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With July almost on the horizon, it’s time to take a look at some of the biggest WWE moments from the first six months of 2018.
There have been over 50 matches at pay-per-view events from January to June, including 10 at the Royal Rumble and Money In The Bank and 14 on the stacked WrestleMania 34 card, but which PPV matches have stood out as the best of the year so far?
On Raw, much of 2018 has centred around Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, but have their PPV battles matched the levels we’ve come to expect from them on Monday nights? And how do they compare to Alexa Bliss’ PPV successes over the last six months?
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On SmackDown Live, AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the most anticipated rivalries of 2018, but did their long-awaited PPV encounters really match expectations? And where does Charlotte Flair’s surprise victory over Asuka at WrestleMania rank?
In this article, we’ve trawled through every major WWE event of 2018 to decide on the top 10 PPV matches of the year so far. Let us know in the comment section if you agree or disagree!
#10 Seth Rollins def. The Miz (Backlash)
In the first of only two one-on-one matches on this list, Seth Rollins defeated The Miz in the opening match of the Backlash PPV in May to retain the Intercontinental Championship.
The story of the high-tempo match revolved around Rollins’ knee, which buckled four times during the 20-minute encounter, but “The Kingslayer” persevered by kicking out of two Skull Crushing Finales before picking up the win with a Curb Stomp.
While this year’s Backlash event was hugely disappointing, nobody could have any complaints about this match, which was easily The Miz’s best in a WWE ring since his battle with Dolph Ziggler at No Mercy 2016.
#9 Braun Strowman wins the men's Money In The Bank match
Braun Strowman followed up his success in the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble by outlasting seven men to claim victory in his first-ever Money In The Bank ladder match in June.
“The Monster Among Men” was seen as the biggest threat by his fellow MITB participants, hence why they buried him under several ladders early on in the match, but he soon re-emerged and threw Kevin Owens through a table from the top of a ladder.
Then, with Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Finn Balor looking like serious candidates to win, Strowman fended off all three men in individual battles before unhooking the briefcase to become “Mr Monster In The Bank”.
#8 Roman Reigns wins the men's Elimination Chamber
Roman Reigns outlasted six other men in the largest Elimination Chamber match in WWE history to book his place in the main event of WrestleMania for the fourth year in a row – but this match was less about “The Big Dog” and more about Braun Strowman.
“The Monster Among Men” set a new record of five eliminations in a single Chamber match when he pinned The Miz, Elias, John Cena, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, but he was unable to achieve the same result when he found himself one-on-one with Reigns at the end.
The biggest highlight came in a 30-second spell where Strowman received a quadruple powerbomb, an Attitude Adjustment and a spear but still kicked out to remain in the match.
#7 Alexa Bliss wins the women's Money In The Bank match
Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Natalya, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Naomi and Lana contested the first eight-woman Money In The Bank ladder match, with Alexa emerging with the briefcase after pushing fan favourite Becky off the ladder at the end of the match.
The match itself far exceeded expectations, with all eight women looking like possible winners at different stages, and it was a genuine surprise to see Alexa win after so many rumours about a potential triumph for Natalya.
Later in the night, “Little Miss Bliss” went on to interfere in the match between Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey to pin Jax and win the Raw Women’s Championship for the third time.
#6 Alexa Bliss wins the women’s Elimination Chamber
One month on from the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble, six of the top Superstars from Raw’s women’s division did battle in the first all-female Elimination Chamber match.
The match was essentially made up of three duos (Bayley and Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss and Mickie James, and Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose), and it was Alexa who emerged with the victory, retaining her Raw Women’s Championship in the process, after Sasha turned against Bayley towards the end.
Alexa was the star of the show throughout, producing arguably her best WWE in-ring performance to date, while her post-match promo, in which she faked genuine emotion after receiving “You deserve it” chants, was absolute perfection.
#5 AJ Styles wins six-pack challenge (Fastlane)
It’s often difficult for matches to truly deliver when the outcome is obvious to fans before the show starts, but even the biggest WWE critic will have to admit that AJ Styles’ victory in the main event of Fastlane was brilliant from beginning to end, despite everybody knowing he would emerge with the victory.
“The Phenomenal One” defeated Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and John Cena in the match, pinning Owens to set up a WrestleMania encounter with Shinsuke Nakamura.
However, it was the drama leading up to the finish – Cena sent Styles through the announce desk with an AA and Shane McMahon interfered to cost Owens and Zayn – that made this match so exciting.
#4 Asuka wins the women’s Royal Rumble
The headline match of the 2018 Royal Rumble PPV, the first-ever women’s Rumble celebrated the past and present of WWE, with legends including Trish Stratus and Lita making their returns to battle it out with the best of the best in the current Raw and SmackDown Live women’s divisions.
The finish to the match saw Asuka overcome an alliance formed by the Bella Twins, last eliminating Nikki with a kick to the shin on the ring apron, before the debuting Ronda Rousey appeared after the match to point at the WrestleMania sign.
#3 Charlotte Flair def. Asuka (WrestleMania 34)
Charlotte Flair produced one of the biggest upsets of the year when she made Asuka tap out to a one-armed Figure Eight at WrestleMania 34, retaining her SmackDown Women’s Championship and ending the 914-day undefeated streak of “The Empress of Tomorrow”.
The match definitely lived up to the high expectations that people had for it, while the unexpected finish will go down as one of the most memorable moments in the history of WWE’s women’s division.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura wins the men's Royal Rumble
After several years of underwhelming Royal Rumble outcomes, WWE appeased the majority of fans in 2018 when the 30-man match was won by Shinsuke Nakamura, last eliminating Roman Reigns, to set up a long-awaited encounter with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34.
The match had plenty of surprising moments, too, with Andrade “Cien” Almas, Adam Cole, The Hurricane and Rey Mysterio making appearances, while Titus O’Neil eliminated Sheamus inside just two seconds.
#1 Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey def. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (WrestleMania 34)
Ronda Rousey vowed to win fans over with her in-ring performances during one of her first interviews as a WWE Superstar, but did anybody believe she would achieve that goal in her very first match?
In what was described by legendary WWE commentator Jim Ross as “the greatest debut ever”, Ronda teamed up with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in the Match of the Night at WrestleMania 34.
The former MMA star even got physical with HHH on occasions before fulfilling her promise of making Stephanie tap out to her trademark armbar.
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