10 Things That Made Us Proud To Be Wrestling Fans In 2018
4. Evolution
WWE's first all-women's pay-per-view hit a rocky start. That Stephanie McMahon hogged the spotlight while announcing the show was an immediate bone of contention, and slow ticket sales threatened to hamper a night billed as historic and game-changing. The build, too, was lacking on several levels, but did any of this matter in the end?
Did it hell.
More than a mere night of awesome in-ring action played out before a white-hot crowd (which it definitely was), Evolution was a symbol of progress. The idea of WWE's women's wrestlers carrying their own pay-per-view sounded ridiculous as recently as 2017. There were still pockets of detractors around the internet heading into Evolution itself, but each was proved wrong by the end of one of the main roster's best pay-per-views of the year, and particularly the awesome Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair clash (sure to feature prominently on many a MOTY ballot).
Evolution wasn't perfect. A notable Alicia Fox botch threatened to mar the nostalgic opener and the Battle Royal was pointless, but like ALL IN, it stands for more than the bell-to-bell. More women's pay-per-views will follow, the Revolution will keep pushing forward, and all remaining contrarians shall be left behind.