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Like every year, 2018 had its shares of ups and downs. It also had several moments that left the WWE Universe feeling sad or slightly heart-broken.
Roman Reigns' real-life battle with Leukemia caught practically everyone off guard and altered the direction of the company. Several storylines also provided us with some sad moments.
The use of Jim Neidhart in the feud between Natalya and Ruby Riott left some with teary eyes while the Mean Girls' aspect of the Wrestlemania feud between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax hit home for a lot of people.
Here are 10 heartbreaking WWE moments from 2018 ranked in no particular order.
#10: Kurt Angle's destruction by the hands of Drew McIntyre
On the November 5th episode of Raw, Kurt Angle and Drew McIntyre squared off the determine who would captain Team Raw at Survivor Series. Baron Corbin picked McIntyre to wrestle in his stead because he was playing up the cowardly GM role.
Apparently, it was Angle's decision backstage to have McIntyre completely truck him. Angle was brutalized and humiliated by the 'Scottish Psychopath' in a match that was hard to watch at different moments.
McIntyre seemed to be toying with Angle all match and he constantly verbally assaulted Angle throughout. He even used all of Angle's signature moves like the Angle Slam and the ankle lock submission.
It was hard to watch someone so respected as Angle get so thoroughly humiliated, but it was to further the dynamic heel aura that McIntyre was building. McIntyre won the match and the captainship for Corbin while Angle took a brief vacation from his role as GM of Raw.
Luckily, Angle returned to get his revenge on Corbin as one of the several people who interfered in Corbin's two matches that determined if he would be permanent GM of Raw. He lost both thankfully.
#9: Brie Bella legitimately knocks out Liv Morgan due to a botch
Despite the constant claims throughout their return that they were legends and pioneers of the women's division, Brie Bella looked a noob when she returned from pregnancy. The Bellas both returned in order to make some appearances at big shows during 2018. They appeared at the Super Showdown and Evolution PPVs.
They also appeared on Raw and Smackdown, wrestling in matches against the Riott Squad.
During most of the matches in which Brie participated, she routinely botched moves. She nearly broke her neck on two suicide dive attempts and the most shocking botch was when she legitimately kicked Liv Morgan in the face.
The kick knocked Morgan out and gave the Riott Squad member a concussion. In an age where safety to prevent concussion issues has become so important, it was careless for Brie to continue wrestling.
I know it was an accident but it was a segment Brie Bella has performed numerous times. The botch knocked Morgan out of action for a few weeks but she would ultimately be fine. Bella was obviously sorry about the incident and reportedly apologized to Morgan profusely.
Since she's a vet, though, she probably got a pass. Had Morgan done the same to Bella, she probably would have been humiliated on screen somehow. For someone who is treated as a veteran of the division, she should be much better and safer in the ring then she was in 2018.
#8: Rhyno/Heath Slater having to fight each other for job
Whenever two friends are forced to do battle, it's usually with a bit of reluctance. Shawn Michaels didn't really want to retire his friend Ric Flair, but he had to. Rhyno and Heath Slater, the first-ever Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions, were forced to battle each other for a roster spot due to some bookkeeping by Baron Corbin.
Corbin said there was only room for one of them on the roster and that the loser would be fired. Both men were obviously conflicted with having to fight each other with a job on the line as they both had families and needed to feed them somehow.
That was just another way the writers managed to get more heat for Corbin's heel run. When Slater reluctantly won, effectively leading to his friend losing a job, he was visibly guilt-stricken. And when he went backstage to confront Corbin, Corbin told him the roster spot was as a ref and not a wrestler.
It was on-point storytelling to get heat on Corbin and sympathy for Slater and Rhyno. Storytelling is at its best when it tears at your heartstrings, and this brief storyline did just that.
#7: Becky fails to win Smackdown title at Summerslam thanks to Charlotte
Someone in the business once said that 'you can't have friends and be successful in the business'. Never was that truer than the friendship between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in 2018.
Lynch spent the better part of 2018 piling up wins upon wins in order to declare herself ready for a title shot at then-champion Carmella.
