Best Of 2018: Spot Of The Year
IMG Credit: WWE
See spot on highlight reels? These are the kind of things that you are going to see over and over again and for a very good reason. These are designed to be short bursts that can be played over and over again at a rapid pace, usually because they’re so fun to watch. At the same time, they’re the kinds of things that you can show to people and see just how cool wrestling can really be. So what’s on tap from 2018?
Velveteen Dream’s Elbow From The Ladder – Takeover: New Orleans
I was there for this one and my goodness did he ever get some height on this thing. There was nothing special to the move that he did but it was so high in the air that it looked incredible. It’s one of those spots where the guy might be dead but you can’t quite tell. Incredible visual here and Dream was the only one who could pull it off.
Ricochet Moonsaults Off A Falling Ladder – Takeover: New Orleans
From the same match and a moment where you can’t believe he actually did that. Ricochet is one of the best high fliers of all time and can control his body at a level that few have ever approached. When I saw him do this, I said out loud “Sure, why not”, because you believe that he actually can pull something like this off. The timing it took to make this work was amazing, and is actually more impressive to me than getting height or another rotation.
Will Ospreay’s Counter vs. Kota Ibushi
I’m not sure when this was from but it was a show where New Japan had its production at the top notch. Ibushi tries a middle rope hurricanrana but Ospreay snaps forward and lands on his feet. The camera then zooms in on Ospreay’s face and he gives one of the best glares you’ll ever see. Cut to Ibushi slowly looking over his shoulder and not believing what he’s about to see. It’s a great spot, with the camera work pushing it way over the edge.
Ricochet’s Moonsault Off The Top Of The WarGames Cage – Takeover: WarGames II
It’s Ricochet doing a big flip off of something onto a bunch of people. That’s kind of a required spot on a list like this and there isn’t much else to say. Ricochet can just do these things and there are very few people in the world who can approach his level. There’s a reason he’s going to be on this list so many times, with a few more to come.
Tommaso Ciampa Throws Away Johnny Gargano’s Wedding Ring – Takeover: Chicago II
The title of this one pretty much says it all and that’s because of the emotions that came with it. Ciampa and Gargano already hate each other but Ciampa took it up a notch by doing something like this. That wouldn’t have had the same impact from any other pairing but here, it was another act that furthered their already amazing war.
Adam Cole Superkicks Ricochet Out Of The Air – Takeover: Brooklyn IV
This is one that I completely underrated when I was watching it live. I’ve looked back at this a few times and the timing that Cole showed on this was something else as he nailed that to perfection. It’s hard enough doing something like that right side up but Ricochet was upside down at the same time. That’s not normal and something you almost never see, because not many people would actually try to pull it off.
But then there’s this.
Ricochet Flips In Front Of Velveteen Dream And Lands On His Feet
I saw this as it happened and couldn’t believe what I was watching. Since then I’ve gone back and watched at at various times and it just does not get old. From the flip itself to Ricochet’s face to everything in between, this is as good as it got for me. Ricochet is on another level with all of this stuff and he’s doing things that shouldn’t be able to be done. Incredible visual here and the coolest thing I saw this year.
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