nakamura vs. Styles being based around low blows, The Usos barely around, chinlocks, Gran Metalik being a guy who shakes a rattle, 205 Live most weeks, Brock vs. Roman continuing long past WrestleMania, Finn Balor being such a dork, Hideo Itami yelling respect me, Andrade “Cien” Almas practically being in witness protection, and perhaps most importantly the prime of a ton of guys just being wasted in such lifeless nothing matches or minimal appearances.

Let us remember the random stuff too – there was that weird Nia Jax anti-bullying gimmick that lasted a month, WWE actually ran Jinder Mahal vs. Roman Reigns in Chicago, RAW 25 was terrible and there was almost a mutiny at the Manhattan Center, there were feuds on SmackDown based around a fake Top 10 list, the Broken Universe briefly came to WWE, Sami Zayn questioned Bobby Lashley’s military service, Bayley told Sasha Banks “you ain’t shit,” and a child won the RAW Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania.

Finally, as I say every year now: ranking wrestlers is really dumb. So many of these sports entertainers we watch every week add so many little things to the overall pro wrestling world even if at the end of the year their work might not stand out as head and shoulders above everybody else. Plus, the presentation of WWE can be weird sometimes – due to a push or booking decision, some guys can easily look worse than they probably really are and vice versa. This is how sports entertainment works, baby.

So, here is how I handle ranking WWE’s talent in 2018: I will list my overall Top 10, then separate other notable talents into categories.

The categories are as follows – I’ve got three new ones!

• Overall Top 10– Wrestlers who are the cream of the crop… high-end matches, consistent work, strong promos, great sports entertainment.
• Good Stuff, Not Enough– Wrestlers who had performances elite as any but just weren’t featured enough to make the top 10.
• Unsung Heroes– Wrestlers who weren’t pushed very hard but quietly had really good performances and added a lot to every match or angle.
• Hit-And-Miss– Wrestlers who had as many disappointing performances as good ones.
• Potential, Potential, Potential– Wrestlers who had a bunch of fun performances and seem primed to do great stuff even if they aren’t elite talents just yet.
• Part-Time Pros– Wrestlers who deserve some love even if they were around only a few times, because those few times ruled.
• Do Better (Shame)– Wrestlers who disappointed this year – maybe they’re overrated or maybe they just suck.
• The Cruiserweights– Wrestlers who continue to wrestle up against the unbeatable beast that is fan interest in 205 Live.
• NEW Women, Evolved– Wrestlers in the women’s division who got lost in the shuffle or weren’t around enough to get love in the other categories.
• NEW NXT UK– Wrestlers who wrestle primarily on the NXT UK show. It might’ve been around only the last half of the year but a whole lot of new folks got introduced and the better ones should be talked about.
• This Was a Good Year– Wrestlers who might not have always stood out but deserve recognition as having a year where they made quality contributions to the show or made big steps in their career.
• This Was a Bad Year– Wrestlers who took a step back this year, especially compared to their perception in 2017.
• NEW The Asuka Award – I’ll tell you why later.

OVERALL TOP 10

1. DANIEL BRYAN
At the end of 2017, I sure did not expect this.

Daniel Bryan momentously returned to the ring at WrestleMania in April after a 3-year absence and for a little while everything he did was covered in a glow of having him back that made it all awesome. Then it got not so awesome. Like, it was still really good, but something was missing. He’d remind you of his greatness every once in a while (the Gauntlet Match, The Miz match at SummerSlam), but between him only wrestling seemingly once a month for a bit and his babyface character kind of being a dick more than anything, something felt off. He still had AJ’s best matches, at least. And he still usually felt like one of the only guy on the roster with a distinct style.

There is also the fact that within a few weeks of his return to the ring announcement, he took a powerbomb on the apron, worked WrestleMania, wrestled AJ Styles, and wrestled an hour-and-fifteen-minutes at the Greatest Royal Rumble.

Then he turned heel and completely re-invented himself at the end of November and the in-ring and promo work through December was so elite, so much better than so much throughout the year, that he willed his way from maybe #5 or #6 to right here. He had amazing matches with Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, and Mustafa Ali, all hyped by amazing deranged promos. Between this brief run and all the quality stuff he did since his return, Daniel Bryan has ascended back into the Best Wrestler in the World and he is doing it while also being the Best Sports Entertainer in the World.

Key Performances

• Daniel Bryan Announces He is Cleared (SmackDown 3/20/18)
• 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)
• Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (SmackDown 4/10/18)
• 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
• Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• WWE Title #1 Contender’s 5-Man Gauntlet Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Big E, Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz (SmackDown 6/19/18)
• Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz (SmackDown 8/19/18)
• Daniel Bryan w/ Brie Bella vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 8/28/18)
• Daniel Bryan vs. Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 10/2/18)
• WWE Title: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles [c] (SmackDown 10/30/18)
• WWE Title: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles [c] (SmackDown 11/13/18)
• Universal Champion vs. WWE Champion: Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• Daniel Bryan Promo Introducing The New Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 11/20/18)
• MizTV w/ The New Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 12/4/18)
• Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali (SmackDown 12/11/18)
• WWE Title: Daniel Bryan [c] vs. AJ Styles (TLC 12/16/18)
• Daniel Bryan attacks Truthy Claus (SmackDown 12/25/18)

2. SETH ROLLINS
Daniel Bryan started slow and closed strong, while Seth Rollins started strong and closed slow. I am willing to admit it may be recency bias, but I told you: ranking wrestlers is dumb. Rollins is a guy I had at #1 for most of the year, though if I’m being completely honest it was because nobody was really standing out. He’s a classic guy who lost luster week to week to week … a very good wrestler with very good matches but not reaching the elite level you want.

If that hour-plus Gauntlet Match happened in early December though, I bet he’s #1.

EITHER WAY! Seth Rollins in 2018 felt like he finally found his groove after a spotty return from a long-term injury. He’s the classic WWE ring warrior guy, matches night in night out that pop crowds all across the world. WWE main event formula is WWE main event formula, but if it has to happen I’m glad Seth is flying around doing it. In 2018 he had great IC Title matches, spent the summer making Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre into players again, and reminded us that he is one hell of a tag worker.

Key Performances

• Seth Rollins w/ Jason Jordan vs. Finn Balor w/ Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (RAW 1/15/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro & Sheamus [c] (RAW 2/5/18)
• Gauntlet Match: Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins vs. John Cena, Seth Rollins vs. Elias (RAW 2/19/18)
• Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (RAW 3/12/18)
• Triple Threat Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. The Miz [c] vs. Finn Balor (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Finn Balor (RAW 4/30/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. The Miz (Backlash 5/6/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Kevin Owens (RAW 5/14/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW 6/18/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Dolph Ziggler w/ Drew McIntyre (RAW 6/25/18)
• Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (RAW 7/2/18)
• If Rollins Wins, McIntyre is Banned From Ringside At Extreme Rules: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre w/ Dolph Ziggler (RAW 7/9/18)
• 30-Minute Iron Man Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler [c] w/ Drew McIntyre (Extreme Rules 7/15/18)
• Winner Wrestles Next Week for a Universal Championship Match at SummerSlam: Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Elias (RAW 7/16/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Kevin Owens (RAW 8/27/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre [c] (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre [c] (RAW 10/22/18)
• Intercontinental Champion vs. U.S. Champion: Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• TLC Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: Seth Rollins [c] vs. Baron Corbin (RAW 12/10/18)
• Triple H Asks Seth Rollins to Burn It Down (RAW 12/31/18)

3. BUDDY MURPHY
Much like Bryan – I definitely did not expect this at the end of 2017. Due to the under-the-radar nature of 205 Live Buddy Murphy ended up getting the most shots at the big cool matches, but he also crushed it every single time. So much so that I wrote multiple times that he must have something on WWE management, as he is the one guy who’s matches feel completely lacking the nefarious WWE “restrictions.” This is a guy who got dropped on his head multiple times in 2018, and that doesn’t necessarily make you a great wrestler, but he did it so well that there was a sense of crazy recklessness to his matches that willed even the most stubborn 205 Live crowds into freaking out. I went back-and-forth on going #1, but I still feel like there is room to grow for him as an overall performer outside of awesome matches. Regardless, from a pure in-ring standpoint this guy might’ve had the most certified bangers. That’s something.

