IMG Credit: WWE

And then there’s all the awful stuff, which really is something you can’t escape. Some of these things are downright horrible and some of the worst angles I can remember in a long time. This year was particularly terrible in some instances, which is covering a lot of ground given how bad some of these have been over the years. There were so many options this year that I trimmed off some that would have been favorites in previous years. It’s been that bad.

Smackdown Swept At Survivor Series And…..Nothing

This is a combination of two things. First of all you have the problem of the Kickoff Show match not counting towards the score (after it counted towards the score), but then there’s the fact that Smackdown got swept. WWE had hyped up the fact that Raw had won a few times and then they did again in even more dominant fashion. There was no drama at Survivor Series and the latter half of the show felt unimportant. Then a grand total of nothing happened as a result. Survivor Series is a major show, but they made it feel less important than Starrcade.

DX vs. Brothers of Destruction

Where do I even begin with this one? Let’s see: the youngest person involved was just south of fifty years old, the match was a disaster, it brought Shawn Michaels out of retirement for a match that didn’t seem to mean anything, and there’s the whole building a match with scenes in front of a grave on a show whose controversy centered around a journalist being murdered. I think we can move on now.

Drake Maverick and Bobby Roode’s Robe

This doesn’t need an explanation. It was bad.

Brock Lesnar As Universal Champion

Lesnar spent most of the year as champion despite the fans not exactly being thrilled with what’s going on. I know you don’t have to have the World Champion on TV every week, but you would think that they would have him show up every now and then instead of just letting him be around every few months. That’s fine every now and then but as of Wrestlemania this year, it’s going to be two years (save for two months) of Lesnar as champion mostly out of residence. That’s insane and shows no sign of slowing down.

Bayley and Sasha Banks’ Unwild Ride

Note that this is NOT the fault of the wrestlers. They’re stuck on this treadmill of bad booking and there’s no end in sight for it to this day. Their feud with the Riott Squad will likely continue for several more months because WWE doesn’t see the need to change anything. Other than that one week where Sasha was in love with Bayley, nothing has changed and that’s such a waste of everyone involved.

But at least there’s something to waste, unlike on the winner.

Baron Corbin Runs Raw

I don’t remember the last story that got to me like this. The biggest issue here is very simple: Baron Corbin isn’t that good. He’s a perfectly serviceable big man, but he was the centerpiece of Raw for months. What WWE sees in him is beyond me, but he’s still near the top of the card even after being removed from power. They eventually turned him into a scapegoat for the lousy booking because that’s the kind of missing the point that WWE can pull off. This was terrible and easily the worst thing WWE did all year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Shut up and talk. While the matches are important, it’s the promos that help build things up. The angles set things in motion but without the promos, the stories wouldn’t be able to hold up as well. There were some gems this year as promos shifted a bit more towards long formats and that made for a great year, both in WWE and NXT.

Before we get to the main list, a quick honorable mention to Shinsuke Nakamura’s “Sorry, no speak English”. It’s just one line so I hesitate to call it a promo, but I was in stitches.

Daniel Bryan Is Medically Cleared – Smackdown – March 20

This was all emotion and shock, as I didn’t believe it could actually happen. Bryan was back after so many years and you can imagine how long he had wanted to make this speech. It was perfectly done and something I never thought I’d see. Bryan is an underrated talker as he seems so genuine with what he says. That can make for a great promo and given that Bryan had this much emotion involved, it’s hard to get much better.

Roman Reigns Vacates The Universal Title – Raw – October 22

I’m not sure how to separate the real life aspects of this from the character work, but this was one of the best promos Reigns has ever given. That probably comes from all of the real emotions involved and it’s easy to see why. This is one of those game changing moments and while you can’t say Reigns sold anything, he spoke from the heart and it was an actually emotional moment.

The New Daniel Bryan – Smackdown – November 20

Remember when Bryan was supposed to not be great on the mic? This was another outstanding showcase for Bryan as he explained his heel turn to near perfection. Bryan ranted about the fans not being there for him after everything he did and saying that it was all about the end results, which has been a great mindset for a heel since wrestling began. Bryan’s incredible run continues in a way that few expected, as he somehow surpasses his work from eight months prior.

