2018 Professional Wrestling Year in Review

When it comes to bang for your buck, 2018 has been one of the most exciting years in the modern era of professional wrestling. The variety of promotions available to consume, along with the accessibility via the internet, the past twelve months have been unforgettable. Wrestling fans have had many complaints over the years, but the highs outweighed the lows, and the quality of good wrestling across the board left viewers with so many memorable moments that will last for ages.

When you look at the year 2018 in professional wrestling, one word comes to mind, progress. WWE Evolution, the first ever all women’s pay-per-view (in the WWE) along with Renee Young had been promoted from backstage interviewer to the first full-time woman commentator or Monday Night Raw, was a sign of progress. The All In show presented by The Elite that sold out in 30 minutes, was the most massive non-WWE crowd in the United States in over twenty years that filled 11,263 seats in Chicago, Illinois. The legend Chris Jericho took his talents from the WWE to work in New Japan Pro Wrestling giving that promotion a nice shot in the arm to help put them over with the American audience.

There have been so many amazing things that have happened this year in wrestling. The emotional return to in-ring competition by the ultimate underdog, Daniel Bryan after nearly three years away due to concussion issues. The 371-day reign (8th longest in history) as WWE Champion by AJ Styles. The year of the “Kingslayer” and Raw’s MVP Seth Rollins. Jay Lethal’s record combined days as ROH World Champion. The rise of Pentagon Jr. from Lucha Libre star to the mainstream. Ronda Rousey has brought her talents by joining the WWE at the Royal Rumble. Fans saw the resurgence of British pro wrestling with the upsurge of stars like Pete Dunne. There indeed has never been a better time to be a wrestling fan.

The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion match at NJPW Dominion, June 9, 2018, saw “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega finally reached to mountaintop as he defeated “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada, ending his 720-day reign in a 65-minute 2 out of 3 falls bout in Osaka-Jo Hall what Dave Meltzer had broken his rating system by giving it a 7-star rating. This match was a culmination of years of storytelling of how Omega had come so close to defeating Okada in their previous fights by losing the first bout, going to a draw the second time, then winning a non-title match in their third encounter, to finally becoming the champion.

NXT has been the bout machine for the WWE since its current incarnation of being the third brand of WWE programming. The NXT Takeovers have always delivered, but the feud between Johnny Gargano and Tomaso Ciampa that span the length of two years, was the main event storyline as these two gladiators put on multiple performances that would steal any show. The Unsanctioned Match at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 where Johnny Gargano fought to be rehired and the Last Man Standing Match at NXT Takeover: New Orleans for the NXT Championship between the two, fans were supplied with more than their money’s worth.

When it comes to the Last Man Standing stipulation matches, “The Man” Becky Lynch defeated her former best friend and current greatest rival “The Queen” Charlotte Flair in the first ever of that sort for women (in WWE) which saw at the all-woman PPV, WWE Evolution. The amount of brutality these women displayed in told a phenomenal story of how love converted to hate as Lynch’s chip on her shoulder propelled her to the top name in the industry. In a historic show, only a revolutionary match would be acceptable, and these women raised the bar to new heights.

Historic sometimes can be overused when describing an event, but All In did not take that word for granted. The grandest independent wrestling show in the history of the United States and the most massive non-WWE gate since World Championship Wrestling (WCW) closed its doors, historical might not be the word to describe this event. A show that was loaded with the top stars across multiple promotions with the highlight match as “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes defeated “The National Treasure” Nick Aldis for the then NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. Cody is the son of former 3-time NWA Champion “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes to become the first father/son duo to hold the title. This has been the most relevant the NWA Championship (the oldest recognized wrestling world championship) has been since the 90s.

This past year saw the depth of wrestling outside of the WWE has not been this deep since the territory era that has long past. If we the fans are tired of what the big show is giving us, there are plenty of alternatives available that can sustain your wrestling appetite. There are options such as New Japan and Ring of Honor, Lucha Underground, and Major League Wrestling. There are hundreds of independent wrestling promotions such as our local Maryland Championship Wrestling all available with the magic of the internet.

It would nearly be impossible to review every positive thing that happened in wrestling in 2018, but I had to feature the top stories that were important to me as a fan. These were things I have spent my own money on when I have consumed wrestling. I would say in good faith that this was by far my favorite year of wrestling that I can remember. Many people beg to bring back the Attitude Era, but that was an overrated time in wrestling because there really were only two options then, now there are so many that I am usually satisfied with what comes across my screen. The next movement now is to take the momentum of 2018 and break the walls down and bulldoze into 2019 with the fire of 1000 suns. The sport of kings is in the best position it has been in, and I can only see greater things coming.