Key Performances

• Fatal 4-Way Match: Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. TJP (205 Live 3/27/18)
• Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto (205 Live 4/3/18)
• Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali (205 Live 5/8/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander [c] (205 Live 5/29/18)
• Triple Threat Match: Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live 6/19/18)
• No DQ Match: Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali (205 Live 7/3/18)
• Tornado Tag Team Match: Buddy Murphy & Tony Nese vs. Lucha House Party (205 Live 8/21/18)
• Buddy Murphy w/ Tony Nese vs. Kalisto w/ Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado (205 Live 8/28/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander [c] (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Buddy Murphy [c] vs. Mustafa Ali (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• Buddy Murphy vs. Gran Metalik (205 Live 12/12/18)

4. SHAYNA BASZLER
The legacy of catch wrestling lives on and it’s in the NXT women’s divsion. Shayna Baszler is the most credible wrestler in WWE. With the exception of one, all her TakeOver matches (two with Ember Moon, two with Kairi Sane) were among the best of the year, and her squashes are the coolest in WWE. She’s like a hybrid of Arn Anderson and Minoru Suzuki and it makes me swoon.

Key Performances

• NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon [c] (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18)
• Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane (NXT 2/28/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Shayne Baszler vs. Ember Moon [c] (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
• Shayna Baszler Interrupts a Performance Center Meeting (NXT 4/18/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Dakota Kai (NXT 5/30/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Toni Storm (NXT UK Championship 6/26/18)
• Shayna Baszler vs. Candice LeRae (NXT 8/1/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Kairi Sane (TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• Shayna Baszler vs. Violet Payne (NXT 9/12/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane [c] (Evolution 10/28/18)
• 2/3 Falls – NXT Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Shayna Baszler [c] (NXT TakeOver: WarGames II 11/17/18)
• Shayna Baszler w/ Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke vs. Dakota Kai (NXT 12/5/18)

5. RODERICK STRONG & KYLE O’REILLY
I think Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly are the best tag team in the world, providing a throwback to simple beautiful classic tag team wrestling mixed with the insanity of modern day tag team wrestling. O’Reilly is perfect in his role as quirky punk kid who’s inexplicably an MMA badass and Strong felt like he was on another level in any big match he had this year. Plus their singles stuff was great too – O’Reilly had an awesome U.K. Title match with Pete Dunne and Strong had an excellent run in the Cruiserweight Title tournament. For guys on NXT who are not on TV a ton, their output is insane. That run in the summer, man – wow.

Key Performances

• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Round 1: Roderick Strong vs. Hideo Itami(205 Live 2/6/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne [c] (NXT 2/14/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Quarter Final: Roderick Strong vs. Kalisto (205 Live 2/27/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Semi Final: Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander (205 Live 3/13/18)
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: Roderick Strong & X (Pete Dunne) vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT 3/21/18)
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Final: Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain w/ Paul Ellering (NXT 4/4/18)
• Roderick Strong joins Undisputed Era (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
• Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole vs. Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT 5/16/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Pete Dunne [c] (NXT 6/13/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] w/ Adam Cole vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 6/16/18)
• The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole) vs. British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) (WWE UK Championship Tournament 6/25/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) (NXT UK Championship 6/26/18)
• The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole) vs. Ricochet & Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) (NXT 6/27/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Moustache Mountain [c] (NXT 7/11/18)
• Roderick Strong w/ Kyle O’Reilly vs. Tyler Bate w/ Trent Seven (NXT 8/15/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Moustache Mountain (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. War Raiders (NXT 10/17/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Heavy Machinery (NXT 12/26/18)

6. ANDRADE “CIEN” ALMAS
Andrade Almas put it all together as far as being a WWE talent goes in 2017, then he got called up to SmackDown in 2018 and practically disappeared. Almas is a guy that might very well be the best in the world but wasn’t around enough for me to tell. All I know is he had the best match of the year with Johnny Gargano in January, went toe-to-toe with AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan in great TV matches, and had a TV epic with Rey Mysterio. The spinning back elbow is the greatest.

Key Performances

• NXT Title: Andrade “Cien” Almas [c] w/ Zelina Vega vs. Johnny Gargano (TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18)
• Johnny Gargano’s Career on the Line – NXT Title: Andrade “Cien” Almas [c] w/ Zelina Vega vs. Johnny Gargano w/ Candice LeRae (NXT 2/21/18)
• NXT Title: Andrade “Cien” Almas [c] w/ Zelina Vega vs. Aleister Black (TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. Sin Cara (SmackDown 7/10/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. AJ Styles (SmackDown 7/17/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. Daniel Bryan w/ Brie Bella (SmackDown 8/28/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. Daniel Bryan w/ Brie Bella (SmackDown 9/4/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. AJ Styles (SmackDown 9/18/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Rey Mysterio (SmackDown 11/6/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas & Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles & Mustafa Ali (SmackDown 12/18/18)
• Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Mustafa Ali (SmackDown 12/25/18)

7. AJ STYLES
Another frustrating year for AJ Styles. I would imagine most of his peers consider him the best in the world, but he only showed that a few times in 2018. He also had way too many main event matches that disappointed. Him as a long-term WWE Champion is so cool, but I wish the run wasn’t so lackluster. He’s a guy who will be over in any situation, but man did he get tossed some bad material this year. For better or worse has been consumed by The Machine and he’s still capable of really good stuff that can ultimately disappoint here and there too. He was around as much as anybody, had as much good stuff as anybody, but he also had a ton of average and high-profile disappointments, hence his placement here.

Key Performances

• AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn (SmackDown 1/23/18)
• If Cena Wins, He is Added to the WWE Title Match at Fastlane: AJ Styles vs. John Cena (SmackDown 2/27/18)
• WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WrestleMania 4/8/18)
• AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 4/10/18)
• Winner Chooses Stipulation at Money in the Bank: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 5/15/18)
• Last Man Standing Match – WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (Extreme Rules 7/15/18)
• AJ Styles vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 7/17/18)
• WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Samoa Joe (SummerSlam 8/19/18)
• WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Samoa Joe (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• AJ Styles vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega (SmackDown 9/18/18)
• No Countout & No DQ Match – WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Samoa Joe (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• AJ Styles vs. Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 10/9/18)
• WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 10/30/18)
• WWE Title: AJ Styles [c] vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 11/13/18)
• WWE Title: AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan [c] (TLC 12/16/18)

8. ROMAN REIGNS
My #1 wrestler of 2017 finds himself barely in the Top 10, and it’s moreso because after the Brock match at Mania, he very infrequently wrestled. There were no week-to-week bangers on TV like in 2017 from Roman Reigns, and that’s fine in theory to give Big Uce a rest, but all he really did was a lot of bad promos about a Brock Lesnar feud the entire world felt completely over, which led to quite a few main event matches that outright stunk as they weren’t anything close to what The WWE Universe was feeling. Still though, he carried large portions of the company for most of the year and had a lot of strong TV matches (especially with The Miz and Samoa Joe early in the year and his tags with Seth Rollins). He even had two great matches in one night on the 2/5 RAW. Get well, Roman.

Key Performances

• If Roman is DQ’d, He Loses The Title – WWE Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Samoa Joe (RAW 1/1/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. The Miz w/ The Miztourage (RAW 1/22/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Roman Reigns vs. The Miz [c] w/ The Miztourage (RAW 1/29/18)
• Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt (RAW 2/5/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro & Sheamus [c] (RAW 2/5/18)
• Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus w/ Cesaro (RAW 2/12/18)
• WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar [c] w/ Paul Heyman (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Roman Reigns Promo on his WrestleMania Loss (RAW 4/9/18)
• Steel Cage Match – WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar [c] w/ Paul Heyman (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
• Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (RAW 5/21/18)
• Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens & Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh (RAW 5/21/18)
• Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (RAW 7/2/18)
• Winner Faces Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam: Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley (RAW 7/23/18)
• WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Finn Balor (RAW 8/20/18)
• 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)
• The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (RAW 10/8/18)

9. JOHNNY GARGANO
Yet another guy where ya need to talk about the booking as much as the in-ring work. Between the Almas NXT Title match and first Ciampa match, Gargano started the year out looking like the best in the world. But then he went on a journey, a journey into being more aggressive and violent and heel-like and it created a conflicting scenario: interesting story, but the ring work suffered as our little Johnny Wrestling became this angsty badass guy and I’m not sure it always worked. The Ciampa match in Brooklyn felt so unnecessary too. REGARDLESS! He still had the Almas match, his work in the Ciampa matches was excellent, and the Aleister Black match at TakeOver was special. Any time he gets time to play he looks like one of the greats, and he’s been a big part of TakeOver’s continuing their run of success.

Key Performances

• NXT Title #1 Contender’s Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream (NXT 1/24/18)
• NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas [c] w/ Zelina Vega (TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18)
• Johnny Gargano’s Career on the Line – NXT Title: Johnny Gargano w/ Candice LeRae vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas [c] w/ Zelina Vega (NXT 2/21/18)
• Unsanctioned Match – Johnny Gargano’s NXT Career on the Line: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
• Chicago Street Fight: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 6/16/18)
• Last Man Standing Match – NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa [c](NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• Johnny Gargano vs. Tony Nese (NXT 10/3/18)
• Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black (NXT TakeOver: WarGames II 11/17/18)

10. TIE: THE NEW DAY and THE USOS
I cheated, but they’re basically tied at the hip at this point. The New Day and The Usos weren’t always around on a SmackDown brand overstuffed with talent, but when they were they reminded you that they’re incredible. New Day can have a fun TV tag with anybody, while Usos can have an epic TV tag with the same. And when they square off – yo.

