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

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.

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 continuing the down part of the year with this one, which is one of the bigger picks of the year. You know the kind of matches I’m talking about here: the matches that leave you in awe of how bad they are while having nothing positive come out of them. These are fewer and further between, but oddly enough some names keep coming up in these options.

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar – Greatest Royal Rumble

What the heck was that? I mean really, what the heck was that? They can’t even get the ending right with the whole whose feet hit first bit. The problem here is the same as it was with every other Reigns vs. Lesnar match: they don’t bother to build anything up and just hit their finishers over and over. That’s fun every now and then, but when it’s all you do every single match, the interest goes away in a hurry and we were LONG past that point here.

Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe – Backlash

This is the BEAT THE TRAFFIC match where the fans completely ripped it apart, and with good reasoning. Samoa Joe had come back the night after Wrestlemania and Reigns beat him here in a match that he didn’t need to win. It also came at the end of a show that went about forty five minutes long and advanced almost nothing. This was the wrong match at the wrong time in front of the wrong audience with the wrong ending. What else could have gone wrong?

D-Generation X vs. Brothers of Destruction – Crown Jewel

There’s a really good chance that this is going to win for a lot of people and I can get that. The thing for me though is….well what did you expect? The youngest person in here was HHH, who got injured during the match. There was no way this was going to be good no matter what they did and it’s now just a footnote in Shawn’s career, which didn’t need to happen. That’s the match in one statement: a footnote that didn’t need to happen. The guys were trying but they were fighting against time, which has an unbeaten record. It was bad, but it could have been worse.

Like this match was worse.

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar – Wrestlemania 34

This is a case where it’s the booking instead of the wrestling, which was watchable enough. The problem here is they needed to just pull the freaking trigger on Reigns but instead we had to drag this out for another four months when no one wanted to see this match in the first place. Reigns getting ANOTHER coronation in the main event of Wrestlemania wasn’t on anyone’s wish list and then Lesnar just beats him to keep things going. I guess it was supposed to be a surprise, but there are times when you should just go with the logical choice and that’s what they needed to do here. It was the wrong moment, and that’s the worst 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

This one is something that I had to think about a few times. It takes a lot to go from just not very good to one of the worst around and that’s what we have here. This is a shorter list as there are only so many possibilities to choose from, but the ones that are bad really are fairly terrible, at least more often than not.

Shane McMahon

I’m only putting him in the nominees because Shane isn’t around very often and when he’s there, he puts in a pretty solid effort. Now at the same time, when he is around, it’s in a bunch of spots that he REALLY doesn’t deserve because, at the end of the day, Shane is almost 50 years old and takes up a spot that could help someone else’s career. He’s more of an annoyance than anything else and that really never stops.

Curt Hawkins

Losing every match for a year (plus) has to qualify you for something like this. How does he survive the nearly weekly performance reviews that Stephanie loves to have?

Baron Corbin

Now this is one where your definition of wrestler can vary. Corbin is perfectly watchable in the ring. I mean, he’s certainly not good or anything and he goes completely nuts with the arm trap chinlocks, but he can work a match. On the other hand if you go with the character work, Corbin is about as badly written of a character as you can get and one of the worst ideas all year. We’ll get to that one later, but there are worse people for this list.

Dolph Ziggler

This is a name that shows up on these lists a lot and I can see both sides of it. First of all, Ziggler is talented and I don’t think there’s any real argument to be made otherwise. He’s won several titles and can put on an entertaining match. The problem though is he never changes and if you’ve seen one Ziggler match, you’ve seen them all. He hasn’t evolved in years and it’s become a chore to watch him every week. You might get a good match out of him every now and then, but the stuff in between those matches are a near nightmare.

Now you might be wondering why Nia Jax isn’t on here. The thing about Jax is she can do something that no one else can do. She’s a giant and has size that no one else approaches. I get sick of her, but I can see why she’s around so often, at least from WWE’s perspective. That’s not the case with the winner.

Tamina

WHAT IS THE POINT OF TAMINA??? She’s the oldest woman on the roster, she’s the daughter of someone that WWE has basically erased from history, she gets hurt a lot, she’s downright terrible in the ring, and she’s basically a mini Nia Jax. Is she really just on the roster for the sake of giving Nia a lackey? Every time I see her I don’t understand why she’s there as it’s not like she adds a single thing to any match she’s in. This was easy for me and has been the case for 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

This one is going to be open to a simple question: how good was the person coming into 2018? If you were that good already, it’s kind of hard to see top level improvement. It’s not impossible, but it’s going to be a lot more difficult to pull off. At the same time though, there are some people who went from good to great or even higher than that, which is why some of these people might feel all over the map.