Samoa Joe Reads A Story – Smackdown – September 11

This is something I’ve seen done a few times before and I always like it. Joe had a book readyt o read AJ about how he was going to choke AJ out and become WWE Champion as AJ’s family watched. Joe is one of the best promos in wrestling as you believe everything he says (even after he lost a bunch of matches) and that can make these things all the more intimidating. The promos against AJ and his family were downright creepy and this was the best of them all.

But there’s one creepier thing.

Johnny Gargano Explains Himself – NXT – November 7

One of the best things a promo can do is take things outside the arena. There are only so many times you can look at the same sets and the same backstage areas before it stops working. Moving things elsewhere makes things feel special and that’s what happened here, as Johnny walked along the same path where he attacked Aleister Black weeks before. Johnny explained everything and showed us how deep he was sinking into the darkness. It made sense, it made me want to see more, and it made me believe that Gargano was actually evil. Magnificent work here and the promo of the year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s been a much stronger year for this category, which is rather nice to see. It’s not so much more time being dedicated to the area but more that the teams and groups are getting so good that it’s hard to ignore them. There’s still work to do in WWE, but even what we got there was solid stuff. I’m not sure it’s enough to get around the rest of the wrestling world though.

Young Bucks

I’m still not wild on them a lot of the time but they’ve toned down the Superkick Party stuff a lot, which has led to some much more entertaining matches. The majority of their 2018 was spent on promotional work rather than anything in the ring, but it’s still been a good year with more of their crazy athleticism. While they’re not for me, I can certainly appreciate how popular they are and how entertaining they can be n the ring.

Undisputed Era

The Era is an interesting group as you have a team who has all the talent in the world but never quite breaks through to the next side. They won a lot of gold in 2018 with the North American Title for Adam Cole and the Tag Team Titles for Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong (plus winning a tournament they weren’t in). These guys could be on the main roster tomorrow and be fine, but for now we get more of their rather impressive NXT run, which isn’t a bad thing.

New Day

You kind of have to have these guys in here, even if they’re far away from their peak at this point. New Day has transcended the tag team division but they’re not to the point where you should split them up because there’s still a ton of value there. They have good matches, they’re entertaining on the mic (I still don’t get the pancakes) and they still move merchandise. They’re just fun to watch when they’re on their game, which is more often than not.

Bludgeon Brothers

I had the Bar written down in my notes before I started this and then realized that the Bludgeon Brothers had a better year in just about every way. The Brothers are a big power team and held the Tag Team Titles for a longer share of the year. They only lost the belts because Rowan got hurt and you could imagine them still holding them into the new year if that hadn’t been the case. This was the way to use Harper and Rowan that had eluded WWE for years and it’s nice to see them finally figure it out.

Usos

I know it’s a three team division on Smackdown and these guys only held the titles for the first third of the year, but for my money they’re still the best team in WWE and one of the best the company has ever had. There’s a natural chemistry there and the two of them work really well together. They’re getting even better too, which is almost hard to believe. Just move them to Raw already so they can have some fresh matches though. It’s really not that hard.

Lucha Bros

As good as WWE’s tag division was this year, this was a two team race and there wasn’t much doubt about it. Pentagon and Fenix are an interesting team as they’re awesome on their own but even better when they’re together. Like multiple teams on this list, you get so much stronger chemistry between actual brothers and that’s not surprising. It’s like these two think as one and that makes every match they have all the more entertaining. They’re great, and they’ve shown that everywhere they’ve gone.

But there’s a better choice.

LAX

The more I think about it, the more these guys impress me. They’re just so good and so fun to watch and like others, they keep getting better. This just isn’t something that you see happen with teams already on such a high level but LAX keeps doing it. Konnan is a great addition to the team for the talking part and they make a great combination. I love watching these guys and they’ve been by far the best thing about Impact all year. Go find their stuff with the OGz and the Lucha Bros as it’s some of the top tag wrestling I’ve seen in a long time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

So this one is coming after Wrestler Of The Year, which was the Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa race. Well guess where we are all over again. You’re going to see those names a lot in this and I don’t think that requires much of an explanation. This was actually an incredible year for in-ring work and NXT ran away with just about every accolade you can imagine (again). But which topped them all?

Sweet goodness where do I start?

Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole – Takeover: Philadelphia

I’m going to say this a lot but what a match. The idea here was Cole couldn’t hang in a fight with a brawler like Black and that was pretty much exactly what happened. It wound up being an incredible brawl with Cole throwing everything he had at him and getting his head kicked off, as so many people had felt. NXT hadn’t started doing the violent matches as frequently yet so this was a treat.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream – Takeover: WarGames II

This is a match that shouldn’t have been as good but they pulled it off anyway because both guys know how to bring it on the big stage. Dream was one of the least likely title contenders (Did you really believe he was winning here?) but he had some great near falls and nearly pulled off the huge upset. That’s the sign of a great match: when you know where it’s going to end but get sucked into it anyway. They pulled it off here, which I didn’t expect.

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet – Takeover: Chicago

With all of the athletic spectacles to behold this year, it was nice to have one that had a clearer story. This match was built up on the idea of both guys wanting to steal the show and get all the spotlight, which was Dream’s eventual downfall. Ricochet may be the best high flier in the world right now and Dream tried to hang in the air with him, eventually causing himself to crash and burn. It’s an incredible showcase, as Ricochet continues to become one of the brightest stars anywhere.

North American Title Ladder Match – Takeover: New Orleans

Meltzer gave this five stars and it might be the fourth best match of the year in NXT alone. I was in the arena for this one and I’ve never gasped so much, including the time I saw Shane McMahon dive off of the Cell. This was the spotfest to end all spotfests (not named TLC or involving a certain trio of tag teams) with the place getting more and more into it until Adam Cole gave the fans exactly what they wanted. Go and watch this one if you love a great bit of insanity with some of the coolest spots you’ll see in a long time. The thirty minutes feels like less than half of that and it just doesn’t stop.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – Takeover: Chicago

We’ll get to round one later but here we have the rematch. The first match was about emotion and the two getting their hands on each other. This one was about two guys beating the fire out of each other and hurting one another as much as they could. They destroyed the ring and some of the arena but it evened the score and meant that we would be seeing a third match. After what they did the first two times, it’s not like you had to ask twice.

Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas – Takeover: Philadelphia

Ten years ago, Royal Rumble 2008 was built around the idea of Jeff Could Win. Well this was Johnny Could Win, as he was coming off a horrible losing streak but if he had his head on straight, he could pull off anything. Johnny came into Philadelphia with his head on straighter than ever before but Almas knocked it off time and time again. That set up some of the most dramatic near falls that you’ll ever see and an absolutely incredible match that could have gone either way.

Like it could be anything else.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – Takeover: New Orleans

I don’t know what to say here. The build was nearly a year in the making and these two wanted to kill each other. That’s nearly what they did too, with one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. From Ciampa coming out to no music and just soaking in the hatred to the YOU DESERVE IT chants when Ciampa landed on bare concrete to the awesome near fall on Gargano to Gargano winning, going to the stage to pose and looking over his shoulder to avoid Ciampa attacking him again, I haven’t been on a roller coaster like this at a show ever before and I can’t imagine I ever will be again.

Then again I said that about Takeover not being topped and couldn’t have been more wrong so I’m probably off again here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

We’re hitting a big one here as there isn’t much more important than the Wrestler Of The Year. That’s what it all comes down to: who had the best year all around the card. There are going to be some usual suspects in here but there might be one or two who surprise you. I mean, it’s not very likely but I have to sound a big less obvious.

Seth Rollins

If this was the first half of the year, Rollins would have been a nearly runaway winner. There was no one having the match of the night week in and week out like Rollins was doing and he made it look easy. It’s entirely possible that he’ll be facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title this year and after the first part of 2018 (and a good second part), he’s more than earned it.

AJ Styles

Well yeah of course. How can you not have someone who was almost World Champion for the entire year on here? Styles had one great match after another in 2018 and it would be insane to not have him make a pretty high appearance. It was another incredible year in a career of them and somehow he might be getting even better with age. That’s, dare I say it, phenomenal.

Tommaso Ciampa

I don’t remember the last time I saw a better villain. Ciampa is pure evil and there hasn’t been a better one in a VERY long time. He came into the year evil and left it as champion, having taken the title from Aleister Black with the accidental help of his former best friend Johnny Gargano. Ciampa is on the roll of a lifetime and I really want to see where this big story winds up, because it could have ended eight months ago but I could go for another eight months. That doesn’t happen ever, but he’s pulled it off here.

