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Thanksgiving is over, and that means we are into the final month of the year. The world of WWE has been on a rollercoaster as the women have somewhat taken center stage over the men. From Becky Lynch's unbelievable character work to Charlotte's explosive heel turn and Ronda Rousey's star power, the women of WWE are on a different level now.
There were two Pay-Per-Views this month: the highly controversial Crown Jewel and Survivor Series. We saw a new Universal Champion being crowned, and the WWE Championship changed hands as well. The Raw Tag Team Championships are the only other title to have changed ownership as all the other titles have stayed put.
We have seen amazing action down in NXT as well. NXT's Championships have not changed hands but that didn't stop the yellow brand from putting up an amazing TakeOver War Games event during the Survivor Series weekend. So without further ado, let's take a look at the 10 best performers of this month in WWE.
10. Johnny Gargano
After Gargano's shocking heel turn last month, NXT's biggest babyface set his sights on Aleister Black. Johnny went from one deeply personal rivalry to another one as he blamed Aleister Black for his shortcomings against Tommaso Ciampa. Gargano attacked Black on NXT and turned heel, setting up a match between the two at TakeOver War Games.
They tore the house down at the TakeOver event and received a 4.75 Star rating from Dave Meltzer. Although Black won the match in the end, Gargano was the MVP. Both of the men told a perfect story throughout the match as Black finally finished off Gargano hitting two Black Masses in a row. His only other match of the month was a submission victory over Tony Nese on NXT TV.
His match against Black is in contention for being the match of the year, although it will face stiff competition from other Gargano matches. There is no doubt that Gargano has been the best in ring performer for WWE this year. Every PPV match Gargano has been in has received over 4 Stars from Dave Meltzer, and he even managed to get a couple 5 Star ratings.
9. Velveteen Dream
Tommaso Ciampa and Dream got yet another 4 and 3 quarter stars from Dave Meltzer, the second of the event. This was Dream's first-ever title shot on TV as he and Ciampa went all out on their match. It had high octane spots and incredible back and forth action throughout 22 minutes.
In the end, Ciampa would prove to be too strong for Dream as he picked up the victory, retaining his title in the process, after nailing Dream with a DDT in the steel portion connecting the two rings. This devastating move was enough for Ciampa to get a 3 count and retain his title over Dream.
Although Velveteen Dream lost this match, it won't affect him in the least. He has become one of those superstars who won't be hurt by a few losses. We have rarely seen Dream win on TakeOver as he almost always loses, but it doesn't affect him in the least as he is the most over person in NXT today.
No matter what the outcomes of his matches are, the crowd will always be behind him and considering Triple H is too, the Dream's future is as bright as his fashion sense.
8. Seth Rollins
Although Seth Rollins' 'The Man' moniker is under threat from a certain Irish woman, he hasn't stepped down his game at all. The Architect had 5 televised matches over the past month.
He had two matches at Crown Jewel where he first defeated Bobby Lashley in the first round of the World Cup. He lost to Dolph Ziggler in his second match after Drew McIntyre distracted him from his opponent. He then lost the Raw Tag Team Championships to the Authors of Pain in a one on two handicap match on Raw.
At Survivor Series Rollins had an amazing match against Shinsuke Nakamura where he came out on top. Although the match wasn't good enough to be called a classic, it had its moments which showed us what these two can do if they went all out. The lackluster build to the match and Nakamura's repeated absences on TV hurt the match as well.
His final match was an Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge on last week's Raw which was answered by Dolph Ziggler to negative reactions. Rollins pinned Ziggler to retain his title.
No matter what happens to the WWE landscape, Rollins seems to be their constant savior. He delivers great matches against any opponents regularly and even carried the AOP to a great match all by himself.
He will get his hands on Dean Ambrose next, as that is the main feud he has been involved in throughout the month. The duo had a few confrontations on Raw and that excited us enough to eagerly await their TLC match.
7. Braun Strowman
After Roman Reigns' tragic story came out and he was written off TV, the triple threat title match between Reigns, Strowman and Lesnar got turned into a one on one between Strowman and Lesnar for the vacant Universal Championship.
Lesnar absolutely squashed Braun in the match after Baron Corbin attacked the Monster among Men before the match even started. Lesnar hit a couple F5s in a row but Strowman kicked out of both, Lesnar hit his third F5 by throwing Braun out of the ring from inside it. Lesnar brought him back in the ring and finished him off with a final F5.
This loss wasn't the only thing going for Strowman this month. At Survivor Series, he absolutely decimated Team Smackdown Live as he eliminated 4 men all by himself. After Finn Balor and Dolph Ziggler were eliminated from Team Raw, Strowman took it upon himself to absolutely destroy Smackdown's team and eliminated every single one of them all by himself.
He got attacked by Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley after the match but got back to his feet and stared them down.
On Raw the very next night, Strowman was written off TV to allow him to get a surgery done on his elbow. He is slated to return soon and face Corbin at TLC and then hopefully Lesnar at Royal Rumble (provided he beats Corbin). Hopefully, Braun has a speedy recovery as we cannot wait to see the Monster crush his opponents once more.
6. Tommaso Ciampa
WWE's greatest villain today, Tommaso Ciampa is the next entry on the list. The NXT superstars have oversaturated the upper portion of the list, but it is really unavoidable considering the performances the main roster stars have put on.
Ciampa is the highest ranked NXT star though as his heel work again sets him apart from his NXT counterparts. He suavely accepted the challenge from Velveteen Dream on NXT and didn't seem to bother about it. But when the match actually started, Ciampa brought out his best and managed to retain his title after a devastating DDT on the steel portion joining the two rings.
