Ranking Wrestling's Most Shocking Surprise Every Year 1990-2020

3. 2018 - All In Sells Out

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2018 was a remarkably great year to be a WWE fan. Ronda Rousey's incandescent form from her debut onwards injected life into the whole product, aiding the beloved Evolution pay-per-view, the rise of 'The Man' emerging from within Becky Lynch and finding a fire in Charlotte Flair unseen since her very best work in 2016.

But the monopoly was at long, long last under threat. The jovial nature of ALL IN's initial existence (the "bet" with Dave Meltzer about selling 10,000 tickets to an independent show) smartly undermined its importance to the landscape at large. The show was a trojan horse, hiding a billionaire inside that wanted to make real the e-fedding he'd done as a young fan...

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