Key Performances

• The Usos entrance promo on New Year’s Resolutions (“Let ‘em know, Uce”) (SmackDown 1/2/18)
• SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable (SmackDown 1/2/18)
• WWE U.S. Title #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match: Kofi Kingston w/ Big E and Xavier Woods vs. Zack Ryder vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (SmackDown 1/30/18)
• The New Day/Usos Fastlane Setup Promo (SmackDown 2/27/18)
• SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) w/ Big E (Fastlane 3/11/18)
• 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)
• 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)
• WWE Title #1 Contender’s 5-Man Gauntlet Match: Big E vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 6/19/18)
• Tag Team Tournament – Semi Final: The Usos vs. Cesaro & Sheamus (SmackDown 7/31/18)
• Tag Team Tournament – Final: The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) w/ Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro & Sheamus (SmackDown 8/7/18)
• The New Day vs. SAnitY (SmackDown 8/14/18)
• No DQ Match – SmackDown Tag Team Title: The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) w/ Big E vs. The Bludgeon Brothers [c] (SmackDown 8/21/18)
• Big E w/ Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Sheamus w/ Cesaro (SmackDown 9/25/18)
• SmackDown Tag Team Title: The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) w/ Big E [c] vs. The Bar (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• SmackDown Tag Team Title: The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) w/ Kofi Kingston [c] vs. The Bar (SmackDown 10/16/18)
• Winning Team Captains the Survivor Series Tag Team Match: The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) w/ Xavier Woods vs. The Usos (SmackDown 11/6/18)
• Traditional Survivor Series 10-on-10 Tag Team Elimination Match (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• The Usos vs. The Bar (SmackDown 11/27/18)
• Triple Threat Tag Team Match – SmackDown Tag Team Title: The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) w/ Big E vs. The Usos vs. The Bar [c] (TLC 12/16/18)

GOOD STUFF, NOT ENOUGH

1. REY MYSTERIO
Rey Mysterio should probably be in the Top 10 proper but here we are. He looked great earlier in the year working All In and the NJPW G1 Climax show, all slimmed down so still capable of mind-blowing flying but also having the psychology of the bloated heavyweight he became before he took a break from WWE. So I was excited to see what he could do when he came back, but fearful he’d become just another dork. Rey is still the king though – he has mastered the TV match, his match with Almas is epic, and it was awesome to see him and Randy Orton do their thing again.

Key Performances

• WWE World Cup Tournament Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 10/16/18)
• Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz (SmackDown 10/23/18)
• Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (SmackDown 11/6/18)
• If Rey Mysterio Loses, He is off Team SmackDown: Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz (SmackDown 11/13/18)
• Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton (SmackDown 11/20/18)

2. PETE DUNNE
The luster of Pete Dunne came off just a little bit this year, but he’s still awesome. He became more of a player on NXT and basically plays the Hulk Hogan role on NXT UK, so his appearances increased but were still pretty infrequent. I hadn’t seen any Dunne prior to his initial WWE appearances, but it felt like he leaned more into CRAZY INDY GUY~! this year more than the last couple and while that flipped some crowds out it felt a little unnecessary. So while he had quite a few bangers, they didn’t feel as quality as his other bangers. Still – bangers. Maybe it has to do with him going babyface, but I can’t hate on that as he’s tremendous at that too.

Key Performances

• WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Roderick Strong (NXT 2/14/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Adam Cole w/ Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish (NXT 3/14/18)
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT 3/21/18)
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Final: Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong vs. vs. The Authors of Pain w/ Paul Ellering (NXT 4/4/18)
• Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly (NXT 5/16/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Kyle O’Reilly (NXT 6/13/18)
• British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (WWE UK Championship 6/25/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Zack Gibson (NXT UK Championship 6/26/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Zack Gibson (NXT 8/22/18)
• NXT North American Title & NXT U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Ricochet [c] (NXT 9/19/18)
• Triple Threat Match – NXT North American Title: Pete Dunne vs. Ricochet [c] vs. Adam Cole (NXT 10/10/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Danny Burch (NXT UK 5 11/6/18)
• WWE U.K. Title: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Jordan Devlin (NXT UK 11 11/28/18)

3. BECKY LYNCH
Becky Lynch had quietly been a great babyface TV wrestler for a long time, capable of even better stuff if given some care by creative. This year, she got that care. She had a great series of matches with Charlotte Flair followed by an ascent to superstar anti-hero who might just main event WrestleMania. Amazing run, both in the ring and perhaps moreso on the mic.

Key Performances

• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 1: Becky Lynch & Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss (Mixed Match Challenge 1/30/18)
• Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown 6/5/18)
• Becky Lynch attacks Charlotte Flair (SummerSlam 8/19/18)
• Becky Lynch attacks Charlotte Flair (SmackDown 8/28/18)
• Becky Lynch/Charlotte Flair Split-Screen Sit-down Interview (SmackDown 9/4/18)
• Becky Lynch Dresses as a Fan to Attack Charlotte Flair (SmackDown 9/11/18)
• SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair [c] (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• Smackdown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• If Becky Lynch is DQ’d, She Loses the Title – SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown 10/9/18)
• The Cutting Edge w/ Becky Lynch (SmackDown 10/16/18)
• Becky Lynch Attacks Charlotte Flair at the Performance Center (SmackDown 10/23/18)
• Last Woman Standing – SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (Evolution 10/28/18)
• Becky Lynch Invades RAW with Team SmackDown / Nia Jax Punches Becky Lynch (RAW 11/12/18)
• Triple Threat TLC Match – SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (TLC 12/16/18)

4. ASUKA
Asuka is another one who didn’t have many shots at big time matches, but any time she was in one it was amazing. Her match with Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania and Triple Threat TLC with Charlotte and Becky Lynch rank among the best of the year, and despite being another member of SmackDown witness protection she remained super over and brought the fun wrestling any time she was in the ring. In addition to the SmackDown run, she started the year working everybody on RAW and having all their best matches (Sasha, Bayley, Alexa, Nia). She disappeared from Mania to TLC basically, but when she came back she was like “oh yeah lol, I’m still the greatest, sorry for any confusion” Gave Carmella her best match too.

Key Performances

• Asuka vs. Nia Jax (RAW 1/15/18)
• Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (RAW 1/29/18)
• If Nia Jax Wins, She Enters the WrestleMania RAW Women’s Title Match: Asuka vs. Nia Jax (Elimination Chamber 2/25/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 2: Asuka & The Miz vs. Finn Balor & Sasha Banks (Mixed Match Challenge 2/28/18)
• Asuka vs. Nia Jax (RAW 3/5/18)
• SmackDown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair [c] (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• SmackDown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Carmella [c] (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair (SmackDown 12/11/18)
• Triple Threat TLC Match – SmackDown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Becky Lynch [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (TLC 12/16/18)

5. RICOCHET
Ricochet arrived on the scene in 2018 and continued to be one of the most spectacular guys in wrestling. The 6-Way Ladder Match, Velveteen Dream Match, Adam Cole North American Title match, Pete Dunne Double Titles match, Pete Dunne/Adam Cole Triple Threat Match, WarGames… almost everything he did was wild.

Key Performances

• 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)
• Handicap Match: Ricochet & Velveteen Dream vs. Lars Sullivan (NXT 5/23/18)
• Ricochet Front Flips Outside and Challenges Velveteen Dream (NXT 5/30/18)
• Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 6/16/18)
• Ricochet & Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (NXT 6/27/18)
• NXT North American Title: Ricochet vs. Adam Cole [c] (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• NXT North American Title & NXT U.K. Title: Ricochet [c] vs. Pete Dunne [c] (NXT 9/19/18)
• Triple Threat Match – NXT North American Title: Ricochet [c] vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole (NXT 10/10/18)
• NXT North American Title: Ricochet [c] vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT 12/12/18)

UNSUNG HEROES

1. SASHA BANKS
Perennially underutilized, but let me remind you of when Sasha Banks had an awesome match with Asuka the night after the Royal Rumble. Or when she put over The Riott Squad all summer. Or when she went hard to kick off Mixed Match Challenge in style. Sasha Banks is who you call upon when you want to get a job done, and I hope in 2019 that job is another run on top.

