10 Ways 2018 Was WWE's Craziest Year EVER
8. Asuka & Shinsuke Nakamura Point At A Sign
Though not the new day for WWE's promotional machine many hoped for back in January, Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka's battle royal wins were no less historic in nature.
For 'The King Of Strong Style', the match was at long last an acknowledgement from both talent and office of what could actually be achieved by this particular deal. Nakamura hadn't offered a main roster performance half as tantalising as anything he'd done on NXT, let alone back in NJPW, but the stars aligned for a powerful Royal Rumble win enhanced by booking that played to the panicked paranoia of a fanbase desperate for change. His outlasting of both John Cena and Roman Reigns felt like a fun vision of the future, even if it was another false dawn.
Dawn similarly never arrived at the 'Show Of Shows' for 'The Empress Of Tomorrow' either, but it's fun to remember a time where the unflappable and unbeatable Asuka could draw gasps and glee alike for kicking her way through the competition in the first ever Women's edition of the match. Her win will remain drenched in history, instead if the p*ss-soaked payoff at WrestleMania. Losing to Charlotte kicked off a miserable spell for the once-superhuman NXT Women's Champion, but her lone spotlight moment at the Rumble was a message of hope that - at very least - help carry the women's division to greater heights later in the year.