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2018 has been an incredible year for the WWE as the promotion has had many firsts to its name, mostly set by the women (first-ever women's Royal Rumble, and all-woman PPV are the most prominent ones), while WWE has also ventured away from the USA for its PPVs, with two held in Saudi Arabia and one in Australia.
The year has seen titles change hands constantly, new Superstars reaching the top, while the more experienced Superstars have continued setting new standards. We saw Roman Reigns win the Universal Championship for the first time, Becky Lynch reinvent herself and win over fans, Braun Strowman rampaging on RAW, while Ronda Rousey showed that she belonged in the WWE.
We all know that WWE is a promotion that is not just about RAW and SmackDown on Monday and Tuesday nights, or the monthly PPV; WWE Superstars are on the road all the time, going to different cities in the USA, as well as Europe, Asia, and even as far away as Australia.
This means that the WWE Superstars have to wrestle numerous matches every year, with the top guys and girls on both RAW and SmackDown Live, as well as on the road in live events.
Here, we look at the 5 Superstars who have wrestled the most matches this year:
(Stats as per Cagematch.net)
#5 AJ Styles - 147 matches
AJ Styles has had an incredible 2018, firmly cementing himself as one of the best in the WWE, and one of the most important Superstars on the roster as well, wrestling in 147 matches in 2018.
Styles held the WWE title for a record 371 days, the most for a WWE champion on SmackDown Live. The Phenomenal One had notable feuds throughout the year, including a long-awaited feud with Shinsuke Nakamura, as well as rekindling another old feud with Samoa Joe.
Styles ended the year in quite incredible fashion, assaulting WWE Chairman Vince McMahon after McMahon asked him to bring out his inner demon. The former WWE Champion, who lost his belt to Daniel Bryan, has another great year ahead of him in 2019, which may very well involve Vince McMahon and the McMahon family.
#4 Shinsuke Nakamura - 150 matches
Japanese Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura, is another key member of the SmackDown roster, and he, too, has had a memorable year in the WWE. Nakamura kicked off 2018 in fine fashion, winning the 2018 30-man Royal Rumble match, eliminating Roman Reigns, who many predicted would win the competition, to win the Royal Rumble, and earn a shot at AJ Styles' crown at WrestleMania 34.
Nakamura, who wrestled in 150 matches in 2018, turned heel at The Show of Shows, low-blowing Styles after the American won against the Japanese star, to retain his WWE title.
The former NXT Champion did strike gold later in the year as he won the United States Championship, only to lose it in the final SmackDown show of 2018, against Rusev.
Nakamura's heel turn has been quite interesting to watch and much more engaging than his run as a babyface on SmackDown following his move from NXT to the main roster.
#3 Seth Rollins - 157 matches
Seth Rollins is possibly one of the most important Superstars on WWE television, and he showed time and again why he's key to WWE and RAW, in 2018. Rollins, who wrestled in 157 matches in 2018, the third most by any Superstar on the WWE roster for 2018, had a whirlwind 2018.
The Gauntlet match on the RAW before the Elimination Chamber PPV, where he eliminated John Cena and Roman Reigns, and wrestled for over an hour, was a sheer masterclass from Rollins.
Rollins put on great matches with some of the top guys on RAW, feuding with the likes of Kevin Owens, Elias, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, and more recently with former Shield brother, Dean Ambrose.
He held the Intercontinental Championship belt, as well as the RAW Tag Team belt (with Dean Ambrose), but ended the year with no gold around his waist.
#2 Baron Corbin - 157 matches
At #2 on this list is Baron Corbin with 157 matches, which not many people would have guessed considering he was an Authority Figure for a few months at the end of the year.
Corbin was traded to RAW during the Superstar Shake-Up, and debuted a new character, who had a more corporate look, but was still conniving, deceptive, and a good heel. Corbin became the RAW Acting GM when Kurt Angle was sent on vacation, and Corbin took matters into his hands, siding with the heels and inevitably making it incredibly tough for the babyfaces to win.
He feuded with the likes of Finn Balor, Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns, and ended the year in a feud with Braun Strowman, losing to The Monster Among Men at TLC, while also losing his role as Acting GM.
It looks like Corbin will continue his feud with Seth Rollins at the start of 2019, although we aren't quite sure where Dean Ambrose fits in these plans.
#1 Finn Balor - 169 matches
The wrestler with the most matches in WWE in 2018, the ultimate workhorse of 2018 is Finn Balor, who wrestled in a mind-boggling 169 matches in 2018!
Balor has been a constant fixture on RAW, despite not winning any titles in 2018 in WWE. The Irish Superstar was in an interesting feud with Seth Rollins and The Miz, for the Intercontinental title at the start of the year, but was not successful in winning the title.
He then teamed up with Braun Strowman in a feud against Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, which happened quite a lot until the end of the year. Balor has possibly had a storyline with every mid-card and upper mid-card talent on the RAW roster, but hasn't been able to stand out in 2018, despite being a fan favourite.
Many have blamed WWE's dour storylines for the reason that Balor hasn't prospered, but things could change in 2019 with reports suggesting that WWE has some big plans for Balor in 2019.