Key Performances

• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 1: Sasha Banks & Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Natalya (Mixed Match Challenge 1/16/18)
• Sasha Banks vs. Asuka (RAW 1/29/18)
• Sasha Banks vs. Bayley (RAW 2/12/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 2: Sasha Banks & Finn Balor vs. The Miz & Asuka (Mixed Match Challenge 2/28/18)
• Sasha Banks vs. Ruby Riott w/ Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan (RAW 4/30/18)
• Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Sasha Banks vs. Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riott w/ Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan (RAW 5/7/18)

2. THE MIZ
The Miz raises up any show he is on – it’s no coincidence he was on SmackDown when it ruled in 2016, on RAW when it ruled in 2017, and brought SmackDown way up in 2018. He can really do it all – get feuds over with MizTV, go toe-to-toe with some of the greats (Bryan, Rollins, and Mysterio), and have fun matches against anybody else. The guy even had a baby and a reality show too.

Key Performances

• MizTV w/ The Miztourage (RAW 1/8/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz w/ The Miztourage vs. Roman Reigns [c] (RAW 1/22/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz [c] w/ The Miztourage vs. Roman Reigns (RAW 1/29/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 2: The Miz & Asuka vs. Finn Balor & Sasha Banks (Mixed Match Challenge 2/28/18)
• Triple Threat Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz [c] vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Seth Rollins [c] (Backlash 5/6/18)
• The Miz’ Eulogy for Team Hell No (SmackDown 7/17/18)
• Miz & Mrs Premiere Party (SmackDown 7/24/18)
• The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan (SummerSlam 8/19/18)
• MizTV w/ Maryse (SmackDown 9/18/18)
• The Miz vs. R-Truth w/ Carmella (SmackDown 9/25/18)
• The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio (SmackDown 10/23/18)
• If Rey Mysterio Loses, He is off Team SmackDown: The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio (SmackDown 11/13/18)
• The Miz Explains Why Shane McMahon Should Be His Partner on MizTV (SmackDown 12/25/18)

3. THE BAR
The Usos and The New Day are SmackDown’s tag team elite, but The Bar was right there with them. Cesaro and Sheamus were reliable in 2018 as the anchor of both RAW and SmackDown’s tag team divisions, starting the year off rocking it with The Shield and ending it rocking it with Usos and New Day. At times it’d feel like they had disappeared and then poof – great wrestling match.

Key Performances

• RAW Tag Team Title: The Bar [c] vs. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (RAW 2/5/18)
• Sheamus w/ Cesaro Roman Reigns (RAW 2/12/18)
• Tag Team Tournament – Final: The Bar vs. vs. The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) w/ Xavier Woods (SmackDown 8/7/18)
• Sheamus w/ Cesaro vs Big E w/ Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods (SmackDown 9/25/18)
• SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Bar vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) w/ Big E [c] (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Bar vs. The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) w/ Kofi Kingston [c] (SmackDown 10/16/18)
• The Bar vs. The Usos (SmackDown 11/27/18)
• Triple Threat Match: Cesaro w/ Sheamus vs. Xavier Woods w/ Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. Jey Uso w/ Jimmy Uso (SmackDown 12/4/18)

4. CHAD GABLE
WWE forgets Chad Gable is employed every few weeks but this guy can still go. From singles to tag work, from SmackDown to Main Event, Gable gets it done. They even put him in a tag team with boring Bobby Roode and he was like, “OK – but the only way we are going to make this work is if I start doing a perfect moonsault while you neckbreaker a guy.”

Key Performances

• SmackDown Tag Team Title: Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin vs. The Usos [c] (SmackDown 1/2/18)
• 2/3 Falls – SmackDown Tag Team Title: Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin vs. The Usos [c] (Royal Rumble 1/28/18)
• Chad Gable vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh (RAW 4/23/18)
• Chad Gable, Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. The Revival & Mike Kanellis (Main Event 7/18/18)
• Chad Gable & Bobby Roode vs. The Revival (Main Event 11/7/18)
• Traditional Survivor Series 10-on-10 Tag Team Elimination Match (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Chad Gable & Bobby Roode [c] vs. The Revival (RAW 12/24/18)

5. ALICIA FOX
Alicia Fox goes 120% on everything she does and I respect that. She was legitimately the only reason to watch Mixed Match Challenge and tends to make gold out of any scenario she is in. If anything, she just yells random shit like HOW DARE YOU during her matches and it’s very good. Great Axe Kick too. I’m glad she got featured at Evolution.

Key Performances

• Alicia Fox vs. Dana Brooke w/ Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews (Main Event 1/10/18)
• Alicia Fox w/ Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey w/ Natalya (RAW 8/6/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge: Mahalicia vs. B’N’B (Mixed Match Challenge 10/2/18)
• Alicia Fox & Mickie James w/ Alexa Bliss vs. Trish Stratus & Lita (Evolution 10/28/18)

HIT-AND-MISS

1. CHARLOTTE FLAIR
The very definition of this category – in big match scenarios (vs. Asuka, vs. Becky Lynch, vs. Ronda Rousey) Charlotte Flair appears to be one of the greatest wrestlers in the entire world. When on TV or working Carmella though… yikes. What’s going on there?

Key Performances

• SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Ruby Riott (Fastlane 3/11/18)
• Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya (SmackDown 3/20/18)
• SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Asuka (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• 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)
• SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Becky Lynch (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch [c] (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• If Becky Lynch is DQ’d, She Loses the Title – SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch [c] (SmackDown 10/9/18)
• Last Woman Standing – SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Charlotte Flair (Evolution 10/28/18)
• Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (SmackDown 12/11/18)
• Triple Threat TLC Match – SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch [c] vs. Asuka (TLC 12/16/18)

2. KEVIN OWENS
Still capable of masterful mic work, also capable of monotone garbage mic work. Still capable of quality wrestling, also capable of incredibly dull wrestling.

Key Performances

• Winner Faces AJ Styles for the WWE Title at Fastlane: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (SmackDown 2/6/18)
• If Corbin Wins, He Enters the WWE Title Match at Fastlane: Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin (SmackDown 2/13/18)
• Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn attack Shane McMahon (SmackDown 3/13/18)
• Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley (RAW 4/23/18)
• Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman (RAW 5/7/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins [c] (RAW 5/14/18)
• Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns (RAW 5/21/18)
• Kevin Owens & Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh vs. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (RAW 5/21/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins [c] (RAW 8/27/18)
• Kevin Owens and Elias Insult the Seattle SuperSonics (RAW 10/1/18)

3. SAMOA JOE
Samoa Joe has a credibility to his work that I love – in an era where everybody is trying to be cool, Joe just snarls and beats some ass. His body clearly isn’t all there anymore but he’s still capable – vs. Roman in January, vs. Bryan, vs. AJ. He’s also capable of some real weak stuff, especially the Roman Backlash match.

Key Performances

• Samoa Joe Interview on Roman Reigns (RAW 1/1/18)
• If Roman is DQ’d, He Loses The Title – WWE Intercontinental Title: Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns [c] (RAW 1/1/18)
• Samoa Joe vs. Rhyno w/ Heath Slater (RAW 1/8/18)
• Samoa Joe Confronts Roman Reigns after WrestleMania (RAW 4/9/18)
• Samoa Joe vs. Sin Cara (SmackDown 4/17/18)
• Samoa Joe Interview on Roman Reigns (Backlash 5/16/18)
• Samoa Joe vs. Tye Dillinger (SmackDown 7/17/18)
• WWE Title: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles [c] (SummerSlam 8/19/18)
• Samoa Joe reads Night Night AJ (SmackDown 9/11/18)
• WWE Title: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles [c] (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• No Countout & No DQ Match – WWE Title: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles [c] (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• Samoa Joe Promo at a Bar on Jeff Hardy (SmackDown 12/4/18)

4. ELIAS
Elias is one of the most compelling workers in WWE at just about everything but in the ring. We’re still working on that, heel or babyface.

Key Performances

• Elias lays out John Cena (RAW 1/22/18)
• Elias plays a song on WrestleMania and Atlanta (RAW 4/2/18)
• Elias plays at WrestleMania (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Elias vs. Seth Rollins [c] (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• Winner Wrestles Next Week for a Universal Championship Match at SummerSlam: Elias vs. Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley (RAW 7/16/18)
• Elias is Interrupted by Trish Stratus (RAW 8/27/18)
• Elias Attacks Constable Corbin (RAW 10/22/18)
• Elias prepares to play another song on the entrance ramp; Constable Corbin interrupts and tells him to get off the stage; Elias continues playing and Corbin cuts his mic; Elias teases leaving but hits Corbin with the guitar
• Elias Insults Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush (RAW 11/12/18)
• Miracle on 34th Street Fight: Elias vs. Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush (RAW 12/24/18)

5. FINN BALOR
Finn Balor is one of the biggest victims of WWE weekly TV. He is stuck in Monday night purgatory and sometimes he gets it done in big match scenarios or random fun TV matches, but a lot of other times he’s going through the motions and his motions aren’t very compelling.

