10 Best Wrestling Storylines Of 2018

3. Love Wins

Charlotte Flair Becky Lynch
Tokyo Sport

That Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi are still paddling in the shallow waters of this incredibly deep storyline nearly a year after a tear-jerking reunion expresses how far there is to go with the transcendent Golden Lovers story, but kudos to the wrestlers and New Japan Pro Wrestling for persevering with the sexually ambiguous and emotionally all-in angle between the talented twosome.

As the beating heart of the Bullet Club civil war, Kenny and Kota's love trumped an alpha male divide between 'The Cleaner' and the insurgent Cody before their quest to "Change The World" went beyond adjusting perceptions of themselves and into fixing what was broken between The Elite. Across NJPW, ROH and Being The Elite, the layered programme dragged in The Young Bucks as the manipulative 'American Nightmare' stubbornly tried to make Matt and Nick pick sides.

Some magnificently strategic booking of the reformed pair afforded an instant classic between The Bucks and the Lovers, before they were all bonded by Kenny's iconic Dominion IWGP Championship victory over Kazuchika Okada. The win awoke the 'Cleaner' of old in the confident Kenny, and his charge on Wrestle Kingdom rival Hiroshi Tanahashi has left Ibushi loyal but conflicted by virtue of his past and present relationships with the two.

He may yet pick sides, or aim at the prize around Kenny's waist himself. Tellingly, it was at the title rather than the man that he pointed towards during the aforementioned emotional Dominion reunion. Is love a work?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett