10 Biggest WWE Creative Success Stories Of 2018

9. Seth Rollins

Ronda Rousey Hell In A Cell
WWE

In a year in which so many performers were tainted or misused or downright incinerated, Seth Rollins, on RAW no less, escaped with more than a degree of integrity.

It was a middling start - those Royal Rumble flame tights hardly obscured the slight cringe factor surrounding the Architect - but Rollins' performance in the famed, stature-enhancing Gauntlet match of February 19 rebuilt his super-worker reputation (even if John Cena's performance in said match was an affront to psychology). Rollins also starred in one of the best WrestleMania openers of all time before retaining his new Intercontinental Championship at the expense of The Miz, at Backlash, in a match of high drama. The story, marvellous in itself, boasted a pointed subtext: even when WWE was awful in 2018, as Backlash very much was, Seth Rollins was immune to the bullsh*t. Maybe he, not Dean Ambrose, had inoculated himself.

Rollins' feud with Dolph Ziggler killed it on TV (RAW, June 25), but was murdered on pay-per-view (Extreme Rules), and its corpse decayed somewhat as WWE went back to it, again and again and again. But Rollins, a very creative, over and dynamite performer, zapped it back into life at times - to such an extent that the Hell In A Cell RAW Tag Team Title bout, with the returning Dean Ambrose and Drew McIntyre, entered consideration for WWE Match Of The Year.

Rollins is currently in the midst of a shockingly disappointing feud with Ambrose - but if smoke exists where there is fire, and he becomes the Guy in New Jersey, there is no man better equipped to survive Vince McMahon's utter bullsh*t.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!