Key Performances

• Seth Rollins w/ Jason Jordan vs. Finn Balor w/ Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (RAW 1/15/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 1: Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Natalya (Mixed Match Challenge 1/16/18)
• Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Finn Balor w/ Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. John Cena (RAW 1/29/18)
• Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins (RAW 4/2/18)
• Triple Threat Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: Finn Balor vs. The Miz [c] vs. Seth Rollins (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins [c] (RAW 4/30/18)
• Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman (RAW 5/21/18)
• WWE Universal Title: Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns [c] (RAW 8/20/18)
• Finn Balor w/ Bayley vs. Jinder Mahal w/ Alicia Fox and Sunil Singh (RAW 9/24/18)
• Triple Threat Match: Finn Balor vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre (RAW 12/24/18)

POTENTIAL, POTENTIAL, POTENTIAL

1. MATT RIDDLE
Matt Riddle just showed up and I am ready to bow down. Great look, magnetic promos, shoot credibility – let’s do this, baby.

Key Performances

• Matt Riddle (debut) vs. Luke Menzies (RAW 10/31/18)
• Matt Riddle backstage interview on his da-but (NXT 11/14/18)
• Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno (NXT TakeOver: WarGames II 11/17/18)
• Matt Riddle vs. Punishment Martinez (debut) (NXT 12/5/18)

2. BIANCA BELAIR
Bianca Belair was here last year and she’s here again. And that makes sense – she started wrestling in 2016! She’s one of the most amazing prospects WWE has got though, with a perfect mix of athleticism and attitude with some transcendent natural instincts. The trigger doesn’t have to be pulled anytime soon, but watching the path there has been a blast.

Key Performances

• Bianca Belair vs. Latoya Allsopp (NXT 1/24/18)
• Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai (NXT 6/20/18)
• Bianca Belair vs. Deonna Purrazzo (NXT 8/22/18)
• Bianca Belair vs. Nikki Cross (NXT 10/17/18)
• NXT Women’s Title #1 Contender Fatal 4-Way Match: Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim vs. Bianca Belair vs. Lacey Evans (NXT 12/26/18)

3. VELVETEEN DREAM
Velveteen Dream repeats here as well. He’s still figuring it all out in-ring, but many before him have been pushed with far less maturity. He also exudes superstardom unlike nearly anybody else on the roster. I am excited to see where this all goes.

Key Performances

• NXT Title #1 Contender’s Match: Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT 1/24/18)
• Ladder Match – NXT North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet vs. Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dain (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
• Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet (TakeOver: Chicago II 6/16/18)
• Velveteen Dream vs. Chris Dijak (NXT 7/4/18)
• Velveteen Dream vignette promo (NXT 7/18/18)
• Velveteen Dream vs. Lars Sullivan (NXT 11/7/18)
• NXT Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa [c] (NXT TakeOver: WarGames 11/17/18)

4. RHEA RIPLEY
Rhea Ripley is 22 and already has the swagger of a veteran. We got a brief glimpse of happy-go-lucky Rhea in the Mae Young Classic last year, but this year she re-invented herself as a really mean badass of a woman and made an impact in two big scenarios, performing admirably when advancing to the semi finals of Mae Young Classic winning the NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament.

Key Performances

• Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Rhea Ripley vs. Kacy Catanzaro (MYC Episode 5 10/3/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Semi Final: Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai (MYC Episode 8 10/24/18)
• NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament – Semi Final: Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai (NXT UK 10 11/21/18)
• NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament – Final: Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm (NXT UK 12 11/28/18)

5. DEONNA PURRAZZO
Deonna Purrazzo was interesting in her few NXT enhancement appearances the last couple years, but now that she is a contracted talent the technical maestro in her has been officially unleashed on WWE TV and it is very cool. I want more.

Key Performances

• Deonna Purrazzo vs. Bianca Belair (NXT 8/22/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Quarter Final: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Io Shirai (MYC Episode 7 10/17/18)

PART-TIME PROS

1. RONDA ROUSEY
Ronda Rousey is essentially full-time, but this leans more towards the in-ring appearances. She had seven PPV matches this year and all were legitimately great with the exception of the Bliss match at SummerSlam, which was still a fun squash match. A few of those were among the best of the year. Did I mention she debuted at WrestleMania? Her matches might have the benefit of a very focused WWE machine, but she pulls off the little things better than most veterans and has a credibility to her that makes every match compelling.

Key Performances

• Mixed Tag Team Match: Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Ronda Rousey Breaks Stephanie McMahon’s Arm (RAW 4/9/18)
• RAW Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax [c] (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• 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)
• RAW Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey [c] vs. Nikki Bella (Evolution 10/28/18)
• Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• RAW Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey [c] vs. Nia Jax w/ Tamina (TLC 12/16/18)
• RAW Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey [c] vs. Natalya (RAW 12/24/18)

2. JOHN CENA
John Cena went full Hollywood in 2018 but it’s not like he didn’t kill it whenever he was around.

Key Performances

• Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: John Cena vs. Finn Balor w/ Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (RAW 1/29/18)
• If Cena Wins, He is Added to the WWE Title Match at Fastlane: John Cena vs. AJ Styles (SmackDown 2/27/18)
• No DQ Match: John Cena vs. Kane (RAW 3/26/18)
• John Cena vs. Triple H (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)

3. JEFF HARDY
Jeff Hardy is another one who is essentially full-time, but after his post-Mania return his appearances felt sparse. The dude still has it though and remains a super over wrestler who has solid matches every time. His Hell in a Cell match with Orton was a trip too.

Key Performances

• WWE U.S. Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal [c] w/ Sunil Singh (RAW 4/16/18)
• Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin (SmackDown 4/17/18)
• Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz (SmackDown 5/8/18)
• Winner Faces Samoa Joe in Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 5/22/18)
• Hell in a Cell: Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• Winner Joins SmackDown Men’s Team at Survivor Series: Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe (SmackDown 11/6/18)

4. KURT ANGLE
Kurt Angle looked a little slow in the Mania mixed tag, but Kurt as GM and Kurt as a Conquistador and Kurt closing out the year by completely undeniably putting Drew McIntyre over are all reasons why Kurt Angle was an excellent part of 2018.

Key Performances

• Kurt Angle is Warned Braun Strowman is Headed to the Production Truck (RAW 1/15/18)
• Mixed Tag Team Match: Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Kurt Angle is The Conquistador (RAW 10/8/18)
• If Kurt Angle Wins, He Is Captain of the RAW Men’s Team: Kurt Angle vs. Drew McIntyre (RAW 11/5/18)

5. SHAWN MICHAELS
One match. A cynical payoff. But I can’t not admit it – Shawn Michaels still has it. Now wrestle somebody like AJ Styles you coward.

Key Performances

• Shawn Michaels/The Undertaker Confrontation (RAW 9/3/18)
• D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels & Triple H) vs. The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker & Kane) (Crown Jewel 11/2/18)

DO BETTER (SHAME)

1. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
Shinsuke Nakamura had all the shots this year. The low blow thing was lame, but he’s a guy you can’t blame bad writing on. He started the year hot with an awesome Royal Rumble performance and win, but then he just didn’t deliver in all his major moments that followed that. The AJ Styles series originally billed as a Dream Match was disappointing, and his sporadic appearances as U.S. Champion peak at “OK.” He remains a dynamic guy and is capable of good stuff here and there when wrestling guys whose names begin with R (Rollins, Rey, Rusev), but it just doesn’t feel like it’s all there anymore.

Key Performances

• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 1: Shinsuke Nakamura & Natalya vs. Finn Balor & Sasha Banks (Mixed Match Challenge 1/16/18)
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin (SmackDown 1/23/18)
• Men’s Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 1/28/18)
• Shinsuke Nakamura Tells AJ Styles He’ll Beat Him at WrestleMania (SmackDown 1/30/18)
• Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles discuss their tag match in the locker room and Nakamura says, “I’m gonna beat you at WrestleMania”
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (Fastlane 3/11/18)
• WWE Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles [c] (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Winner Chooses Stipulation at Money in the Bank: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles (SmackDown 5/15/18)
• Last Man Standing Match – WWE Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles [c] (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• WWE World Cup Tournament Qualifying Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rey Mysterio (SmackDown 10/16/18)
• WWE U.S. Title: Shinsuke Nakamura [c] vs. Rusev (Crown Jewel 11/2/18)
• Intercontinental Champion vs. U.S. Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• WWE U.S. Title: Shinsuke Nakamura [c] vs. Rusev w/ Lana (SmackDown 12/25/18)

2. EC3
He’s mis-cast as a babyface in NXT, but EC3 doesn’t do it for me. I think the guy is funny, but there is just no scenario for him in-ring that sounds interesting. He’s like a throwback to the stiffs of the 80s and 90s with the silly over-complicated moves of the 2000s, and it’s all so boring. Maybe commentary or GM or something.

