10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2018
3. Brock Lesnar Vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE Survivor Series 2018
Ultimately, at its very core, pro wrestling is a form of manipulation. Most storytelling is, but this is especially true of "our great sport", since we, as a knowledgeable fanbase, have come to accept the artifice as its principal artistic achievement. On that basis, we are happy to play along...
...up to a point.
The sight of a much smaller man competing with a much, much bigger man is a template only accepted when worked so magnificently. The sight of the smaller, concussion-prone Daniel Bryan almost tapping out the much, much larger legit combat athlete Brock Lesnar was worked f*cking magnificently.
This was meta storytelling that did not expose or mock but heightened traditional devices. We all knew what to expect from a Brock Lesnar match, post-2014: a barrage of German suplexes thrown to build him as both unbeatable monster and uncaring mercenary. As the reaction to his act waned, so too did his enthusiasm level. So, when Daniel Bryan took several Germans, we sighed.
F*ck you, WWE. We f*cking get it already.
This was all by ingenious design. We were made to feel the lowest of lows before the highest of highs. Bryan strategised his from-the-death comeback so perfectly that the subversion of this preposterous weight division discrepancy, a bastardisation of real sport, felt as authentic as it did euphoric.
With offence both tactical and blood-pumping, Bryan engineered a near-tap out situation - and exacerbated the heat yet further by battering Lesnar across his sweating, beetroot face. Cathartic as hell for Lesnar's detractors, this didn't win Bryan the match - but he has won when he shouldn't have before, and rarely looked as much a star as he did here.
This was a match that made you mutter oh for f*ck's sake before making you scream (almost literally) oh f*ck YES over the course of 18 expert minutes.