10 Best Wrestling Storylines Of 2018
2. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, And The Rise Of The Man
There's nothing insulting about comparisons between Becky Lynch's incredible transformation and the peak periods of Stone Cold Steve Austin, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and others, but the similarities and familiarities are only a small part of how 'The Man' has become such a sensation in the latter half of 2018. Like so many great things in the WWE women's division, much of it went through Charlotte Flair too.
Lynch and Flair were kayfabe and IRL besties, but Becky was within rights to feel aggrieved when 'The Queen' snuck in to her SummerSlam Championship match against Carmella, and fans could feel that too. It bubbled under then over either side of the August supercard, and as soon as the company binned off the "each and every one of you" bullsh*t in Becky's verbiage, they were all off to the races.
In her new role, Lynch was only 'straight fire' on Twitter where millions followed to see Superstar after Superstar burned beyond recognition by her 280-character petrol bombs. It was full-throttle 'Lass Kicker' between the ropes as she backed up her bluster with match-of-the-year candidates against her arch nemesis at Evolution and a December TLC encounter that sucked Asuka into their orbit and back into the eyes of the wider audience.
WWE will hopefully give WrestleMania 35's main event to this feud and the pair's dovetailing hostilities with Ronda Rousey. It's a wonderful development for women's wrestling and particularly Lynch herself, but it's never been so earnestly based on merit over marketing.