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Some of WWE's best superstars had great years in 2018. Women and men alike have stolen the show. Not all of these competitors won championships in 2018 but they still had a great year. Whether it was in terms of promos, rivalries, win/loss record, or the pure quality of their matches, these superstars shined in 2018.
While it was hard to narrow this list down, the superstars on this list truly deserve their spot and will likely have a great 2019. Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Shinsuke Nakamura, Buddy Murphy, Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, The Miz, Randy Orton, Natalya, Carmella, Ruby Riott, Sasha Banks, and Bayley are all honourable mentions.
#10 Finn Balor
Finn Balor started off the year by entering #2 in the Men's 2018 Royal Rumble match. He was the "Iron Man" of the match and lasted for nearly an hour. During this period of time, he eliminated Aiden English and the returning Dolph Ziggler & Rey Mysterio from the match while also being one of the final 4 superstars. He was one of the final 4 in the 7 Man Elimination Chamber Match which determined who would face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34.
He competed in the opening match of WrestleMania and was chosen as a representative of the LGBT community. He had an excellent series of matches with Seth Rollins and was one of the first superstars to qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match. The Extraordinary One also defeated Baron Corbin at Extreme Rules and squashed Baron Corbin by resurrecting the Demon at SummerSlam.
He finally received his Universal Championship rematch against Roman Reigns on Raw afterwards. He also has had a recent winning streak as he has defeated Dolph Ziggler on an episode of Raw, Drew McIntyre at TLC, and both Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler on this week's episode of Monday Night Raw. Finn Balor is also one of the favourites to win the 2019 Royal Rumble match.
#9 Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre arrived on Monday Night Raw together with Dolph Ziggler and they were dominant. They completely destroyed Titus Worldwide, Heath Slater, & Rhyno before Money in the Bank. After Money in the Bank, they became true top stars when Drew McIntyre helped Dolph Ziggler defeat Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship. Drew McIntyre was then able to defeat Seth Rollins with help from the Intercontinental Champion at the team. Shortly after Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental Title back from Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam, the two got involved in Monday Night Raw's top rivalry with the Shield.
Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre would win the Raw Tag Team Titles from the B-Team and then defended the titles against Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose in one of the best matches of the year. The Scottish Psychopath was also one of the sole survivors for Monday Night Raw during the elimination match at Survivor Series. They then broke up afterwards and have traded wins with each other. Drew McIntyre looks like he is set to become one of the true stars of the company and is one of the favourites to win the Royal Rumble this year.
#8 Asuka
Asuka started off the year by eliminating 3 women (Ember Moon, Nia Jax, and Nikki Bella) and winning the first ever women's Royal Rumble match. She then defeated Nia Jax multiple times and won the Mixed Match Challenge alongside The Miz before her two and a half year undefeated streak was snapped by Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34. She then moved to SmackDown Live and faced a slump.
She lost to Carmella in two different SmackDown Women's Championship matches. The Empress of Tomorrow then formed a tag team with Naomi before the 2 lost to the IIconics. Asuka then was a part of the battle royal at Evolution and was the last woman eliminated from the 5 on 5 women's elimination match at Survivor Series. She then fought her way into the first ever women's TLC match by eliminating the IIconics, Carmella, and Sonya Deville to win a battle royal.
Asuka would then defeat both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the main event of TLC to become SmackDown Women's Champion in one of the best matches of the year. Since then the SmackDown Women's Champion has defended her championship against Naomi and will likely be SmackDown Women's Champion heading into WrestleMania 34.
#7 Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman has had an interesting year. He started off the year by unsuccessfully challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. He then won a gauntlet match and set a record for eliminating 5 men (The Miz, Elias John Cena, Finn Balor, & Seth Rollins) in a 7 Man Elimination Chamber match that determined the #1 Contender to the Universal Championship.
He also had a long overdue WrestleMania moment when he defeated the Bar with the help of a young child to win the Raw Tag Team Titles and set a Royal Rumble record when he eliminated 13 men to win the Greatest Royal Rumble and won the Money in the Bank briefcase. He did not successfully cash in Money in the Bank due to interference from Brock Lesnar who defeated him for the Universal Championship.
After that, he eliminated 4 men from Team SmackDown Live at Survivor Series and defeated Baron Corbin at TLC. He is currently set to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.
#6 Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan was shockingly cleared to compete earlier this year after being retired for more than 2 years. He had his WrestleMania moment when he teamed up with Shane McMahon to defeat Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34. He then set a new record by lasting for 1 hour and 16 minutes (breaking Rey Mysterio's 1 hour and 2 minutes record) in the Greatest Royal Rumble match and defeated Big Cass on back to back pay per views.