I really, really wanted to go with a tie but couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Johnny Gargano

What else can you say about him? Gargano vs. Ciampa is a battle between in-ring skills and character work but Gargano was just slightly better. Not only did Gargano have every great match with Ciampa, but he had a better match against Black and another masterpiece with Andrade Cien Almas. Throw in the outstanding descent into the darkness and Gargano had an all time year. It might seem like a layup, but it’s really that good.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

This is pretty much spot of the year without taking place in a match, though sometimes there’s a bit of a twist involved. In this case you might have something in a match, but at the same time it’s something with a deeper meaning. That could be multiple different things, but in this case there were some major moments, many of which were downright shocking.

Steve Austin Stuns The McMahons – Raw 25

This one isn’t the biggest or really a contender, but it’s something that came on one of the biggest episodes of the show ever and deserves at least a mention. Austin Stunning McMahon over the years was a tradition and something that had to happen one more time. Vince saying he’s an old man but his son Shane was young and healthy was hilarious and the fact that Austin (who looked better than he did back in the day) didn’t say a word was even better.

DIY Meets In The Middle On Aleister Black – NXT – December 19

There are moments that make you sit up and go OOO and this was one of them. The saga of DIY is one of the best stories that WWE has done in forever and I want to see where it goes. Gargano has hated Ciampa for the better part of a year but now he’s starting to act like him. When you go from that to Ciampa helping Gargano win a big match, it’s quite the moment that makes you wonder what is going on.

Ronda Rousey’s Debut – Royal Rumble

You knew Rousey was going to be on here and while the in-ring debut is incredible, the reaction of Bad Reputation blaring to end the show was something else. I know the pointing at the sign looked horrible but to see Rousey show up after being told that she wasn’t going to be there was something special. No one knew how good she was going to be, though it was clearly a big deal with everything they had.

The New Daniel Bryan – Smackdown – November 13

I know the explanation got rave reviews (including from me) but I like the heel turn more. This was the kind of moment where you sit there looking at the TV for a little bit and wonder how this could happen. Bryan turning didn’t seem possible but he managed to make it work, and is arguably a better heel than he is a face. The turn has worked since then, but that first moment where he won the title (shocking in itself) was hard to top.

Becky Lynch Invades Raw – Monday Night Raw – November 12

I was going back and forth on this one and you could pick either this or the winner with no arguments either way. Becky Lynch had the year of all years in the women’s division and this was her crowning moment. To come into Raw, unannounced, and wreck the place made it clear that this was something different. Lynch was a monster and the first person to leave Ronda Rousey laying. (What should have been) the last shot of the show with the bloody Lynch posing in the crowd as Rousey looked up at her should have set up the fight of all fights with the moment/image of the year, but Nia Jax had to screw things up. Either way, this was incredible and is only topped by one thing.

Daniel Bryan Walks That Aisle – Smackdown – March 20

I’ve seen a lot of wrestling in my day. Like, a ridiculous amount really. There isn’t much that I haven’t seen in one form or another and it takes a lot to truly surprise me. I did not believe that this would ever happen and I was wrong. This truly and honestly stunned me as I never in my life would have believed this would have been the case. Bryan actually being able to get back in the ring after so many years didn’t seem possible and then it happened. It’s made me stop saying that something is never going to happen because if this can happen, anything in wrestling can.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

I know it’s one of the more basic ideas but at the end of the day (or year in this case), most wrestling feuds revolve around titles. It’s what most of the people wrestle for and some of the title reigns are outstanding highlights of the year. As is the case with everything though, you can decide which is best and that’s where I come in.

Undisputed Era – NXT Tag Team Titles

I know the Ascension’s record is out of reach (and the Undisputed Era isn’t making it out of Phoenix with the titles) but if you ignore the three week reign by Moustache Mountain (those pesky Brits), Undisputed Era has held the titles since November 2017. That’s a heck of a run in a division that usually changes over so quickly. They’re a great team and the kind of guys who could work very well on the main roster as well.

Seth Rollins – Intercontinental Title

This was the reign where you knew you were going to get something special no matter what happened. Rollins was on the roll of a lifetime in the first half of 2018 as he was back from his knee surgery at full speed and could have a great match with anyone. Then came a feud with Dean Ambrose about how cities smelled and it kind of went away, but the time he spent as champion was incredible.

Tommaso Ciampa – NXT Title

Now this is more of a mixture of in-ring work and character stuff, which is about as good as you can get in wrestling. Of course there’s the time with Gargano, but at the same time Ciampa had a great match with Velveteen Dream and even a good one with Otis Dozovic. His mic work has destroyed that though and turned him into one of the best characters in recent memory. I’m not sure how long he’s going to hold the title but at this rate, Finn Balor’s record may be in jeopardy.