Key Performances

• EC3 Debut Promo (NXT 3/28/18)

3. BAYLEY
I don’t like this either. Bayley was tied to Sasha for most of the year and writing didn’t do them any favors (lots of losses, weird backstage fight, weird moment where Bayley told Sasha she ain’t shit, then – BESTIES!), but she just looks like her confidence is shot any time the red light is on. Oddly enough, it was on the looser Mixed Match Challenge show that she shined. Otherwise, she ain’t good.

Key Performances

• Bayley vs. Asuka (RAW 2/5/18)
• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (RAW 2/12/18)
• Bayley attacks Sasha Banks and says “You ain’t shit” (6/25/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge: B’N’B vs. Mahalicia (Mixed Match Challenge 10/2/18)

4. BOBBY LASHLEY
The recent heel turn has been a welcome pivot, but Bob Lashley’s run since his return in April has been lackluster. He was basically just the same generic guy that left who nobody was all that sad to see go. Putting him with Lio Rush as a heel was a needed move, but he’s still pretty tedious in the ring.

Key Performances

• Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (RAW 4/23/18)
• Winner Faces Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam: Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns (RAW 7/16/18)
• Bobby Lashley & Drew McIntyre w/ Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor & Elias (Tribute to the Troops 12/20/18)
• Miracle on 34th Street Fight: Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush (RAW 12/24/18) vs. Elias

5. DEAN AMBROSE
This is completely weighted towards the last couple months of the year, but wow dude. He came back all yoked and fired up over the summer and had some sweet tags with Seth Rollins. But then they ran a massive angle in which he turned on Rollins on the same night their Shield cohort Roman Reigns announced his leukemia had returned. It was a huge thing and the biggest possible ball to give to a seemingly reinvigorated Ambrose. And all the follow-up just… sucked. It sucked. The promo writing was horrible, Ambrose added nothing to the delivery, and the one big match he had with Rollins at TLC was terrible. So much is missing that I swear in a couple years he’ll be on some podcast and be like “The only way to get heat from the marks nowadays is to suck, bro.” Alas, we still have to sit through it now.

Key Performances

• RAW Tag Team Title: Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre [c] (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre [c] (RAW 10/22/18)
• Dean Ambrose attacks Seth Rollins (RAW 10/22/18)

THE CRUISERWEIGHTS

1. BUDDY MURPHY
SEE ABOVE

Key Performances

• SEE ABOVE

2. MUSTAFA ALI
Mustafa Ali is perhaps the most likable babyface in all of WWE, if anybody really knew of him to like him. He can mostly be found on 205 Live with the occasional Cruiserweight Title match on PPV, and every time he is in the ring it is great. He’s a babyface’s babyface, a guy who sells and bumps his ass off but can fly and kick ass when it’s time. He has done some of the most spectacular moves of the year, from the superplex off the steel steps to Buddy Murphy to a Spanish Fly off the commentary table… to Buddy Murphy. He had a lot of excellent matches, mostly with Buddy Murphy but also with Cedric Alexander. He also gave Hideo Itami his couple good matches this year. Ali has thankfully been awarded in the last few weeks of the year with a call-up to SmackDown Live, and I hope that means you can find him much higher on this list next year.

Key Performances

• Mustafa Ali vs. Cedric Alexander (205 Live 1/23/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Round 1: Mustafa Ali vs. Jack Gallagher (205 Live 2/20/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Semi Final: Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak (205 Live 3/20/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Final: Mustafa Ali vs. Cedric Alexander (WrestleMania 4/8/18)
• Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 5/8/18)
• Mustafa Ali w/ Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese w/ Buddy Murphy (205 Live 6/12/18)
• No DQ Match: Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 7/3/18)
• Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live 8/7/18)
• Mustafa Ali vs. Hideo Itami (205 Live 9/26/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy [c] (Survivor Series 11/18/18)
• Mustafa Ali vs. Daniel Bryan (SmackDown 12/11/18)
• Mustafa Ali & AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan & Andrade “Cien” Almas (SmackDown 12/18/18)
• Mustafa Ali vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (SmackDown 12/25/18)

3. CEDRIC ALEXANDER
Cedric Alexander can still go. He has just been a blank slate of a character for the longest time, including during his reign as Cruiserweight Champion that comprised most of 2018. He had a ton of quality, if not quiet matches this year.

Key Performances

• Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali (205 Live 1/23/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Round 1: Cedric Alexander vs. Gran Metalik (205 Live 1/30/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Semi Final: Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong (RAW 3/13/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Final: Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Kalisto (Greatest Royal Rumble 4/27/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 5/29/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Drew Gulak w/ Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher (205 Live 9/19/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Buddy Murphy (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese (205 Live 10/10/18)
• Cedric Alexander vs. Lio Rush (205 Live 11/14/18)

4. DREW GULAK
Drew Gulak felt a little de-emphasized this year outside of a solid Cruiserweight Title match with Cedric Alexander at SummerSlam. He’s still a great promo and excellent in-ring, it just doesn’t happen a lot. And when it does… it’s quiet.

Key Performances

• Drew Gulak, TJP & Jack Gallagher vs. Kalisto, Sin Cara & Lince Dorado (Royal Rumble 1/28/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Round 1: Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese (205 Live 2/13/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Quarter Final: Drew Gulak vs. Mark Andrews (205 Live 3/6/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Semi Final: Drew Gulak vs. Mustafa Ali (205 Live 3/20/18)
• Drew Gulak vs. Kalisto w/ Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado (205 Live 5/1/18)
• WWE U.K. Title Tournament – Round 1: Drew Gulak vs. Jack Gallagher (WWE U.K. Title Tournament 6/13/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak w/ Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher vs. Cedric Alexander [c] (205 Live 9/19/18)

5. GRAN METALIK
The King of the Ropes is still the king, even if he spent a lot of the year shaking a rattle and shouting LU-CHA! LU-CHA! Gran Metalik had a couple great matches with Cedric and Buddy, but otherwise just kind of casually blew folks minds as he ran through his spots on 205 Live or Main Event. Also had not one but two good TJP matches.

Key Performances

• Gran Metalik vs. TJP (205 Live 1/9/18)
• Gran Metalik vs. TJP (205 Live 1/16/18)
• WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament – Round 1: Gran Metalik vs. Cedric Alexander (205 Live 1/30/18)
• Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik, Kalisto & Lince Dorado) vs. Brian Kendrick, Jack Gallagher & Drew Gulak (205 Live 6/12/18)
• Tornado Tag Team Match: Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado) w/ Kalisto vs. Buddy Murphy & Tony Nese (205 Live 8/21/18)
• Gran Metalik vs. Buddy Murphy (205 Live 12/12/18)

NXT UK

1. TRENT SEVEN
Along with Pete Dunne, Moustache Mountain are the clear head-and-shoulders elite of NXT UK right now, and for a long time I rated Tyler Bate higher than Trent Seven. I think Seven had a better 2018 though, and it came from the oddest of places: NXT UK. The Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era series was some of the best stuff this year, so they both get points for that. But in TV main events on NXT UK, Seven has shown a mastery for selling a body part and getting a crowd going crazy over it. Dude comes off like a superstar and it really exemplifies more than any why he is in the Big 3 with Dunne and Bate, who had already cemented their case.

Key Performances

• British Strong Style (Trent Seven, Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (WWE UK Championship Tournament 6/25/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) vs. The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] (NXT UK Championship 6/26/18)
• Moustache Mountain & Ricochet vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (NXT 6/27/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: Moustache Mountain [c] vs. The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (NXT 7/11/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Moustache Mountain (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• Trent Seven vs. Zack Gibson (NXT UK 8 11/14/18)
• Trent Seven w/ Tyler Bate vs. Joe Coffey w/ Wolfgang and Mark Coffey (NXT UK 15 12/12/18)

2. TYLER BATE
Tyler Bate had no singles peaks this year like he did last, but he was incredible in the Undisputed Era tags and has done quality work on NXT UK.

Key Performances

• WWE Cruiserweight Title – Round 1: Tyler Bate vs. TJP (205 Live 1/30/18)
• WWE U.K. Title #1 Contender Match: Tyler Bate vs. Roderick Strong (NXT 1/31/18)
• British Strong Style (Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne & Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (WWE UK Championship Tournament 6/25/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) vs. The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] (NXT UK Championship 6/26/18)
• Ricochet & Moustache Mountain vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (NXT 6/27/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: Moustache Mountain [c] vs. The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) (NXT 7/11/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Moustache Mountain (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• Tyler Bate vs. Joe Coffey (NXT UK 12 11/28/18)

3. TONI STORM
Rhea Ripley might be champ but Toni Storm sits very much atop the NXT UK women’s division, as she is super over and with only a few years experience comes off as a seasoned professional. She had a ton of great matches this year – Meiko Satomura in the MYC, Io Shirai at Evolution, Shayna Baszler at the UK Championship shows. She did some fun work with Jinny too. Big fan.

