10 Best Non-WWE Wrestlers Of 2018 (So Far)

10. Joey Janela

There isn't a wrestler on the planet more in touch with what independent wrestling is in 2018 than Joey Janela.

Aping Streets Of Rage and other 16-bit classics, he unleashed a brilliant promo video as a means of announcing WALTER vs. former WWE cult favourite Pierre Carl Ouellet in February, kickstarting a genius marketing campaign for his Spring Break 2 event. Other slabs of excellence followed (I, II), creating bags of hype for a show held in an ungodly midnight time slot over WrestleMania 34 weekend, headlined by Janela himself versus legendary Michinoku Pro lunatic The Great Sasuke.

'The Bad Boy' isn't the best wrestler on the independents, but he's among the best self-promoters. Nobody generates buzz like Janela. He has, through his own hard graft and ingenuity, created a huge cult of savvy indie fans who'll gladly flock towards anything he attaches his name to. No longer best known for plummeting from a warehouse roof while attached to a human potato sack, he's one of the hottest freelancers in the world in 2018.

You won't get a five-star match out of Janela, but you will have fun. Isn't that supposed to be what wrestling's all about?