Pete Dunne – United Kingdom Title

There were two real options here and the one thing holding me back on Dunne was how he doesn’t defend the title all that often. That has changed in the latter half of the year but it’s still not as frequent as most. If Dunne was around full time, this would pretty easily be his but for now, he’s the part time mega star and that’s only good for really close and one of the best title reigns in a long time.

AJ Styles – Smackdown World Title

Yeah this one might have been obvious. Styles held the title for a year plus and most of 2018, including some of the best matches of the year. There were some awesome efforts against Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan, which probably had something to do with how good the matches were. That being said, it takes two people to have a great match and that tended to be the case every time the champ was in the ring.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

I’m not going to waste your time here. You know it’s Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano and there’s no point in suggesting that it’s anything else. That feud has produced one of the best collections of matches of all time along with some next level promos while also setting up other feuds and matches at the same time. I have no idea what else can come close to this, so I’m going to give you the rest of the options in short order rather than going into detail and suggesting that they’re anywhere close.

Becky Lynch vs Charlotte

Great matches, got Becky the push she deserved, but Charlotte is starting to get annoying in these spots when Rousey vs. Lynch is more interesting. Charlotte was great at stealing the title win from Becky at Summerslam to set everything up, though that weird heel turn against Rousey still doesn’t make a lot of sense in the big picture.

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura

They’re two different feuds but have the same story: great hype, very good matches, both suffer from AJ winning every significant match (or only losing it by countout/DQ). The Joe promos were something else though and some of the best stuff he’s ever done. If nothing else, Styles deserves an honorable mention for the damage from all the low blows.

Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

Near perfect natural rivalry with the high lifer against the submission expert and their matches have been awesome. I’m not a fan of trading the title in a hurry, but it was the right call here given how evenly matched they were. I could go for more of this, which I don’t say very often.

Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

When a feud is so great that it spins off into another awesome feud, you know you’ve got something special. These two turned a legitimate injury to Black into a great angle and a sweet pair of matches that advanced the bigger feud at the same time. Hard to do and well done at the same time.

Undisputed Era vs. Pete Dunne N Pals

For a story that seemed destined to be Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain, they’ve gotten a great amount of mileage out of this without doing that match more than once I believe. Dunne is an absolute star and likely to be WWE Champion someday. It’s made him look even better when the Era needs all four members to really beat him, which they never exactly did. Great feud, though WarGames II was still longer than it needed to be.

All good, but none of them are Gargano vs. Ciampa.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Why I didn’t have this in the original group of categories isn’t clear but stupidity would be a likely candidate. The women’s division has become one of the best things going in all of wrestling today and there is no reason for them not to have their own category. I remember once saying that we might as well rename the Worst Match Of The Year as Worst Women’s Match Of The Year so things have certainly turned around.

Charlotte

Let’s just get her out of the way early. She’s been very solid as usual, but there are people who have just been better. It makes sense to have her be in a prominent spot, but right now other women are better suited for the spot and they would be smart to have Charlotte stay away from being champion. Let her be the established star of the division while others take the top spots. It makes more sense that way and above all else, gives us a little break from her.

Shayna Baszler

She’s kind of been forgotten down in NXT but my goodness she’s turned into a star. There’s this natural confidence about her and it’s playing very well with the subdued actions and natural fighting skills. Just let her keep being herself and she’ll make a heck of a splash on the main roster. As great as the NXT women’s division has been, Baszler is the only two time champion. That’s the case for a reason.

Toni Storm

If there has ever been a more perfect fit for WWE’s vision of a prodigy, I don’t know who is it. Storm is 23 years old, has been wrestling for nearly ten years (seriously), has confidence, a following, and happens to be rather attractive. What else could you possibly ask for in a star of the future? She’s going to be a big deal in WWE and the only question right now is when.

Sidebar: I’m not putting Rhea Ripley on here because I don’t think Storm had the best year and given how many times the two are compared, I don’t think Ripley is above Storm, meaning it’s hard to say she’s the best right now. She’s very good, but not quite as good as the others listed.

Kairi Sane

Back in the first Mae Young Classic, it was clear that Sane was a star in the making. We knew she was going to be good but the question became how good could she be. Well it turns out the answer is quite good, as she’s gotten the hang of the NXT style very well and has had an awesome feud with Baszler. She’s grown on me a lot and with some more experience over here, she could be a rather nice addition to the main rosters.