It was a feel-good story for the hard-working Lynch who clearly had the backing of the WWE Universe. When Lynch received a Smackdown Women's Title match at Summerslam, many were excited for Lynch.
The excitement didn't last for long after Flair returned from a brief hiatus and immediately 'earned' inclusion in the match at Summerslam after defeating Carmella in a non-title match. The writing was on the wall for Lynch in that all of her hard work wouldn't be paid off with a title win. Flair would go on to win the title at the expense of her friend.
Sure, Becky would have done the same, but Becky didn't conceivably rain on Flair's parade by getting added to the match. Everyone felt sorry for Becky for falling behind her friend once again, but the match actually was a blessing in disguise as WWE may not have intended.
In the celebration aftermath of the match, Lynch and Flair hugged. But before either woman left the ring, Lynch would attack and brutalize Flair. The fans cheered her for it rather than boo her as WWE had intended.
They couldn't get the response they wanted when Flair won her eighth title at the expense of her hard-working friend. It blurred the lines of how many of Flair's opportunities are attributed to her last name and how many are because of her merit.
It's not to say that she isn't talented and doesn't deserve her success, but having a famous last name is an advantage that cannot be ignored. For whatever reason WWE may or may not have intended, it set Lynch on to become one of the most popular and over stars in the WWE.
They couldn't get the fans to boo Lynch no matter what she did, so it turned out to be a blessing in disguise that might lead to the first-ever main-event slot at a Wrestlemania.
#6: Alexa Bliss/Mickie James shaming of Nia Jax on camera
In the lead up to their potential match for the Raw Women's Title at Wrestlemania 34, Alexa Bliss and Mickie James were caught backstage talking trash about their alleged friend, Nia Jax.
In the conversation caught on camera, Bliss said that Jax was just happy to carry her bags and walk behind her. She also said that why would she (Bliss) be friends with someone like Jax, implying that she was too beautiful to be seen with the unconventional figure of Jax.
It was hard to listen to Bliss and James body-shame Jax, but that was the impetus of the feud. It was also heartbreaking to see Jax's reaction of being crushed by the conversation. But her sadness quickly turned to rage.
It made things more personal and it made the moment that Jax toppled Bliss all the more satisfying. Jax had been lead astray by Bliss, as the small one had primarily used Jax to fight her battles and get her out of tough situations she talked herself into.
Body Image is a topic that is tough to walk around in a current WWE storyline but it garnered the appropriate reactions for both women. Had Bliss used more derogatory words to describe Jax, than things would have gone too far?
#5: Potentially career-ending injuries for Alexa Bliss and Jason Jordan
While Bliss was bad mouthing her alleged friend, Jason Jordan was trying to make his alleged father happy in the storyline. Jordan had joined Raw and was overstepping his bounds by trying to interject himself into matches. He wanted to prove to his kayfabe father that he belonged and that he was just as good as the rest of the roster.
It did lead to a Raw Tag Team title run with Seth Rollins late last year, but in February of 2018, Jordan had to undergo a procedure to surgically repair his neck. He had a nerve issue that caused him to lose grip strength in his hands.
He's been out of action since. It's sad news for someone who had been in NXT for so long only to be forced to leave the main roster due to serious injury. Like Jordan, Alexa Bliss was having a great career over the last two years. She was the first woman to win both the Smackdown and Raw Women's Titles.
Unfortunately, she had suffered multiple concussions in a short time period. Those concussions have kept her out of action since October. It's always heartbreaking for such promising young people and wrestlers have to retire before their times.
Jordan was starting to find his groove as a character while Bliss was on her way to a potential Hall-of-Fame career. Hopefully, both will be able to return to action in 2019.
#4: Jim Neidhart's death used in Natalya/Ruby Riott feud
Plans really changed for Natalya in 2018. She was reportedly supposed to turn heel at some point in late 2018 in order to feud with friend and Raw Women's Champion, Ronda Rousey.
But in August, her father, WWE Legend Jim 'the Anvil' Neidhart passed away unexpectedly due to a bad fall at home. His death affected the whole WWE Universe and turned Nattie's fortunes around in more ways than one.
Instead of chasing her former friend, Nattie was tormented by the Riott Squad throughout the fall. Riott first crushed the sunglasses that belonged to the Anvil and she would then consistently trash Nattie and her family.
