Merry Christmas, happy holidays my dear wrestling friends! Your favorite babyface authority figure is here to give her top ten matches of 2018. It’s been a pretty solid year for pro wrestling so narrowing down all the greatness to only ten of my favorite matches was actually pretty hard. Remember this list is strictly my opinion and what I like, not based on technical wrestling or star ratings or anything like that, just the matches I liked the most this year.
10. Mia Yim vs Kaitlyn-WWE Mae Young Classic
I like Mia Yim. I liked Kaitlyn during her first run with WWE. I’m glad she returned for this year’s all-female tournament. Yim and Kaitlyn had a great match that showcased both women’s abilities and even featured a well-done injury piece when it came to Yim’s hand. Solid work from these two women.
9. Chris Sabin vs Shoh-NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Tournament
What really grabbed my interest about this match was the fact that these guys both come from teams I like: Motorcity Machine Guns and Roppongi 3K. I thought the pacing for this match was pretty good and it kept me engaged throughout. It was also a good mixture of technical wrestling and flashy moves. It didn’t get much hype and it was kind of a dark horse match in the tournament, but I liked it nonetheless.
8. Hangman Page vs Kenny Omega-NJPW Wrestling Dontaku
Hangman Page really got my attention this year and this match was a lot of fun, albeit a bit underrated. Page’s in-ring abilities and storytelling chops are so good and he’s very young so I’m hoping he becomes an even bigger star in 2019…and maybe he’ll murder someone else too.
7. Raw Men’s Gauntlet Match-WWE Raw February 19, 2018
This match was most of this episode of Raw and you know what? It was pretty great! Seth Rollins put in some work and broke a record for longest time spent in a match. He didn’t win but that’s still pretty impressive. Elias eventually won this match and the opportunity to enter the Elimination Chamber last, but honestly Rollins’ performance stole the spotlight and set up for the Architect’s fantastic 2018.
6. Ember Moon vs Sasha Banks vs Ruby Riott-WWE Raw May 7, 2018
This was a wonderful triple threat match featuring two former women’s champions and the always on-point Ruby Riott. All three women showed out in this match, wowing us with their skills. They were given a good amount of time to put on the match, which really helped as sometimes the women don’t always get the proper time to shine.
5. Hangman Page vs Joey Janela-All In
Hey, remember what I said about Hangman Page earlier in the article Yeah, apply that stuff to this match too. This was probably my favorite match from All In and I still go back and watch highlights of it. I probably enjoyed the Dick Druids taking Page away far more than a grown woman should but hey, it’s pro wrestling.
4. Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair, Smackdown Women’s Championship-WWE Evolution
The second ever Last Woman Standing Match more than delivered on this all-women’s pay-per-view. It arguably should have been the main event but let’s just enjoy the fact that it happened. Becky Lynch got herself massively over when she attacked Charlotte and the two’s in-ring chemistry took this match to a whole new level. The ending with Flair unable to get up from her kneeling position was the icing on top.
3. Aleister Black vs Adrade “Cien” Almas, NXT Championship-NXT Takeover: New Orleans
Let me tell you, I was so into this match from the moment it was announced. From the actual in-ring action to Zelina Vega’s interference, I was invested from bell to bell. This match also came on one of the hottest wrestling weekends of 2018 and it lived up to the hype created on NXT. Black won his first NXT championship and it was glorious!
2. Seth Rollins vs The Miz vs Finn Balor, Intercontinental Championship-WWE Wrestlemania 34
Seth freakin’ Rollins opened up Wrestlemania with blue freakin’ contacts! Seth’s aesthetic choices aside, he also became a Grand Slam Champion after beating both Miz and Balor to claim the Intercontinental Championship. All three participants gave it their best in this triple threat and it was an absolutely fantastic opening match for Wrestlemania. Extra points for Balor and Miz’s entrances as well. I love Wrestlemania’s pageantry.
1. Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega, IWGP United States Championship-NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12
I can’t believe my favorite match of the year happened in the first week of January. Maybe it was the participants or maybe it was the fact that I watched this match at 3am, but this match stood out to me all year. Jericho played a great heel and plausible challenger for Omega’s belt and the two put on a barn burner of a match. What a great way to start the year!
So yeah, those are the matches I loved from 2018. There are definitely more; 2018 was a wonderful year for wrestling. Here’s to 2019 and more great wrestling!
