10 Best Wrestling Pay-Per-Views Of 2018

3. WWE Survivor Series

Omega Okada IV
WWE.com

Yes Samoa Joe, yes Drake Maverick, yes the fugly f*cking t-shirts, yes the one-sided Monday night massacre, yes Shane McMahon > everybody on SmackDown, which itself is terrible in kayfabe now.

Yes to all of this.

But those last two matches, holy sh*t. They weren't just great in and of themselves. Between the blood-pumping, grisly, shoot-style realism of Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair's breathless fight, and the immaculate storytelling of pro wrestling's strategy versus MMA's legitimate ferocity in the main event, WWE quietly ushered in a new era of its narrative. Both matches, which boasted scintillating performances from UFC megastars, may have forged WWE's future. Watching both back-to-back, the spell of suspended disbelief was unbroken for what, literally, was one of WWE's finest ever hours. As a result, the prospect of Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir and Matt Riddle performing in this very ring became an awesome one: a goofy and defective wider product narrowed to an incredible, sports-oriented focus.

The undercard yielded much entertainment, too: Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali killed it out there, dead brand be damned; the embers of Shinsuke Nakamura's famed fighting spirit still burned; Finn Bálor and Rey Mysterio planted the golden seed of a rare midcard dream match.

Survivor Series 2018 - like SummerSlam 2013, only better - delivered as much as it promised.

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!