10 Awesome Wrestling Matches You May Have Missed In 2018
7. Shayna Baszler Vs. Dakota Kai (WWE NXT - 30 May)
Though your mileage may vary on Shayna Baszler as NXT's female franchise player, her mid-year mini-feud with Dakota Kai was a low-key NXT highlight this year.
Succeeding in establishing 'The Queen Of Spades' as a dictatorial locker-room bully and Kai as a sympathetic underdog babyface, it saw Baszler pick away at Kai week after week, before the New Zealander finally summoned the courage to stand up to her oppressor. Thus, this match was born.
The match mimicked the storyline. Kai, like any victim of bullying, was shy and timid. This played into Shayna's hands, allowing the former MMA pioneer to impose her brutal will on her opponent, but Dakota summoned a strength beyond even her own expectations. From there, she put up spirited resistance against Baszler, who'd made her life hell since making the NXT women's division her own, though she spent as much time battling against her own trepidation as she did 'The Queen.' A fantastic, subtle story, the likes of which WWE don't always excel at.
They'd wrestle another singles bout on NXT's 5 December episode, but the strength of the narrative puts this one over the top.
Watch: WWE Network (paywall)