Elias

While Elias is far from perfect, he had a remarkable 2018 with the singing/guitar playing going further than it had any right to. He’s getting bigger spots and feuds on the card, while also putting out an album and getting sponsored by Fender. That’s not bad at all considering his whole deal is singing stupid songs about other wrestlers. He wasn’t exactly great down in NXT but now he’s a mainstay on the Raw roster. That’s pretty good, and I could see him lasting with this for a long time.

Nikki Cross

There’s an old Chris Rock line that says “whatever happened to crazy”. Well it turns out that it’s become a Scottish wrestler named Nikki Cross. You often hear wrestlers described as crazy or a lunatic, but what exactly does Dean Ambrose do that’s crazy? It’s really a lame gimmick most of the time because it’s often in name only. Cross on the other hand seems completely insane at times and makes it work to perfection. A lot of that happened this year, with the HE’S COMING stuff working wonders.

Dakota Kai

Despite not having a Team Kick to captain, Kai has turned what sounds like a fairly simple and goofy name into something that works. Kai is downright adorable and yet still makes the kicks look great. I know she’s down with an injury at the moment, but there are very few who can make what she does work. Give her a few big wins and she could be ready for a title run down the line.

Shayna Baszler

Dang it’s been a good year for developmental women. Baszler is a little older than most of the people on this list but she’s become one of the most consistent performers in NXT or WWE for that matter. The submission stuff works and she has an ability with her promos that just makes her sound dangerous. She was ready for the main roster six months ago, which didn’t seem likely just a year ago. Not bad for twelve months.

Johnny Gargano

This would fall under the category of “used to be great, now incredible”. I don’t think anyone really doubted that Gargano was going to be someone who would go from a successful tag wrestler to one of the best in the world, but I don’t think anyone thought it would come that fast. Gargano is in the running for Wrestler of the Year and that wasn’t looking likely a year ago. There’s a big difference between good and outstanding, which is what this year did.

Tommaso Ciampa

Everything I said about Gargano? Replace it with Ciampa.

Since I can’t pick between those two though, I’ll go with a different choice and someone that I think you see coming.

Becky Lynch

Yeah of course it’s Becky, because she went from one of the run of the mill women on the roster (as in talented but not getting anywhere) to the most popular person on the roster. Lynch is someone who could be a huge star for years to come and the star that the division has been looking for for years now. She has all the tools and has started to put them together, which seemed to happen overnight. That’s an improvement of the year if I’ve ever heard one.

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 bet you didn’t see this one coming. As the name suggests, this one is about the best moment you didn’t expect throughout the year, which could be either good or bad. It might have been a turn, a win, a result or something else, but there are a few options to pick from over the course of 2018.

Note that I’m intentionally omitting Roman Reigns’ Leukemia announcement. The idea of a man telling us he has what could be a life threatening illness doesn’t scream SURPRISE to me for a variety of reasons.

Who’s That Entering The Rumble?

We’ll start with an easy one here. Every year someone returns in the Royal Rumble and it can be rather well done. This was Mysterio’s first match with WWE since 2014 and it’s really nice to see him back. He’s healthy and is moving better than he has in a long time. That’s the kind of big return that the Rumble needs and it didn’t exactly what it was supposed to do: pop the crowd and give the match some energy.

There’s something about Mysterio that is always going to work. He’s high energy and the kind of star who is going to blow the roof off the place every single time he shows up. The fans see him as a superhero with the mask on and while he did some good stuff in the indies (including Lucha Underground), he’s the kind of guy who belongs on the big stage, especially in the twilight of his career.

Ronda Rousey Is Awesome

Now notice the way I worded this. Given Rousey’s background and love of the sport, I don’t think anyone expected her to truly be terrible. She’s a natural athlete and could just do judo/MMA stuff to get by for years. That’s not what we got though. Instead, she showed up at Wrestlemania 34 in front of 65,000 people and beat the heck out of HHH (not so lucky with noted armbar defensive specialist Stephanie McMahon but I’ll take what I can get).

Think about all the rookies that have shown up over the last several years, especially in the women’s division. Sasha Banks was just a person, Bayley was a superfan, Charlotte was sloppy and Dana Brooke….has actually gotten worse. Rousey showed up, gets to fight HHH in her rookie match, and has taken to wrestling like few I’ve seen in a long time. That’s a surprise if I’ve ever seen one, because she’s great.

Daniel Bryan Turns Heel

This would fall under the “SERIOUSLY???” category on paper, as Bryan is the biggest face since John Cena’s initial push. Armed with the amazing YES chant, there’s a reason why Bryan got pushed to the moon and back in 2014. The idea of having the fans book him sounded ridiculous, yet WWE not only went there, but made it work rather well. The explanation made sense and Bryan is NAILING the new character.

