10 Best Wrestlers Of 2018
9. Cody
'Three-Star Cody' became a seven-star pitchman in 2018, leaving a five-star average that doesn't feel too far removed from the end product he's marketed and sold so well.
Matches against Kota Ibushi at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 12 in January and against Ibushi and Kenny Omega at King Of Pro Wrestling in October offered glimpses at his ability to hang in there with supreme workers, but just about everything he and The Young Bucks created with ALL IN was the year's best example of a supreme work.
As the heart and soul of the entire occasion, Cody brought importance and prestige back to the NWA World(s) Heavyweight Championship just by actually wanting the '10 Pounds Of Gold' to begin with. He made the match and the moments within it matter more than almost any high profile title fight this year - it was the biggest success story in a series of them for the 'Grandson Of A Plumber' since leaving WWE in 2016.
Delivering on spectacular promise in 2017, it was fitting that his biggest win was such a throwback. Cody devised and deployed some of the oldest tricks just to proved they still worked, and, like every elite talent, knew the exact worth of his words.