Key Performances

• NXT Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Shayna Baszler [c] (NXT UK Championship 6/26/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Toni Storm vs. Jinny (MYC Episode 3 9/19/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Toni Storm vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto (MYC Episode 5 10/3/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Quarter Final: Toni Storm vs. Mia Yim (MYC Episode 7 10/17/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Semi Final: Toni Storm vs. Meiko Satomura (MYC Episode 8 10/24/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Final: Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai (Evolution 10/28/18)
• Toni Storm vs. Dakota Kai (NXT UK 6 11/7/18)
• NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament – Semi Final: Toni Storm vs. Jinny (NXT UK 10 11/21/18)
• NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament – Final: Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley (NXT UK 12 11/28/18)

4. JINNY
Jinny is another one with only a few years of experience but she radiates an understanding of character like few others. The matches are solid, but when her entrance music bangs and she comes out scowling, both ignoring the crowd and looking down at them at the same time, I am wrapped up in the professional wrestling.

Key Performances

• Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Jinny vs. Toni Storm (MYC Episode 3 9/19/18)
• NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament – Semi Final: Jinny vs. Toni Storm (NXT UK 10 11/21/18)
• Jinny vs. Xia Brookside (NXT UK 16 12/12/18)

5. “WILD BOAR” MIKE HITCHMAN
Guys like Jordan Devlin and Zack Gibson might’ve had more matches over 3-stars, but Wild Boar should be the spirit of NXT UK, a wrestler that just feels a little off the tracks and has now been introduced to a worldwide audience. He’s the Hunchback of Notre Dame character wrestling always needed and goes hard in every match he is in.

Key Performances

• “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman vs. Ligero (WWE UK Championship Tournament YouTube Exclusive 6/27/18)
• “Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman vs. Bomber Dave Mastiff (NXT UK 14 12/5/18)

WOMEN, EVOLVED

1. MEIKO SATOMURA
Meiko Satomura was only around for a tournament but she still might’ve been the best female wrestler who participated in a WWE match this year. She carried Killer Kelly and Lacey Lane, traded shots with Mercedes Martinez, and had one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen with Toni Storm. It was a legitimate pleasure to see her do her thing in this environment.

Key Performances

• Mae Young Classic – Round 1: Meiko Satomura vs. Killer Kelly (MYC Episode 1 9/5/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Round 2: Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez (MYC Episode 5 10/3/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Quarter Final: Meiko Satomura vs. Lacey Lane (MYC Episode 7 10/17/18)
• Mae Young Classic – Semi Final: Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm (MYC Episode 8 10/24/18)

2. KAIRI SANE
Kairi Sane became a bonafide superstar in 2018 and I loved it. She was not only a part of many of the matches that made Shayna Baszler my #4 WWE wrestler of the year, but she added layers to her character as not just a perky pirate but a woman who will fuck you up if wronged.

Key Performances

• Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT 2/28/18)
• Kairi Sane vs. Vanessa Borne (NXT 4/4/18)
• Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans (NXT 5/23/18)
• Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans (NXT 6/6/18)
• Kairi Sane vs. Aliyah (NXT 8/15/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler [c] (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Kairi Sane [c] vs. Shayna Baszler (Evolution 10/28/18)
• 2/3 Falls – NXT Women’s Title: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler [c] (NXT TakeOver: WarGames II 11/17/18)

3. DAKOTA KAI
After a rocky start, Dakota Kai became a player in 2018. She has a great babyface charisma and throws a hell of a kick. She did some good stuff with Baszler, had fun runs in the Mae Young Classic and NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament, and if her recent injury isn’t too bad she has set herself up for a major 2019.

Key Performances

• NXT Women’s Title: Dakota Kai vs. Shayna Baszler [c] (NXT 5/30/18)
• Dakota Kai vs. Lacey Evans (NXT 7/18/18)
• Dakota Kai vs. Toni Storm (NXT UK 6 11/7/18)
• NXT UK Women’s Title Tournament – Semi Final: Dakota Kai vs. Rhea Ripley (NXT UK 10 11/21/18)
• Dakota Kai vs. Shayna Baszler w/ Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke (NXT 12/5/18)

4. EMBER MOON
Ember Moon started the year off having classics with Shayna Baszler in NXT and ended it wrestling to silence on Monday Night RAW. What a weird business. Regardless, Ember’s in a tough spot on the lacking RAW brand but she will still go hard in whatever situation she is put in. Her recent 5-minute matches with Nia Jax and Tamina were very quality 5-minute matches.

Key Performances

• NXT Women’s Title: Ember Moon [c] vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Ember Moon [c] vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT 2/14/18)
• NXT Women’s Title: Ember Moon [c] vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
• Ember Moon (debut) & Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss & Mickie James (RAW 4/9/18)
• Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Ember Moon vs. Sasha Banks vs. Ruby Riott w/ Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan (RAW 5/7/18)
• Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss w/ Mickie James (RAW 5/21/18)
• Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Ember Moon vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Lana vs. Alexa Bliss (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• Ember Moon vs. Tamina w/ Nia Jax (RAW 11/12/18)

5. CARMELLA
Carmella might’ve cemented herself as a WWE lifer this year. She took the ball and ran with it, cashing in Money in the Bank to win the SmackDown Women’s Title and working multiple PPV’s with Charlotte Flair and Asuka. The matches weren’t classics, but perhaps more importantly she delivered on her end as the cowardly champion and made them fun. And as soon as the championship run was over, she jumped on a new train with R-Truth popping crowds with dance breaks. Carmella is always finding something and making it work and that should be commended.

Key Performances

• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 1: Carmella & Big E w/ Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. The Miz & Asuka (Mixed Match Challenge 1/23/18)
• Carmella Cashes in Money in the Bank (SmackDown 4/10/18)
• Carmella & The IIconics vs. Charlotte Flair, Asuka & Becky Lynch (SmackDown 5/1/18)
• SmackDown Women’s Title: Carmella [c] vs. Asuka (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• SmackDown Women’s Title: Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair [c] (SmackDown 8/28/18)

THIS WAS A GOOD YEAR

1. DOLPH ZIGGLER AND DREW MCINTYRE
These two were tied together for most of the year and had one of the most inexplicable runs on top I’ve ever seen, both for how it came together and because it actually kind of worked. Drew McIntyre obviously raised his stock in a major way in 2018, slowly being positioned as a big time star as he brooded silently behind Dolph Ziggler. He also wrestled Kurt Angle in one of my favorite RAW matches of the year, a rare WWE match where a rising top guy completely decimated a former top guy. Dolph Ziggler meanwhile took this new team from one that induced groans to one that completely re-invented him as a near main event player. Ziggler had felt done for a long time but yet here he was main eventing with Seth Rollins for the IC Title and punching his bump card in tags with Drew. Despite some good matches (mostly with Seth Rollins), neither guy really closes the year as a favorite of mine in-ring – but it was still a good year.

Key Performances

• If Ziggler Wins, He Enters the WWE Title Match at Fastlane: Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn (SmackDown 2/13/18)
• Drew McIntyre Debuts with Dolph Ziggler (RAW 4/16/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins [c] (RAW 6/18/18)
• WWE Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler w/ Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins [c] (RAW 6/25/18)
• Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (RAW 7/2/18)
• If Rollins Wins, McIntyre is Banned From Ringside At Extreme Rules: Drew McIntyre w/ Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins (RAW 7/9/18)
• 30-Minute Iron Man Match – WWE Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler [c] w/ Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins (Extreme Rules 7/15/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler [c] vs. The Revival (RAW 9/24/18)
• Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre & Braun StrowmanThe Shield (Super Show-Down 10/6/18)
• RAW Tag Team Title: Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose (RAW 10/22/18)
• If Kurt Angle Wins, He Is Captain of the RAW Men’s Team: Drew McIntyre vs. Kurt Angle (RAW 11/5/18)
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre (RAW 12/10/18)
• Triple Threat Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor (RAW 12/24/18)

2. TOMMASO CIAMPA
Tommaso Ciampa returned in early 2018 to attack Johnny Gargano and has been on fire since, having a couple classics with Gargano and winning the NXT Title. His heel work can be a little cosplay-feeling, but it’s also nice that somebody is trying to be a completely deplorable piece of shit in 2018. Against all odds, Ciampa is a main eventer and I am here for it.

