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As regular WWE viewers can appreciate, it’s easy to lose sight of the good things happening in the world of sports entertainment when some of the negative moments we see on Raw, SmackDown Live and PPVs often outweigh the positives.
Granted, there have been plenty of things on WWE television to be negative about recently, but 2018 has still had its fair share of good moments, with the likes of Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins and Ronda Rousey emerging as three of the company’s top Superstars over the last six months.
In Strowman's case, he has gone from strength to strength as one of Raw's most dominant Superstars since the turn of the year, winning the Greatest Royal Rumble in April and the men's Money In The Bank match in June, but where does "The Monster Among Men" rank when it comes to the most epic moments of 2018 so far?
As for Rollins, was his performance in the gauntlet match on Raw in February worthy of being included in this list? And which moment involving Rousey has stood out most during her first few months as a WWE Superstar?
Now that we’re halfway through 2018, let’s take a look back at 10 of the most epic moments of the WWE year so far.
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#10 Braun Strowman sets new Elimination Chamber record
While Braun Strowman’s Money In The Bank victory in June is undoubtedly the most significant moment of his career so far, his most epic feat in the first half of 2018 came in February when he set a new record of five eliminations in a single Elimination Chamber match.
“The Monster Among Men” pinned The Miz, Elias, John Cena, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins in the first seven-man battle inside the Chamber. Sadly, he couldn’t go on to eliminate Roman Reigns, who won the match and went on to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 34.
#9 The Ultimate Deletion match
When WWE brings out multiple items of merchandise based on a single match, you know it went well.
That’s what happened in March 2018 when Matt Hardy defeated – and DELETED – Bray Wyatt in the first-ever WWE Ultimate Deletion match, leading to an unlikely alliance between the two men, who have since become Raw Tag Team champions.
The utterly bizarre battle at the Hardy Compound was well received by the audience, and it’ll be interesting to see if WWE plans on booking any more Ultimate Deletion matches in the future!
#8 Carmella cashes in her Money In The Bank contract
Both Money In The Bank cash-ins in 2018 have been great, but we’ve chosen Carmella’s cash-in over Alexa Bliss’ for this article simply because it didn’t seem realistic that “The Princess of Staten Island” was ever going to dethrone Charlotte Flair as SmackDown Women’s champion.
Then, on the SmackDown Live after WrestleMania 34, The IIconics interrupted and attacked Charlotte on their main-roster debut, giving Carmella the perfect opportunity to finally cash in her Money In The Bank contract.
#7 Shinsuke Nakamura’s first heel promo
Shinsuke Nakamura shocked the WWE Universe when, for the first time since signing with the company in 2016, he turned heel by striking AJ Styles with the first of many low-blows following his defeat against the WWE champion at WrestleMania 34.
Two nights later, “The King of Strong Style” produced his most epic WWE promo to date when he disingenuously apologised for what he did to Styles. Pressed further by Renee Young for comment, he simply replied, “Sorry, no speak English.”
#6 Seth Rollins defeats Roman Reigns and John Cena in the same night
Seth Rollins has undergone a huge career resurgence in 2018, overcoming a slow start to his babyface run to propel himself to the top of the Monday Night Raw card as one of the company’s most popular good guys.
While his Intercontinental Championship victory at WrestleMania 34 and subsequent title defences were very good, “The Kingslayer” garnered the most attention following his 65-minute performance in the gauntlet match on Raw, in which he defeated both Roman Reigns and John Cena in singles matches.
#5 Asuka wins the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble
Some WWE fans were disappointed that the future of the company wasn’t represented more in the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble, with Kairi Sane and Ember Moon being the only participants from NXT. However, on reflection, it was fitting that the past and present of WWE were given the chance to showcase their skills in the historic 30-woman match.
As for the outcome, the then-undefeated Asuka was the perfect person to emerge with the victory, setting up a WrestleMania 34 match with Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship (more on that shortly!).
#4 Charlotte Flair ends Asuka's undefeated streak
After 914 undefeated days in NXT and WWE, Asuka looked set to add to her ever-growing list of accomplishments by defeating Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in one of the most-anticipated matches on the WrestleMania 34 card.
However, much to the surprise of the New Orleans crowd and everyone watching at home, “The Queen” made “The Empress of Tomorrow” submit to a one-armed Figure Eight to retain her title and end her opponent’s lengthy undefeated streak.
#3 Steve Austin hits the McMahons with stunners
We can all agree that the special Raw 25 episode in January fell well below expectations, and it has since emerged that last-minute booking due to Enzo Amore’s suspension may have played a part in the poor overall quality of the show.
It’s worth remembering, though, that the episode began in quite some style, with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin returning in the opening segment to roll back the years by hitting his trademark Stone Cold Stunner finisher on Shane and Vince McMahon.
#2 Ronda Rousey puts Triple H through a table
So far, Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle’s victory over Stephanie McMahon & Triple H at WrestleMania 34 is the clear favourite to win WWE Match of the Year, but the one epic moment that stands out from their rivalry came during Ronda’s contract signing at Elimination Chamber.
After being informed by Angle that Stephanie and Triple H only wanted her in WWE so they could manipulate her career, “The Baddest Woman On The Planet” launched HHH through a table before receiving a huge slap to the face from Steph.
Ronda's most recent Raw segment, in which she attacked Angle and put Alexa Bliss through a table, was another standout moment from this year, but the Triple H table spot gets the nod in our list because nobody expected it to happen.
#1 Daniel Bryan returns
Almost three years on from his final match in a WWE ring, Daniel Bryan was informed on 19 March 2018 that he had been medically cleared to compete again.
Within 24 hours, he opened an episode of SmackDown Live by giving a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the WWE Universe, while he later got involved in his first physical altercation since returning when he was provoked by the ‘fired’ Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
After such a long time away from the squared circle, it was simply epic to see fans reacting to every dropkick and ‘Yes kick’ that D-Bry hit on Owens and Zayn. Granted, he ended up getting powerbombed against the ring apron, but let’s focus on the positives!
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