The Yes Man reformed Team Hell No with Kane but unsuccessfully challenged the Bludgeon Brothers for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. He also had fun matches against Harper and Shelton Benjamin on SmackDown Live and faced off with Big E & Samoa Joe in a gauntlet match. He then entered into a dream rivalry with The Miz and came up on top. A
fter unsuccessfully challenging AJ Styles for the WWE Championship the first time that they faced off for the championship, Daniel Bryan turned heel and ended AJ Styles's historic WWE Championship reign. Daniel Bryan then competed in 2 back to back match of the year candidates when he faced Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series and defended his WWE Championship against AJ Styles at TLC. The WWE Champion will likely face Mustafa Ali for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble
#5 Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair started off the year as SmackDown Women's Champion. The second generational competitor defeated Ruby Riott at Fastlane and snapped Asuka's undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34 in 2 great matches. She then lost her title to Carmella when Carmella cashed in Money in the Bank.
Charlotte Flair then competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match and won back the SmackDown Women's Championship from Carmella in a triple threat match that also involved Becky Lynch in a triple threat match at SummerSlam. The Queen was then involved in the best WWE rivalry of the year with Becky Lynch. She lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Becky Lynch at Hell in a Cell. Charlotte Flair then continued her pursuit for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WWE Super Showdown and an episode of SmackDown Live before facing Becky Lynch in a Last Women's Standing Match at Evolution.
Their match at Evolution was WWE's best match of the year. She then faced Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series in another great match that led to Charlotte Flair turning heel. Charlotte was the standout performer in the TLC triple threat for the SmackDown Women's Championship and is a favourite to win the Royal Rumble.
#4 Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey has possibly had the greatest debut year in WWE history. She first appeared after the women's royal rumble and after that, she had one of the greatest debut matches ever when she teamed with Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34. She then helped to guide Nia Jax through her best match in WWE at Money in the Bank.
Her first attempt at becoming Raw Women's Champion was foiled when Alexa Bliss cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase. This led to Ronda Rousey completely crushing Alexa Bliss in their match at WWE SummerSlam and became Raw Women's Champion. After defeating Alexa Bliss, she had 2 great matches with Ruby Riott on Raw and Nikki Bella at TLC.
The Baddest Woman then faced Charlotte Flair in one of the best matches of the year at Survivor Series and successfully retained her championship against Nia Jax in another great match at TLC. Ronda Rousey recently successfully defended her championship against Natalya on Raw and is set to feud with both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in 2019.
#3 AJ Styles
AJ Styles started off 2018 as WWE Champion. He successfully defended the WWE Championship against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (in a handicap match) at Royal Rumble and against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, & John Cena at Fastlane.
The Phenomenal One head into WrestleMania strong and defeated Shinsuke Nakamura in a dream match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 and feuded with Shinsuke Nakamura until Money in the Bank. AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura at Money in the Bank was a match of the year candidate and after that, AJ Styles really started to hit the ground running. He beat Rusev in another good match at Extreme Rules and had 4 good matches with Samoa Joe afterwards.
AJ Styles eventually lost the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan in another good match and then lost to Daniel Bryan in a rematch at TLC which was one of the best matches of the year. Since then, AJ Styles has seemingly turned heel and will likely enter the Royal Rumble.
#2 Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch started off the year by lasting 30 minutes in the Royal Rumble match and eliminating Lita in the match. She then had a pretty average run before qualifying for the women's money in the bank ladder match by defeating Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a triple threat match. She became insanely close to winning the money in the bank. The Irish Lass Kicker then went on a winning streak by defeating Billie Kay, Sonya Deville, Peyton Royce, Mandy Rose, and Carmella.
Charlotte Flair then stole the victory from her in a triple threat match for the SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam. After that, Becky Lynch slapped Charlotte Flair in the face and became The Man. She went from a heel to a face with an edge and defeated Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell. At WWE Evolution, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Women's Standing Match to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship in the main roster's best match of the year.
She was then set to face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series before Nia Jax broke her face. After that, Becky Lynch lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Asuka in a triple threat TLC match that also involved Charlotte Flair due to interference from Ronda Rousey. Becky Lynch will now likely win the women's royal rumble match and face Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 35.
#1 Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins started off as Raw Tag Team Champion with Jason Jordan. He had a respectable performance in the Royal Rumble match before losing the Raw Tag Team Titles back to the Bar. He then had a historic 65-minute performance in a gauntlet match by defeating John Cena & Roman Reigns before losing to Elias. The Man then won the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz at WrestleMania and became a Grand Slam Champion.
The Intercontinental Champion successfully defended his title against The Miz, Elias, Jinder Mahal, and even Mojo Rawley in several good matches before losing the Intercontinental Championship to Dolph Ziggler. entered an excellent rivalry with Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre that led to the return of Dean Ambrose, the Shield, and Seth Rollins winning back the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam.
He then successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens and also challenged for the Raw Tag Team Championships in excellent matches with Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre. After Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose won the Raw Tag Team Titles, Dean Ambrose shockingly turned on him. After defeating Shinsuke Nakamura at Survivor Series, the Kingslayer lost the Intercontinental Championship to Dean Ambrose. He will continue his feud with Dean Ambrose heading into 2019 and will likely enter the Royal Rumble match.
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