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WWE produced a total of fifteen pay-per views in 2018, and most of them delivered and did a solid job. The weekly programming may have suffered a lot throughout 2018, but the special events remained special.
Apart from the overseas PPVs in Saudi Arabia and Australia, all the other PPVs were entertaining. The Big 4 shows i.e Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam and Survivor Series, all were right on the money and gave their money's worth.
The Women's Revolution in WWE took over in 2018, with women main-eventing as many as three of the pay-per views in the calendar year. Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch stood out as the performers of the year, with their characters generating more interest in the women's division than ever before.
We look at five pay-per views which could easily be called the best of 2018, and what makes them special.
#5: Survivor Series 2018
If you remove the 6-0(1*) win for RAW from the show, Survivor Series was actually a really great PPV. Fans were not happy with Smackdown Live being squashed, but apart from that it was one of the better shows of the year.
The main-event between Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar was perfect and a setup Bryan for a proper heel run in the coming weeks. It was a carbon copy of the AJ Styles-Brock Lesnar matchup from 2017 but was enjoyable nonetheless.
Charlotte Flair massacred Ronda Rousey with a kendo stick, which eventually led to the main-event of TLC. Flair's vicious beatdown of Ronda was a gruesome as well as a pleasant sight!
With only six matches on the card, the PPV did a solid job and once again WWE proved quality over quantity. The traditional Survivor Series matchups were decent overall and the final "Big 4" PPV delivered.
#4: Tables,Ladders and Chairs 2018
You may think it is a recency bias, but it really is not! TLC 2018 was a solid PPV throughout, and was a fun three and a half hours event. On paper, TLC seemed like an exhausting journey with 13 matches on the card. However, WWE did a good job of presenting the matches and made fine booking decisions throughout.
The highlight of the show was the first ever TLC Women's Match for the Smackdown Women's Championship. The Man, The Queen and The Empress competed in a vicious bout for the championship, eventually won by Asuka.
The new Daniel Bryan produced a classic encounter against his nemesis AJ Styles. The glaring blip on the card was the highly disappointing Seth Rollins-Dean Ambrose matchup, which invoked a "This is Boring" chant from the audience.
TLC was a great event, but could have been greater if WWE played its cards right.
#3: Hell in a Cell 2018
Hell in a Cell had one of the most promising cards in recent memory. The event started off really strong with the first four matches before the momentum was derailed by three subpar matches.
If the PPV were to end after the first four matches itself, it might have secured a place in one of the greatest PPVs ever list. A tag team bout between Ambrose-Rollins and Mcintyre-Ziggler, a Becky-Charlotte match for the Smackdown Women's Championship, a hotly contested WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, and a terrifying bout between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy.
These four matches were followed by a dud mixed tag, a subpar Ronda-Bliss matchup and to cap it all off, Strowman-Reigns was interrupted by a returning Lesnar.
With just eight matches on the card, WWE proved quality over quantity and produced a really enjoyable PPV.
#2: Royal Rumble 2018
Royal Rumble is usually one of the standout PPVs of the year. The Rumble match is the most exciting match in sports entertainment, and WWE once again delivered with not just one but two Rumble matches this year.
The Men's Match, won by Shinsuke Nakamura, had plenty of fantastic spots. The return of Hurricane Helms and Rey Mysterio, Adam Cole and Andrade Almas making appearances, and mid card superstars like Rusev, Sami Zayn and Finn Balor getting quality time made it a fun matchup.
The Women's Match was not short on surprises, with the likes of Lita, Trish Stratus, Bellas,etc. returning for the historic first-ever Rumble match.
Aside from the Royal Rumble matchups, the event saw AJ Styles defend his title in a surprisingly solid handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Brock Lesnar defended his title against Kane and Braun Strowman, but its better if we don't talk about that match.
#1: Evolution 2018
Interesting fact: 3 of the 5 top PPVs of 2018 feature women in the main-event!
Evolution was WWE's first ever PPV for female superstars, and it turned out to be the best PPV of the year. Many were skeptical of the event due to the lack of male superstars, but WWE left no stone unturned to make sure the event felt important and nothing short of any other PPV.
The NXT Takeover-like feel to the PPV made sure Evolution already had better presentation than the other main-roster shows. Charlotte Flair v Becky Lynch in a Last Woman Standing match was the highlight of the show, along with Shayna Baszler vs Kairi Sane and Toni Storm vs Io Shirai.
Ronda Rousey v Nikki Bella in the main-event was a surprisingly good match, which capped of a historic show and proved that women can single-handedly deliver a good show.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
