10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 2018
It was the best of times, it was the Saudi Arabia of times.
What to make of WWE in 2018, some years removed from what already looks like a completely different time?
The wrestling world was just 12 months away from a seismic shift, but Vince McMahon was seemingly too busy luxuriating in his monopoly to care. It was in 2018 that news broke of WWE's monumental new deal for SmackDown. TV rights had reached a billion (and not a lot less for Raw, either), and the company was, for the first time, making less than 50% of its gross from actual fan spends.
This had some major ramifications in terms of quality control and the product at large, but that feels far more fitting for a "10 Things You DID Know About WWE" list from 2019 onwards. Much of which could focus around the company's controversial deal with the Saudi Arabian Sports Authority, which kicked off in 2018 with Greatest Royal Rumble and the infamously terrible Crown Jewel.
More (but don't worry, not much more) on one of those later, but what else occurred over a chaotic 12 months that served to be the last for WWE as North America's sole mainstream wrestling option. Did they make these halcyon(ish...) days count?
10. Ronda Rousey's Royal Rumble Role
'The Baddest Woman On The Planet' had an electrifying 15 months in WWE, and it all kicked off right as the Royal Rumble looked to be going off the air.
Walking out to her famed Joan Jett theme, Rousey invited herself into Asuka's celebrations as well as the crosshairs of then-titleholders Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. Beaming to be there, she repeatedly pointed at the WrestleMania sign before shaking hands with eventual 'Show Of Shows' opponent Stephanie McMahon.
As major moments go, it was about as fun as it was functional, but Ronda later revealed how little she knew about it before going through the curtain.
Speaking to ESPN (and several others) following the show, she said;
"I didn't know what I was doing today until like probably 10 minutes before I came out..."
Based on what we've learned in recent years about Vince McMahon's propensity for hurriedly rewriting Raw just minutes before going live, it was probably worth her getting used to things being a little unpredictable.