WWE's best performers of 2018 so far

When a year is half over, certain patterns have become apparent. In WWE, one such pattern is who the year's best performers are likely to be. From January to June 2018, these individuals have been consistently great at their jobs at being pro wrestlers. In fact, they've been so good that they've often managed to overcome bad writing.

This list isn't a ranking yet. It's merely a census of the superstars who are likely to be in the "best of the year" conversation come December.

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#1 Aleister Black

The reigning NXT Champion has so far followed a stellar 2017 with an equally stellar year. He has two match of the year candidates under his belt against Adam Cole and Andrade "Cien" Almas.

His mic skills, while the weakest part of his act, have still impressed when they've needed to, as in the build to TakeOver: New Orleans, he was involved in one of the best promo segments of the year opposite Zelina Vega, proving that he can carry himself there almost as well as in the ring.

And he's got bright days ahead of him. The latest round of NXT spoilers are pointing toward him feuding with the runaway best heel in the company, Tommaso Ciampa, for TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, which should prove great.

We'll likely see Aleister on the main roster before the year is out. How he does there will be up in the air, but by that time, he should have accumulated more than enough 2018 greatness to be featured on any top 10 list.

#2 Andrade "Cien" Almas

At this time last year, Andrade "Cien" Almas was considered a flop. As such, he was turned heel and began his partnership with Zelina Vega. That proved the spark in the gasoline. He exploded in the latter half of 2017, and in the first half of this year, he's proven one of the company's hottest commodities.

His match with Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, will land at the #1 spot on many lists of best matches of 2018 come December. If not, it will certainly come close on nearly all lists. His TakeOver: New Orleans match with Aleister Black is also strong a match of the year candidate.

Since then, Almas (with Vega) has moved up to SmackDown, and while the company is taking the slow-burn route with him, one has to imagine we're in store for big moments to come.

#3 Asuka

2018 hasn't been a good year for WWE's women's division. Asuka's current predicament following an embarrassing Money in the Bank loss is emblematic of the division's malaise. Nevertheless, she began the year red hot, and most of the women's division's best moments have involved her.

After winning the inaugural women's Royal Rumble match, Asuka would go on to have the two best women's matches in the company so far this year, with Sasha Banks on Raw and with Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34, which will certainly be a match of the year contender in the eyes of many people.

Asuka may still yet win the SmackDown Women's Championship, and let's hope she does, so that we can see more matches with Charlotte Flair, as well as encounters with the likes of Becky Lynch and potentially Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series.

#4 Buddy Murphy

205 Live might be in the "Age of Alexander," but Buddy Murphy has been the star of the show since his arrival in February. Many of 205 Live's best matches of 2018 have involved him, including a match of the year candidate against Cedric Alexander last month.

Murphy has rapidly made himself the top heel on 205 Live, and honestly, he should be the Cruiserweight Champion right now. He's currently embroiled in a three-way feud with Mustapha Ali and Hideo Itami, the winner of which will probably get a title shot. We'll have to see what happens.

2018 has made Buddy Murphy no longer WWE's best-kept secret. Fans know who he is now, and anyone who hasn't been watching 205 Live to see him has been missing out.

#5 Charlotte Flair

Like Asuka, Charlotte Flair has been one of the foundations of a deteriorating women's division in 2018. Many of its best moments have also involved her, and it's not a surprise that the dramatic downturn in the division's quality coincided with her dropping the SmackDown Women's Championship after WrestleMania.

Charlotte's match with Asuka, already mentioned, speaks for itself, and her match with Ruby Riott, the month prior at Fastlane, also proved to be one of the women's division's best showings of 2018.

Charlotte is currently on the shelf recovering from an injury. We can only hope that she returns soon and gets that SummerSlam rematch with Asuka we all want to see.

#6 Daniel Bryan

It doesn't matter that his miraculous comeback was the culmination of an otherwise toxic angle involving Shane McMahon and his never-ending feud with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

It doesn't matter that afterward, he was put in an underwhelming feud with Big Cass.

All that mattered was that Daniel Bryan was back! As he's proven on SmackDown live in match after match, he's a blue brand MVP already. Whenever he begins his feud with The Miz, we're going to be treated to something great, which will only solidify his presence on lists like this. SummerSlam is the likeliest time, so get ready!

#7 Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre

I was skeptical of the decision to pair Drew McIntyre with Dolph Ziggler, but I was proven wrong quickly.

At the halfway point, they're the only tag team in the company that matters. That's revealing in itself, as they aren't quite being treated as an actual tag team, given Ziggler's recent Intercontinental title victory. The Showoff now proclaims that they want all the gold on Raw.

Regardless of what happens, the tandem has been one of the few acts worth watching on Raw in a dreadful post-WrestleMania season.

The writing was on the wall as soon as the team was introduced, though. Dolph Ziggler is only there to elevate Drew McIntyre when the time comes to split them up, but that's OK. They're both doing their jobs tremendously, to the point that McIntyre is already being imagined in a main event spot.

When he gets there, business should pick up.

#8 Johnny Gargano

Who has defined 2018 more than Johnny Gargano?

Coming out of a heartbreaking losing streak in the waning half of 2017, "Johnny Wrestling" quickly put on a strong match of the year contender opposite Andrade "Cien" Almas.

The pace of the action was matched only by the desire for Gargano to finally walk away with the gold that eluded him. He came up short in yet another heartbreaking loss and was then attacked by a returning Tommaso Ciampa.

Thus, the feud of 2018 was kicked off.

