10 Best Wrestling Pay-Per-Views Of 2018

8. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia

Omega Okada IV
WWE

Headlined by the greatest WWE match in several years. Johnny Gargano's unsuccessful challenge of Andrade Almas' NXT Title was incredible.

Dried black blood on his lips, his eyes made vacant though the mushing of the brain behind them, this was an elite-level babyface performance. Gargano did a lot - a lot - of cool-looking sh*t in that ring, and Almas kicked even more out of him. But everything was sold and paced so well that it never became too much.

You could make the argument that Adam Cole's spine-first bump across two standing chairs was too much, in the semi-main - but, in a great, restrained Extreme Rules match against Aleister Black, they earned and built towards that retributive spot by positioning the latter as a "weapon unto himself" who only used weapons when he realised the scope of his task and his opponent.

The Velveteen Dream's performance level faltered, in an undercard match with Kassius Ohno, but the reaction to his powerful charisma heightened, if anything. In a lowkey spot of storytelling, Shayna Baszler's inexperience cost her against Ember Moon. Astutely, NXT management made certain Baszler put over the craft before they put her over.

Opened by what may sadly be the last really good Authors of Pain bout, TakeOver: Philadelphia was the perfect event for its host city: raw, violent, exciting.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!