3 Things we learned from WWE in 2018

2018 has come and is almost gone. Although 2019 is on the horizon, 2018 is still fresh in our memories and will likely remain there for the foreseeable future. A major reason for that is that notable moments took place throughout the course of 2018 and fans were able to understand and learn a lot about WWE.

2018 saw three special events take place outside USA, namely The Greatest Royal Rumble and WWE Crown Jewel in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and The Super-ShowDown in Melbourne, Australia. This tells fans that WWE is expanding globally and is looking for better locations.

Furthermore, fans saw the rise of underrated and overlooked stars this year. A prime example would be the meteoric and astonishing rise of Becky Lynch from just another face in the women's division to the most popular female superstar of the year. This gives fans hope that any star can have their moment at any time if WWE wills.

However, there were a lot of more considerable takeaways from 2018 that would help fans understand more about WWE and learn how they go about business on-screen and off-screen.

Here's a look at 3 things fans learned about WWE in 2018.

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#3 Never say Never

Hulk Hogan returned to WWE at Crown Jewel

At the start of the year, fans had no idea that they would see Rey Mysterio back full-time in a WWE ring. Fans couldn't imagine that they would watch 'The Hulkster' return to WWE at Crown Jewel, especially after WWE cut off ties with him in 2015 on bad terms.

The WWE Universe had no clue that they would witness an 'All-women's pay-per-view' later in the year towards the end of October. Daniel Bryan's miraculous return to the squared circle from retirement is another such event that took fans by surprise.

WWE delivered some breath-taking surprises this year and fans enjoyed every surprise WWE threw at them. Hulk Hogan's return, Rey Mysterio's re-signing with WWE and Daniel Bryan's stunning comeback to the ring are living proof that anything can happen in the WWE, which is why fans should never say never

#2 WWE still relies on part-timers as huge draws for big pay-per-views

Brock Lesnar was Universal Champion for much of the year

A huge complaint hardcore fans have with WWE is with the company's over-reliance on part-time stars, who are way past their prime and undeserving of the spotlight. The problem is that these stars unintentionally overshadow younger talent who deserve better.

Brock Lesnar was the Universal Champion at the start of the year and remains there at the end of the year, in spite of all the criticism Brock has received regarding his lazy attitude and part-time status. WWE's fall season was dominated by a rivalry between The Undertaker and Triple H. These two renewed their rivalry during the fall season years after their Hell in a Cell match in 2012 that was billed as an' End of An Era'.

These two headlined WWE Super-Show Down in a bore-fest, but that wasn't the end of this out-dated story-line as the Brothers of Destruction unleashed a vicious assault on Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels foolishly returned from retirement for a one-off tag-team match alongside Triple H to face the Brothers of Destruction. Once again, These 4 veterans collided in the main event of WWE Crown Jewel in an under-whelming contest that was one of the year's worst.

WWE still depends on its part-timers to draw in fans, but the question fans repeatedly ask is for how long?

#1 NXT is still better than the main roster

NXT is the top brand in WWE.

NXT is WWE's development brand, but in 2018, the yellow brand solidified itself as the best brand in WWE, better than WWE's flagship shows, referring to Raw and SmackDown Live.

NXT gave us three 5-star matches this year, none of the main roster matches were able to accomplish this feat. This comes as a huge achievement for NXT as the first of these three 5 star matches took place 6 years after the main event of Money in the Bank 2011 where CM Punk and John Cena tore the house down.

NXT Takeover specials have always outshone WWE pay-per-views. NXT TakeOver: New Orleans saw two five star matches and was an incredible show that featured great story-telling and in-ring action, both of which were superior to Wrestlemania. The same can be said for every NXT TakeOver special that took place this year.

NXT story-lines were even better as Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa told a great story on the main roster, Aleister Black's mystery assailant story-line was a classic whereas on the main roster fans saw abysmal rivalries like Bobby Lashley Vs Sami Zayn.