We all knew it was coming, but the heights it's reached so far exceeded our wildest expectations. Their two matches in New Orleans and Chicago were both masterpieces of action and storytelling and now, following his terrible loss in the Windy City, Johnny Gargano is in a bleak place again.

Safe to say, everyone is invested in seeing how he gets out of it. He's entered his third act. The climax to his story is coming soon.

#9 The Miz

The Miz is no longer a con artist. The past few years really have made him "must see". His 2018 has been no different.

Having had arguably the main roster's best match of the year alongside Seth Rollins, we now eagerly await his coming rivalry with Daniel Bryan, which guarantees The Miz's prominence in the back half of 2018 as well.

The Miz has reached that rarefied territory in WWE that, no matter how bad the writing, and no matter how many losses he's suffered, he's bulletproof. He'll always be seen as a star, whether he's in the main event scene proper or orbiting its outskirts. He's a mainstay on any show he's part of.

He's also quietly evolved into one of the best ring workers in the company, his style perfectly complementing his gimmick. This is the year that's proven it once and for all.

#10 Mustapha Ali

No one has been involved in more spectacular matches on 205 Live than Mustapha Ali. Week in and week out, he puts on stellar performance after stellar performance. He was the star of the Cruiserweight title tournament to kick off the Triple H era on the purple brand. It saw him become the top babyface on 205 Live.

He should have won the title, to be honest.

His failure at WrestleMania hasn't stopped him though, and he's still featured prominently in the brand's main events, which are the most reliable ways to find a WWE match of the week. One has to think that his title win is inevitable at some point.

#11 Ronda Rousey

Last week, the ex-UFC champ, in her first singles match, dragged Nia Jax to one of her best-ever performances, something which only Sasha Banks and Asuka were previously able to do.

There's no more reason for doubt. Ronda Rousey is the real deal.

Ronda Rousey's promo segments are awkward, but she's electric when she fights. Her upcoming rivalry with Alexa Bliss, after one segment, already looks like it will be one of 2018's best.

The matches that await Ronda Rousey as champion - with Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, a called-up Shayna Baszler, and, perhaps, with Asuka and Charlotte Flair, are salivating and, would be the cure a floundering women's division badly needs. Such matches would also solidify Ronda's place as 2018's rookie of the year.

#12 Seth Rollins

He might no longer be the Intercontinental Champion, but that probably means he's poised to move into the main event as the prospect of the Universal Championship finally coming out of its long hibernation is dawning.

Such a move would only be a reflection of the obvious. No one on the main roster has been hotter than Seth Rollins in 2018. For once, Michael Cole's horse-beating repetitions reflect reality rather than hyperbole.

With numerous match of the year contenders under his belt at WrestleMania, alongside Finn Balor on Raw, and alongside The Miz at Backlash, Rollins has fully matured into the potential that we knew he had. It's been the best year of his career and there's still yet another half to run.

How he fares in the second half is still up in the air, but with Jason Jordan and Dean Ambrose waiting in the wings, and the red belt perhaps finally returning, his prospects look bright.

#13 Tommaso Ciampa

I challenge you to find a better heel in the entire business than Tommaso Ciampa. In this post-kayfabe age, he's an aberration. You want to cheer him because he's so, so very good at what he does, but he makes you hate him nonetheless.

Ciampa's 2018 has been a whirlwind. Even though he wasn't in the match in any way, he still managed to get his name associated with the classic Gargano/Almas match in Philadelphia, by returning after the show-ending copyright sign.

He then accumulated two match of the year candidates alongside his blood rival in New Orleans and Chicago. He now brags about beating Gargano while he was handcuffed.

His second half looks like it will be as good as his first. His own words, and the NXT spoilers, are indicating that he's set for an NXT Championship match against Aleister Black in Brooklyn, and we know that the rivalry with "Johnny Wrestling" is far from over.

Look for the stakes to be raised even higher, with Ciampa performing brilliantly along the way.

#14 The Undisputed Era

The Undisputed Era have dominated NXT's midcard, and even with Bobby Fish's injury, the stable hasn't lost a beat.

Roderick Strong turning on Pete Dunne and joining the Era in New Orleans was shocking. He and Kyle O'Reilly had 2018's best tag team match opposite Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch just last week in Chicago, and if spoilers are any indication, we're in for some more treats at the UK tournament and the latest NXT tapings.

Adam Cole, meanwhile, starred opposite Aleister Black in a match of the year candidate in Philadelphia and then went on to win the North American Championship in the celebrated New Orleans ladder match.

The current indication is that the Panama City Playboy is on his way to a rivalry with Ricochet in Brooklyn, which could well be a preview for a future NXT Championship contest next year. Stay tuned!

#15 Velveteen Dream

In the words of Aleister Black himself, Velveteen Dream is a prodigy.

In addition to his still green, but otherworldly raw ring potential, the guy manages to make everything feel more important just by his mere presence. He proved this again in his rivalry with Ricochet, which was centered on the mere premise of Dream suggesting he could outperform his opponent.

Dream has a singles match of the year candidate under his belt alongside Ricochet in Chicago, and he was a star in the North American Championship ladder match in New Orleans, which is sure to be at the top of many match of the year lists in December.

Where he goes from here is up in the air. He needs a big TakeOver victory under his belt (sorry, Kassius Ohno). Spoilers indicate that he vs. EC3 in Brooklyn could be the direction. We'll have to see how it delivers in the ring, but the promos should be otherworldly.