Tessa Blanchard

She might not be as well known but Blanchard has turned into one of the best things about Impact for a long time now. With a near perfect combination of looks, charm, talking abilities and work, there’s very little missing from her. I know she’s had the issues with her personality and attitude, but dang she can make you forget it with just how good she really is at everything.

Ronda Rousey

You knew it was going to be her or the other one. Here’s the thing about Rousey: she’s still a rookie and while she’s almost a natural, a lot of that is due to her previous (good, not bad in this case) reputation. It’s a case of everyone being impressed by her before she even gets in the ring and that holds her back just a bit. That and she can’t act to save her life, but that’s the case for a lot of people in wrestling.

And now….oh of course you know.

Becky Lynch

Yeah who else was it going to be? She’s turned this recent turn into something incredibly special, but don’t forget how good she was before the Man stuff started. Becky is as complete of a package as you can get in wrestling and this push is long overdue (check the old reviews to see me saying how great she is over and over, along with several others likely saying the exact same thing). It’s great to see things going as they should and the last few months have been more than enough to give this to her.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

There is so much more to wrestling than wrestling. That’s arguably the least important part of the whole presentation, because if you don’t care about these people, why would I want to se them fight? At the same time, there are a lot of people who either barely wrestle or never wrestle at all who have a lot to do with making these stories work. That’s what we’re looking at today and there are a lot of options.

Paul Heyman

It would feel wrong to not include Heyman here, even though he didn’t have the best year. The problem for Heyman is there are only so many ways that you can say “Brock’s opponent is awesome but SPOILER ALERT: they’re going to be conquered.” That’s about all he’s said for years now and while it still works, it’s really pretty dull anymore and nothing that I need to hear again. Still though, this is pretty much Heyman’s award now and you have to at least mention him.

Paige

This is another good option as Paige has followed the William Regal method of being a General Manager: show up, say what you need to get done, and be out in a minute or so. That’s not something you get very often because WWE likes having their bosses talk forever because that’s what people want to see apparently. Paige was great in her role and was one of the most enjoyable bosses in a long time. It’s a shame that she’s gone, but that’s what McMahons are for.

Mauro Ranallo

Sometimes you need someone awesome to call the show and put everything they have into it. That’s what Ranallo does every single time, as he shows as much emotion as he can possibly have. There’s a reason the fans chant MAMA MIA in his honor, because Mauro has become the voice of NXT. I know some people might find him too over the top and I can understand that, but I love listening to this guy and wouldn’t want him anywhere else.

William Regal

Much like Heyman, you almost have to include him no matter what he does. Regal didn’t do as much this year, but when he was on screen it was rather entertaining. He was the driving force behind the Whodunit story and I loved seeing the brass knuckles on a pillow in his office. Regal is the definition of the great boss and you can almost guarantee that he becomes Head of Talent Relations one day.

Charly Caruso

Is there anything this woman can’t do? She’s one of the best interviewers around today, has a great voice, happens to be rather fetching, and just comes off as a total natural in anything she does. It’s no surprise that ESPN has already signed her up to do some stuff and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see her there full time later on. Either company is lucky to have her and she just gets better time after time.

Nigel McGuinness

This guy has become one of the busiest commentators around and brings a certain experience and expertise to the booth that few others offer. With the recent WWE Network documentary on his life and career, it’s clear that WWE thinks something big of him. Now just let him do this on one of the big shows (where Corey Graves could easily be replaced on either Raw or Smackdown) and things will get even better.

Brandi Rhodes

This is another case of a jill of all trades. She can talk, she can wrestle well enough, she can host/interview and she can get a lot of people looking at her when she comes to the ring in one of her rather nice outfits. She also comes off as rather intelligent, which makes for a nice change of pace over some people in wrestling. I don’t think she has a future as a full time wrestler, but she can do a lot of other things of value at the same time.

I didn’t really have a winner that is head and shoulders above the rest, but this one beats out everyone else.

Zelina Vega

There’s just something about Vega that makes her come off like a star. She and Andrade have some of the best chemistry around and it has yet to stop working no matter what they do. I could certainly go for more of the two of them on TV as that double tranquilo pose alone is always worth a look. Just let Almas become a star and Vega will go right along with her the whole way.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6