Key Performances

• Tommaso Ciampa Returns and Attacks Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18)
• Tommaso Ciampa “Promo” (NXT 3/7/18)
• Unsanctioned Match – Johnny Gargano’s NXT Career on the Line: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18)
• Chicago Street Fight: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 6/16/18)
• NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black [c] (NXT 7/25/18)
• Last Man Standing Match – NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa [c] vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV 8/18/18)

3. LACEY EVANS
Lacey Evans made her proper NXT debut in January and ended the year with a call-up to the main roster. That’s a good year. It was helped by a commitment to her character and great in-ring performances. Not even counting the amazing Kairi Sane sprint, Evans is someone who wrestles like her character and can be such a jerk. But yeah, let’s count the amazing Sane match too.

Key Performances

• Lacey Evans vs. Nikki Cross (NXT 1/31/18)
• Lacey Evans vs. Kairi Sane (NXT 5/23/18)
• Lacey Evans vs. Kairi Sane (NXT 6/6/18)
• Lacey Evans vs. Candice LeRae (NXT 6/27/18)

4. R-TRUTH
R-Truth has always been pretty funny, but felt like he really established himself as a comedic genius this year. It was less a year about putting him in funny situations where he’s confused and more about his comedic timing as he played up the character. He also had a random run where he had great squash matches with Samoa Joe and Nakamura as well as a legit good TV main event with Miz. I hope he stays in WWE forever.

Key Performances

• R-Truth vs. Samoa Joe (SmackDown 7/24/18)
• R-Truth vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 8/7/18)
• R-Truth Challenges Carmella (SmackDown 8/21/18)
• R-Truth w/ Carmella vs. The Miz (SmackDown 9/25/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge – Semi Final: The Fabulous Truth vs. Awe-ska (SmackDown 12/11/18)

5. LIO RUSH
Lio Rush burst on the scene in the middle of the year, first as a promising guy with strong mic work on 205 Live and soon as Bobby Lashley’s hype man on Monday Night RAW. For a while there he seemed prime to have a similar intro to Austin Aries, where suddenly Vince McMahon falls in love with a cruiserweight and has him all over the TV for a bit. That’s a good year.

Key Performances

• Lio Rush vs. Lars Sullivan (NXT 1/10/18)
• Lio Rush promo on Akira Tozawa (205 Live 7/3/18)
• Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa (205 Live 8/14/18)
• Lio Rush Runs from Kevin Owens and Elias (RAW 9/17/18)
• Lio Rush vs. Lince Dorado (205 Live 10/10/18)
• Lio Rush vs. Cedric Alexander (205 Live 11/14/18)

THIS WAS A BAD YEAR

1. BRAUN STROWMAN
What the hell, Braun Strowman? The use of Braun Strowman was quietly one of the biggest reasons 2018 felt like a down year. The rise of him in 2017 brought such an excitement to the product, and in 2018 they not only de-emphasized him, they turned him heel and had him teaming with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler for a bit before they turned him face again and he wasn’t as over anymore. In between all this he transitioned from monster badass to happy-go-lucky bayface at WrestleMania by winning the tag titles with a child, and he won Money in the Bank only to lose his cash-in match after promising to wreck Brock Lesnar the first second he saw him (he didn’t). Not to mention he hasn’t really done much of note in-ring. God damnit.

Key Performances

• Braun Strowman Tips a Production Truck (RAW 1/15/18)
• Triple Threat Match – WWE Universal Title: Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar [c] w/ Paul Heyman vs. Kane (Royal Rumble 1/28/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 1: Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss vs. Sami Zayn & Becky Lynch (Mixed Match Challenge 1/30/18)
• Elimination Chamber – Winner Faces Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title at WrestleMania: Braun Strowman vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias (RAW 2/25/18)
• Falls Count Anywhere Symphony of Destruction Match: Braun Strowman vs. Elias (RAW 3/5/18)
• Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens (RAW 5/7/18)
• Braun Strowman vs. Finn Balor (RAW 5/21/18)
• Hell in a Cell – WWE Universal Title: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns [c] (Special Guest Referee: Mick Foley) (Hell in a Cell 9/16/18)
• Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre vs. The Shield (RAW 10/8/18)

2. SAMI ZAYN
It sucks that Sami Zayn has been missing from WWE for almost six months now and it doesn’t really feel like anything is missing. Zayn added some amazing quirks to his game as a heel, but he also had to be a lame WWE heel and it was lame. His mic work in the Lashley feud was change-the-channel bad, and outside of the WrestleMania match his run at the top of SmackDown early in the year wasn’t any good. He just feels tired and unmotivated and not into it anymore. Maybe he returns from injury and lights it up, maybe he goes and hangs out with Hangman Page.

Key Performances

• Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles (SmackDown 1/23/18)
• Mixed Match Challenge – Round 1: Sami Zayn & Becky Lynch vs. Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss (Mixed Match Challenge 1/30/18)
• Winner Faces AJ Styles for the WWE Title at Fastlane: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (SmackDown 2/6/18)
• If Ziggler Wins, He Enters the WWE Title Match at Fastlane: Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler (SmackDown 2/13/18)
• Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens attack Shane McMahon (SmackDown 3/13/18)
• If Owens and Zayn Win, They Are Rehired to SmackDown: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Daniel Bryan (return) & Shane McMahon (WrestleMania 34 4/8/18)
• Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley (RAW 4/23/18)

3. BARON CORBIN
Baron Corbin was handed the ball for the second half of the year as the figurehead of Monday Night RAW and though he performed admirably in the gig, RAW reached a point so bad during his tenure as the guy all over the show that The McMahon’s came onto TV and apologized. So that’s not good.

Key Performances

• Baron Corbin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 1/23/18)
• If Corbin Wins, He Enters the WWE Title Match at Fastlane: Baron Corbin vs. Kevin Owens (SmackDown 2/13/18)
• Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor (RAW 7/30/18)
• Baron Corbin vs. Roman Reigns (RAW 8/6/18)
• Ronda Rousey throws Baron Corbin (RAW 11/12/18)

4. JINDER MAHAL
Jinder Mahal went from WWE Champion in 2017 back to comedy jobber in 2018. Oh well.

Key Performances

• WWE U.S. Title Tournament – Semi Final: Jinder Mahal w/ The Singh Brothers vs. Xavier Woods w/ Big E and Kofi Kingston (SmackDown 1/16/18)
• WWE U.S. Title #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match: Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh vs. Kofi Kingston w/ Big E and Xavier Woods vs. Zack Ryder vs. Rusev w/ Aiden English (SmackDown 1/30/18)
• Jinder Mahal w/ Sunil Singh vs. Chad Gable (RAW 4/23/18)
• Jinder Mahal & Kevin Ownes w/ Sunil Singh vs. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (RAW 5/21/18)
• Jinder Mahal w/ Alicia Fox and Sunil Singh vs. Finn Balor w/ Bayley (RAW 9/24/18)

5. NIA JAX
The Becky Lynch punch sure didn’t help, but Nia Jax’s inconsistent character work and weak matches were already bogging her down in 2018. It doesn’t help that she has used the Becky punch deal to become a cool carefree heel and not a scary badass.

Key Performances

• Nia Jax vs. Asuka (RAW 1/15/18)
• Nia Jax vs. Asuka (Elimination Chamber 2/25/18)
• RAW Women’s Title: Nia Jax [c] vs. Ronda Rousey (Money in the Bank 6/17/18)
• RAW Women’s Title: Nia Jax w/ Tamina vs. Ronda Rousey [c] (TLC 12/16/18)

THE ASUKA AWARD

1. ONEY LORCAN
Two years ago, I finished my entire list of top WWE wrestlers and went – shit. I forgot Asuka. She might have shown up once every 2 months, but she managed an amazing match almost every time. And somehow, despite zillions of hours of programming, WWE tends to have one or two folks like that every year. This isn’t to say they don’t deserve placement in the above top tier category, but they’re the person that had a sneaky good year.

In 2017, it was Gran Metalik. This year, it’s Oney Lorcan. He might be the coolest in-ring guy WWE employs, a guy who even in the sanitized WWE environment creates a feeling of unpredictability in every one of his matches. The guy just goes hard. Every single time. And it makes every single appearance of his – no matter how rare – worth watching.

Key Performances

• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – Round 1: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Roderick Strong & X (Pete Dunne) (NXT 3/21/18)
• NXT North American Title: Oney Lorcan vs. Adam Cole [c] (NXT 4/25/18)
• Oney Lorcan, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch vs. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly (NXT 5/16/18)
• NXT Tag Team Title: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] w/ Adam Cole (NXT TakeOver: Chicago II 6/16/18)
• Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Tian Bing & Rocky (NXT 10/17/18)
• Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Raul Mendoza & Humberto Carrillo (NXT 10/31/18)
• Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. The Mighty (NXT 12/12/18)

Everybody else, make me feel something next year. Especially you, Kalisto.