15 Wrestling Matches You Won't Believe Happened In 2018

1. Brock Lesnar Vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Survivor Series)

Jerry Lawler Joey Ryan
WWE.com

The AJ Styles/Brock Lesnar sequel was something fans were seemingly thrilled to see. Their contest a year earlier had been one of Brock’s very best, and ‘The Phenomenal One’ was due a performance mirroring his exceptional effort the prior year.

Back then, Daniel Bryan was still desperately traversing the country trying to literally fix his head and get cleared to wrestle again. He’d once harboured ambitions of a dream match with Brock Lesnar. Now, locking up ever again was the new dream he fought for.

And he fought, and he fought, and he won. And then he lost. A lot.

WWE fudging Daniel Bryan’s babyface return could and should have been one of the stories of the year, had they not distracted us with an even more intriguing one just before 2018’s finish line.

Bryan’s heel turn and title win may well have been because of Becky Lynch’s absence, but he had allegedly suggested it for his own sake sooner. When he got the response he wanted, the timing couldn’t have been any better.

Though Brock and Bryan had but five days to plan, the men wrestled a match that will still be talked about years from now. That - in a year that started with one of them retired and the other imminently set to return to UFC - it even happened was remarkable before the bell rang.

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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