This extends Ciampa's reign to over 130 days and enters him into the list of the top 10 longest reigning NXT Champions. His reign is destined to be ended by Johnny Gargano but as Gargano himself is a heel it seems like his reign will continue for an extended period of time.
He had just one match on TV this month as he considers performing on NXT beneath him. The heat he gets from any crowd he performs in front of is amazing, to say the least. He is most certainly NXT's MVP over the last few months and hopefully, he will continue to be so.
5. Ronda Rousey
The first entry from anyone on the women's division is Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey. Rousey has taken to pro wrestling like a fish to water. She has improved at a rate no superstar has ever done. The crowd is firmly behind her as they should be.
She had only 2 matches this month, against Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series and against Mickie James on Raw. Her match at Survivor Series wasn't initially against Charlotte but against Becky Lynch. Her match against Becky had one of the best builds to a women's match in WWE history and had become the most anticipated match of the year.
But unfortunately, due to Nia Jax's recklessness on Raw, Becky was injured and unable to compete. Her replacement Charlotte Flair and Ronda put up an amazing match before Charlotte got herself disqualified due to using a foreign object.
Ronda suffered a brutal beating at the hands of Charlotte as she left the ring bruised and battered thanks to Flair. The crowd refused to show sympathy for her but she won them over the very next night on Raw with a great promo and a dominating match against Mickie James.
4. Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch had just one match this month. That was on Smackdown Live against the debuting Nikki Cross at the Manchester Arena in England. But that wasn't all she did this month. She orchestrated and took part in what was the most buzz-worthy segment of the month.
After a women's segment on Raw featuring the likes of Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alexa Bliss and the rest of Raw's team for Survivor Series, the cameras cut to backstage where Becky Lynch had Ronda Rousey in her dis-arm-her submission move. This lead to a full-on invasion of Raw by the Smackdown Women's roster.
Back in the ring, the entire Raw women's roster was being beaten down by the women of Smackdown as Becky Lynch's music hit and she joined the assault. Ronda Rousey came out next and joined the fray. Becky then assaulted Ronda with a steel chair and Smackdown retreated after making a stern statement on Raw.
But the key talking point about this segment was what happened between Nia and Becky during the fight. Nia caught Becky with a careless stiff strike and concussed Becky. This caused her to bleed all over her face as she stood on among the crowd admiring the view. This now iconic view is not being regarded as the pinnacle of Becky's 'The Man' persona.
3. Brock Lesnar
This might be the only month in a long, long time in which Brock Lesnar has had more than one match. One of the matches even was a drawn out and a long bout against Daniel Bryan.
Lesnar's first match was at WWE Crown Jewel where he squashed Braun Strowman by hitting 5 consecutive F5s for the victory. He became the first ever two time Universal Champion in history by doing so.
His second match was the World Champion vs World Champion match against WWE Champion Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series, which was an instant match of the year candidate.
Lesnar's absolute destruction of Braun Strowman was not that entertaining or fun to watch but he did become the first ever two time WWE Universal Champion in history, a record no one can ever take from him. His second match, however, was one for the history books.
Lesnar faced Daniel Bryan in dream match for the ages. The match had a slow build in which Lesnar dominated Bryan but after a referee being knocked down spot, Bryan hit a low blow on Lesnar and regained momentum. An equally matched back and forth followed, which finally led to Lesnar winning after a second F5. Lesnar's amazing performance in putting over Bryan as a credible opponent gets him a spot on this list.
2. Charlotte Flair
The third and final woman on the list is Charlotte Flair. Over the past month, Charlotte, Becky, and Ronda played out a perfect story which is certain to pay off in the long term. Becky was initially slated to face Rousey at Survivor Series but she got injured and she chose Charlotte as her replacement.
They had a moment on Smackdown where Becky entrusted Charlotte with the duty of tapping out Ronda at Survivor Series. Charlotte then headed into the PPV and absolutely destroyed Rousey after getting disqualified.
Everything from Charlotte's expressions to her ruthlessness was on point and she sold the story like a champ. This caused the fans to chant 'Thank You Charlotte' after she finished assaulting Rousey. She had two more matches on Smackdown where she defeated Billie Kay and Peyton Royce in back to back matches.
Her overall performance throughout the month easily makes her the MVP of the women's division. She would have been the MVP of the main roster as well if not for one certain bearded individual. If nothing, she turned the women's division into the hottest part of WWE overnight.
1. Daniel Bryan
Finishing up my list is none other than the new Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan became the WWE Champion on the final episode of Smackdown before Survivor Series and turned heel on AJ Styles in the process. He also cemented his spot in a match against Brock Lesnar in the process.
His match against Styles on Smackdown was great as well. He hit Styles with a low blow to immobilize him and made Styles tap out to the Yes Lock to win the Championship. The crowd was delighted as well as stunned by the turn of events. This was one of the most shocking things WWE has done in recent times.
His match against Lesnar was amazing as well. Initially, Lesnar gave Bryan a prison beating and everything pointed to another Lesnar squash match. But Bryan made an amazing comeback and turned the bout into an evenly matched affair.
Bryan looked credible and a legitimate threat to Lesnar throughout the latter half of the match. He managed to win over the crowd during the match as they went from chanting "Same old sh*t" to "This is Awesome". The match was the first time the WWE Championship was in the main event of a PPV since Fastlane in February. Bryan has truly been the biggest star of WWE this month.