She also said Natalya was handed everything in WWE because of her last name. The latest instance was putting a big picture of the Anvil on a table in the lead up to their tables' match at the TLC PPV.
It took its toll on Natalya but she gave some of her better promos during the feud. She would ultimately get the upper hand by winning the tables' match. It was another case of WWE using a family member's recent death in a feud. As long as they received the blessing of the family involved, then we cannot really fault them for it.
#3: Dean Ambrose turns on Seth Rollins the same night Roman Reigns leaves
So far, two of the three members of the Shield have turned on the others. If the fans thought Roman Reigns' announcement of his leukaemia returning wasn't heart-wrenching enough, the end of the night had more in store for us.
After Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose dedicated their Raw Tag Team Title match to their departing brother, Ambrose immediately turned his back on his brothers. The unbelievable high of winning the titles for their fallen brother was immediately turned to shreds when Ambrose attacked Rollins in the aftermath.
It was a roller coaster of real emotions from all three members of the Shield and one of the most emotional nights in WWE history. The commentators famously said 'not tonight, Dean' referring to the split of the Shield brothers and the attack on both Rollins and Reigns on the same night.
It was a gut-wrenching study in emotional storytelling, but Reigns' announcement of a real-life battle with a disease made the bigger-than-life characters seem human for one night. Here's wishing all the best to Reigns, superstars battling serious injuries and anyone around the world battling a disease. Keep up the fight!
#2: Paige removed as Smackdown GM
Like Bliss, Jordan and Reigns, Paige has had a roller coaster past two years. She returned from numerous injuries and suspensions to form Absolution with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.
But during a match in her return, she suffered a serious neck injury that would force her to retire prematurely. For someone who had gone through so much, it was just another obstacle for Paige to overcome.
Since her in-ring career was practically over, Paige was chosen to succeed Daniel Bryan as GM of Smackdown. While Bryan was able to return from a potentially career-threatening injury, Paige was unable to.
Also read: 5 reasons Paige was removed as SmackDown General Manager
It was at least a good sign to see Paige continue to be in the WWE's plans. She was doing a pretty good job of holding things down in 2018. The McMahons were meant only to show up sporadically, but once the ratings of both shows started to dip drastically, they made their triumphant returns.
Even though they promised a lot of potentially good things, one downside of their return was the removal of GMs and mainly Paige. Since she couldn't safely return to in-ring action, what would possibly be the next step for her career? It was tough to watch her smile as the Smackdown locker room cheered for her during the announcement of her loss of job.
She's battled back through a ton of adversity over her young career and this was just another setback. Backstage reports suggested she was removed so that she could help promote 'Fighting With My Family' that is slated to be released into theatres next February.
But if the ratings had have dipped so low, would that have been the case for Paige? We'll never really know. All we can do is wish Paige luck.
#1: Roman Reigns leukemia announcement
It was one of the most shocking and heart-wrenching moments in WWE history. Roman Reigns, who had tirelessly worked his butt off in order to become Universal Champion, finally captured the title from Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.
He was going to give us all a full-time champion and one that would defend it on any night against anyone. Things were heading in the right direction when he gave the first-ever Universal Champ, Finn Balor, the rematch he never got.
He was doing some good things to finally bring the red belt back to respectability. And then the shocker came. Dressed in street clothes, Reigns walked down to the ring to deliver an announcement only a few people knew about.
In one of the saddest moments in WWE history, Reigns, speaking as Joe Anoa'i, revealed to the world that he had been battling Leukemia for 11 years and that it had recently returned. In order to battle with the disease, he would have to relinquish the belt he spent the better part of four years trying to win.
All the boos he previously received were gone, replaced by sounds of crying mixed with silence and visuals of shock and awe. It was a reminder that pro wrestlers are people and that they too can be victims of things that affect everyone else.
It was so sudden and unexpected that the announce team of Renee Young, Corey Graves and Michael Cole were all visibly shaken by the announcement. He hugged almost everyone backstage but vowed to be back. The world is waiting for Roman Reigns to defeat his current foe and WWE will be better when he returns.
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