It’s proof that you can indeed turn someone back the other way no matter how good or bad they are. Bryan was the cleanest, most natural face ever and now he’s this hippie environmentalist who you want to see get hit in the face. That’s a hard character to pull off and yet Bryan is doing it incredibly well. I couldn’t believe that WWE would pull the trigger on this, let alone have it hit the target.

Shawn Michaels Returns To The Ring

This one ties into the winner, but there’s something here that holds it back: I believed it could happen one day. Shawn retired back in 2010 and there was little reason to believe that he would ever come back. His retirement match was great and it came on the grandest stage of them all, so why would he do it again? Well when your best friend runs the company and the paychecks became what they were, you had to believe he could one day.

And then he actually did. While I didn’t believe I’d ever see it, I wasn’t actually shocked when it happened. It was in a tag match though, which is the kind of match he had mentioned wanting to return for. Yeah the match was bad, but it’s not like it meant anything at the end of the day. It’s going to be little more than a footnote in the history books, but there was always a glimmer that it could happen.

But that’s not true with the winner.

Daniel Bryan Returns To The Ring

I didn’t believe it. I did not believe that this was going to happen and I didn’t think there was any chance of it ever happening. And yet, somehow it did. Over the years, Bryan talked about going to one doctor after another and getting good reports, but not good enough for WWE. That sounded like the kind of thing where WWE would never say yes….and then they freaking said yes.

I can’t believe that Bryan actually got back into the ring because there was no reason to believe it other than Bryan saying it could happen. That’s what the kid in Angels In The Outfield kept saying and this is no whimsical Disney comedy featuring Tony Danza. It’s something I never thought I would actually see and yet it’s been better than….well I can’t say expected because I didn’t have expectations. This was the surprise of the year, because I don’t believe what I saw.

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

Your tastes may vary here as what you might think is a good finisher could be a little different from everyone elses. My biggest criteria is does it actually finish things. There are some moves that are used time after time to put someone away, and that doesn’t exactly scream finisher to me. These are the better moves and the most devastating, in one way or another.

Phenomenal Forearm – AJ Styles

You don’t hold a title for over a year without a good finisher. This was a middle of the card move for AJ back in TNA and it’s the kind of thing that works very well for someone like him. It looks like someone flying like a superhero and that’s a great way to go with Styles. The move looks awesome, can be hit on anyone, and has piled up a ton of wins. That works for me, which is kind of the point here.

One Winged Angel – Kenny Omega

Sure we can get some Japan in here. Not only does this move has a great name, but it’s the kind of move that actually finishes a match. No one has ever kicked out of it in New Japan and given how many finishers it takes to win a big match over there, that’s quite the record to hold. The great name makes it that much better, which is saying a lot given how devastating it looks.

630 Splash – Ricochet

Ricochet is one of the best high fliers of all time, which you have to expect from a Kentucky boy. This is one of the flippiest flips in a world of flippy flips and Ricochet makes it look effortless. The thing comes off fast and hard, which makes it all the more impactful. Ricochet can fly a lot but this is his big one, as he doesn’t bust out the double moonsault all that often. He wrestles like a superhero (a popular idea) and this looks like a superhero move, making it a great fit.

Claymore – Drew McIntyre

As Bobby Heenan said of the Mafia Kick: “HE KICKED THE MAN IN THE HEAD!” That’s the simple idea of the Claymore, yet it’s one of the best finishers around. Drew McIntyre is a star both in the making and at the moment and that’s one of the best finishers he could have. His size and power makes the move look even better and when he hits it full blast, no one is kicking out of the thing.

Super Collider – AOP

Sure let’s throw in a tag finisher too. The AOP (still can’t believe they changed the name like that) are a couple of monsters who can hit each people really hard. What better finisher to give them than something where they pick people up, ram them together and slam them down? The move is especially devastating on jobbers, which is where the AOP specialize. It’s certainly better than the Last Chapter, which felt like something an old midcard NWA team would have used.

054 – Mustafa Ali

A lot of people can do a 450, but how many people can actually do the thing backwards? I mean, that’s just not normal. Ali has been the heart and soul of 205 Live for a long time now and the fact that he’s already getting to be a big deal on Smackdown makes me very happy. One day he’s going to win a huge match with that thing and it’s going to be a cool moment. The wrestler makes the move most of the time, but in this case it’s a little bit of both.

But then, there’s only way to finish this.

