Matches of the Year 2018

Johnny Legacy's Deep Thoughts

Matches of the Year 2018

As 2018 comes to a close, it's a good time to look back and reflect on what an insane Golden Age of wrestling we are all living in right now. There are literally (proper use of the word) more genuine match of the year contenders per month than there were in an entire year five years ago. In this last article of 2018, and the first written on the new blog, I'm going to look back at the best matches of the year on a month by month basis. For each month I'll pick a top three and also throw in some honorable mentions if any others are worth mentioning. Honorably. I'm not going to go into any detail into any of these matches, just a straight list. No spoilers. These matches are all from the promotions I watch regularly, namely all branches of WWE, NJPW, and a dash of ROH. If you have any matches not mentioned herein that you think should be, especially from any other promotions, please leave them in the comments!

 

January:
Honorable mentions: Men's Royal Rumble match, Naito vs Okada (Wrestle Kingdom 12)
3. IWGP US Title: Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega (Wrestle Kingdom 12)
2. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Minoru Suzuki vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (The New Beginning in Sapporo Night 1)
1. NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Almas (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia)

February
Honorable mentions: Golden Lovers vs Scurll & Cody (Honor Rising 2018), Okada vs SANADA (New Beginning in Osaka)
3. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs Will Ospreay (The New Beginning in Osaka)
2. Women's Elimination Chamber match (Elimination Chamber)
1. Seth Rollins goes 60 minutes in a Gauntlet Match (RAW 2/19)

March
Honorable mentions: Sabre vs Naito and Sabre vs Ibushi (New Japan Cup)
3. Zack Sabre Jr vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (New Japan Cup Final)
2. Non-Title Match: Will Ospreay vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Anniversary Event)
1. The Golden Lovers vs The Young Bucks (Strong Style Evolved)

April
Honorable mentions: Charlotte vs Asuka (Wrestlemania 34), Suzuki vs Naito (Wrestling Hi No Kuni), Black vs Almas (Takeover)
3.IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Marty Scurll vs Will Ospreay (Wrestling Hi No Kuni)
2. Ladder Match for the inaugural NXT North American Championship (NXT Takeover: New Orleans)
1. Unsanctioned Match: Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano (NXT Takeover: New Orleans)

May
Honorable mentions: Rollins vs Miz (Backlash), Takahashi vs Lee (BOTSJ Night 6)
3. Hiromu Takahashi vs Marty Scurll (Best of the Super Juniors Night 2)
2. IWGP Junior Heavyweight title: KUSHIDA vs Will Ospreay (Wrestling Dontaku night 2)
1. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada (Wrestling Dontaku night 2)

June
Honorable mentions: Ricochet vs Velveteen Dream (Takeover), Ciampa vs Gargano (Takeover), Moustache Mountain vs Undisputed Era (NXT UK Special night 2), Dunne vs O'Reilly (NXT TV), Ospreay vs Takahashi (Dominion)
3. Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship: Shinkuke Nakamura vs AJ Styles (Money in the Bank)
2. Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori (Best of the Super Juniors Final)
1. IWGP Heavyweight Title, 2 out of 3 Falls: Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada (Dominion 6.9)

July
Honorable mentions: Black vs Ciampa (NXT TV), Tanahashi vs Suzuki (G1 night 1)
3. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Cody vs Kenny Omega (G1 Special in San Francisco)
2. Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega (G1 Climax 28 Night 2)
1. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax 28 Night 10)

August
Honorable mentions: Baszler vs Sane (Takeover), Ciampa vs Gargano (Takeover), Okada vs Tanahashi (G1 night 17), Naito vs Ibushi (G1 night 14)
3. Kenny Omega vs Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 28 Night 14
2. Kenny Omega vs Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax 28 Night 18)
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax 28 Final)

September
Honorable mentions: Ospreay vs Scurll (Fighting Spirit Unleashed), Richochet vs Dunne (NXT TV), Omega vs Pentagon (All In)
3. Raw Tag Team Titles: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler (Hell in a Cell)
2. Chicago Street Fight: Hangman Page vs Joey Janella (All In)
1. G1 Briefcase Defense: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (Destruction in Kobe)

October
Honorable mentions: Murphy vs Alexander (Super Show Down), Ricochet vs Cole vs Dunne (NXT TV), Sane vs Baszler (Evolution), Shirai vs Storm (Evolution)
3. Meiko Satomura vs Toni Storm (Mae Young Classic Semifinal)
2. Triple Threat Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Title: Cody vs Kota Ibushi vs Kenny Omega (King of Pro Wrestling)
1. Last Woman Standing Match for the Smackdown Women's Title: Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch (Evolution)

November
Honorable mentions: Ishii vs Suzuki (Power Struggle), NXT War Games match II, Nakamura vs Rollins (Survivor Series)
3. Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey (Survivor Series)
2. Daniel Bryan vs Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series)
1. Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano (NXT Takeover: War Games II)

December
Honorable mention: Gargano vs Black Steel Cage Match (NXT TV)
3. WWE Championship: AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan (TLC)
2. TLC Match for the Smackdown Women's Title: Charlotte Flair vs Asuka vs Becky Lynch (TLC)
1. The Golden Lovers vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Will Ospreay (Road to Tokyo Dome night 2)