Black Mass – Aleister Black

I really love this move because it’s almost everything put together. Not only is it devastating and can be used on anyone, but it’s the kind of thing that looks tailor made for Black. He has the kickboxing background and strikes all the time, but this is the kind of move that looks like the big finale of everything he does leading up to it. It wouldn’t work for everyone but when Black does it, my goodness it’s something great. I could watch him kick people’s heads off for a long time and it’s earned the top spot 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

It’s the beginning of a new year and that means it’s time for one thing: me to take way too long to put up my Best Of 2018 awards. This year the plan is to put up two a day for the next ten days (or less if I change my mind about some of the categories). Note that the options here are based on what I’ve seen, so if I left off something the likelihood is that I didn’t see it or didn’t see enough of it to have a strong opinion (read as: most New Japan/indy stuff). As usual, I’ll list off the runners up in no particular order and then the winner. Hopefully these are a bit better than my previous efforts so let’s get to it.

Now this is something that is always interesting because they’re the things that make wrestling go round. Without the storylines that make things work, the wrestling is just a bunch of people having matches for the sake of action. A story doesn’t have to be big, but without a good one the shows don’t work all that well. The big stories were kind of lacking in 2018, but there were some awesome options.

She’s The Man

We’ll start with the hottest thing in the company at the moment: the rise of Becky Lynch. This isn’t something that WWE seemed to have planned but it wound up being one of the best things to happen to the company in a very long time. The fans have gotten behind her and all roads seem to lead to a major match, if not the main event, of Wrestlemania 35. If that’s the case, it won’t only be historic, but it could also be a huge deal just as a regular story.

Above all else, Lynch has been nailing the character work. She’s channeled this entire idea that she’s the best to perfection and it comes off like she believes every word. You don’t get that in wrestling often enough and she’s doing it as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. She’s not the next Austin (because there can’t be another Austin) or the next Punk (because there can’t be another Punk). Instead she’s being herself, and it’s working very well.

Full Circle

Anyone who has followed me for any reasonable amount of time knows that I’m a Miz fan. He’s one of the best villains WWE has had in a long time and the fact that they keep coming back to him should tell you all you need to know about how great he really is. His lifelong nemesis is Daniel Bryan, both due to their history and the two of them being polar opposites. It was the dream match we never got due to Bryan’s injuries….but those are long gone.

The two of them picked their feud up again and had a really good match at Summerslam, but it didn’t quite feel complete. The next step, in a story we’ll be revisiting later, saw Bryan turn heel with Miz almost drooling at the idea of Bryan admitting that he was right all along. It was the teacher becoming the teacher all over again and Miz sold it to perfection. Bryan’s heel turn has been awesome, but his stuff with Miz was as good as it got.

The Gall Of That Man

Back in October, Roman Reigns was forced to vacate the Universal Title due to his Leukemia returning. It was as emotional and real of a moment as you’ll see in WWE, but the night wasn’t over yet. Later that same evening, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins won the Raw Tag Team Titles in honor of their Shield mate. We still weren’t done though as Ambrose turned on Rollins to end the Shield and become the biggest heel on the roster.

I loved this, because it’s the kind of thing WWE doesn’t do very often. This was taking a real life story and turning it into something. The turn had been teased for over a month and this was finally the time to pull the trigger. It put incredible heat on Ambrose and it couldn’t have been done much better. The follow up didn’t work, but my goodness it was an amazing moment when they actually went with something like this. It was great, but it should have been incredible.

Whodunit

Aleister Black was injured at a house show and had to go on the shelf. Since NXT knows what they’re doing, they turned it into a several months long whodunit mystery, as the question became who actually attacked Black. Everyone was a suspect and in the end, Johnny Gargano was revealed as the attacker as he gave in to evil to try and stop Tommaso Ciampa.

What made this story so great is that it fell into NXT’s lap and they ran with the thing. Not only did you get the reveal, some great promos and Black vs. Gargano, but you also got the excellent Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream match as Dream accused Ciampa of being behind everything. That’s the kind of storytelling you don’t get every day and NXT made the most of a bad situation.

When I started writing this, Whodunit was the runaway winner. Then I realized it was only part of the real Angle of the Year.

Welcome To The Dark Side

In a name you’re going to hear a lot in these things this year, Johnny Gargano’s heel turn/descent into evil was second to none. What started as an incredible year with Gargano doing everything imaginable other than winning the NXT Title turned into a nightmare as Gargano became obsessed with ending Tommaso Ciampa’s reign of evil. That evil consumed Gargano, who took out his aggression on Aleister Black in a horrible assault, which saw Gargano become everything he hated in the name of stopping Ciampa.

This is the story of the year because it has a beginning, middle and ending. Gargano turning was foreshadowed when he couldn’t tell William Regal he didn’t do it and, as usual in NXT, the fun part was watching everything play out from there. This story isn’t over yet, but the ride they’ve taken us on so far has been magical. Gargano has gone from the light to the darkness, and now the question is whether it destroys him or if he comes out the other side. That’s great storytelling, and it’s the best 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