It’s easy to be negative and critical of the WWE product. We all want the product to be better. I’ve never been the kind of guy to be that whiner, though. If I was, then I wouldn’t be a WWE fan for over 30 years and a guy that has written about the business for two decades. I always try to find the positives in everything because it keeps me going in all aspects of my life. Today, in the spirit of American Thanksgiving, I want to be positive about WWE by making a list of some things I am thankful for as part of the WWE Universe.Consider this something of a look back at WWE in 2018 as well as some things that excite me about the future. The order doesn’t matter. It’s just a look at 18 things I’m thankful for as a WWE fan. Why 18? Because it’s 2018. Simple enough, right? Let’s get to it.
1. The rise of Becky Lynch as Smackdown Women’s Champion and a main event level performer
Who else? I know I said the order doesn’t matter, but I had to begin this column talking about the Smackdown Women’s Champion, “The Man” Becky Lynch. It sucks that she is on the shelf right now with a broken nose (or “broken face” as WWE called it) and a concussion, but we all know she’ll be back soon.It’s been a joy to watch Becky go from just another face on the Smackdown brand that was racking up wins over the summer to one of the best overall characters in the company. Lynch didn’t always get the promo time or the attention that she deserved. At SummerSlam, when she turned on Charlotte Flair after failing to win the Smackdown Women’s Title, Lynch got the ovation from the fans that she had earned. Since then, Lynch became Smackdown Women’s Champion for the second time and the ovations grew. Not only that, but the fans chant “Becky” for her even when she’s not on the show! That is some good star power.I think a case could be made that Lynch is WWE’s Superstar of the Year, and that includes the men. The fact that she had one of the best matches of the year with Charlotte Flair at Evolution only helps her case. I hope the momentum continues all the way to next year’s WrestleMania and a match with Ronda Rousey.
2. The unlimited potential of Velveteen Dream
It may be too early to predict who will be WWE’s wrestler of the year in the next decade, but based on people that worked for the company right now, the name Velveteen Dream comes to mind. The rising star that debuted on WWE TV on Tough Enough (using his real name Patrick Clark) two years ago is only 23 years old and nearly won the NXT Title this past Saturday. Every time I watch him wrestle, I’m impressed by how good he is for his age. As good as he is right now, he’s only going to get better because in the wrestling business, you get better with repetition.The reason Dream is so successful is that he understands it’s important to get your character over as much as your work in the ring. If you just go out there having great matches, that is fine, but you need to do more. Dream elicits huge reactions from the fans because he’s able to pull off extravagant looks whether he’s dressing like Prince from 30 years ago or like Hollywood Hulk Hogan from 20 years ago.There are no limitations on how far Dream can go. If he’s not a main roster main eventer in the next three years, I’ll be very surprised. It might happen sooner than that.
3. The New Day remaining a team with no signs of breaking up
It has been four years since WWE decided to pair up three wrestlers to form a group known as The New Day. The trio of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E started off as faces, morphed into annoying heels, and then became so popular that they have been locked in as faces for the last two years. Along the way, they have gone on to win five Tag Team Titles and have shown no signs of slowing down.The reason I wanted to include them in here is because it’s rare to see a successful stable last four years without having any problems or teases of a split. It seems like every year, fans will wonder when is Big E going to get that big singles push or when will they all become singles wrestlers again? It doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon and I think that’s great. The group is awesome together, so I hope it continues for years to come. Let this be that rare wrestling stable that doesn’t break up. It will only add their legacy if they are able to continue as a group well into the next decade.
4. Drew McIntyre’s rise to main event status on Raw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGOIG2Go0z
EIt was around a decade ago when Vince McMahon stood in the ring and proclaimed that Drew McIntyre was going to be a World Champion in WWE. If you were watching at the time, you probably remember the “Chosen One” nickname as McIntyre racked up wins over WWE midcarders. He didn’t reach that main event level and in 2014, after a failed run in the comedy group known as 3MB, Drew was gone from WWE.McIntyre re-invented himself on the indy scene and became something of “Scottish psychopath,” as WWE likes to call him. In 2017, Drew was back in WWE as part of NXT, he became the NXT Champion and after an injury, he re-joined the main roster earlier this year on Raw. Now at 33 years old in the prime of his career, McIntyre is poised to break through as a main event wrestler and become a WWE Champion (or Universal Champion) next year. Give him a lot of credit for busting his ass to reach that level after where he was four years ago. It’s awesome to see the emergence of McIntyre.Shoutout to Dolph Ziggler as well for feeling fresh again on the Raw roster thanks in part to his pairing with McIntyre. They work well together.
5. The greatness of NXT Takeover events
The best shows that WWE puts on every year are NXT Takeover events. This year, there were five of them with Philadelphia in January, New Orleans in April, Chicago in June, Brooklyn in August, and WarGames (Los Angeles) this past Sunday. It was the best year in Takeover history, which is saying a lot because years like 2015 and 2016 had some outstanding shows too. This past June, I wrote about why Takeover events are the best product that WWE has to offer and I maintain that opinion today.If you’re not watching NXT regularly, what’s wrong with you? At least make sure you are watching the Takeover events. It should be a priority as a WWE fan because it’s a peek into what the future of the main roster is going to look like and the shows are better than the main roster on a consistent basis.
6. The consistent greatness of Seth Rollins on Raw and AJ Styles on Smackdown
If you were to ask me who the best overall male performers are on WWE’s roster right now, it would be tough to pick just one because two guys stand on top of their respective mountain. On Raw, it’s current Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins and on Smackdown, it’s former WWE Champion AJ Styles. They have great matches more often than anybody else and I think sometimes their consistency is overlooked. They are the best today, but they are also able to perform at a high level that would make the all-time greats proud.You know what I would love at WrestleMania next year? Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles. It can be like Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 when Shawn was a Raw guy and Kurt was a Smackdown guy. They used the Royal Rumble to set it up. In this case, it would be between two top faces. Rollins may be busy with Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania, but I’d rather see Rollins vs. Styles on the grandest stage of them all.7. Ronda Rousey’s ability to have good matches so early in her WWE careerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9BphMdNutc&t=7sOne of the biggest stories in WWE this year is the arrival of Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble and her emergence as a good wrestler very early in her WWE career. When Rousey debuted at the Rumble, it wasn’t that much of a surprise because her UFC career appeared to be over. At WrestleMania, when Rousey more than held her own with Kurt Angle in a victory over Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, she impressed a lot of people. It was arguably the best match at WrestleMania, which is incredible for a woman in her first match. Did they practice and prepare for it for months? Sure they did and that helped a lot, but its’s still up to her to execute it.Rousey went on to win the Raw Women’s Title at SummerSlam, which was not much of a surprise because WWE wants to push her as the face of the women’s evolution. Speaking of that, Rousey headlined the women’s only PPV Evolution when she beat Nikki Bella and followed that up with a rivalry with Becky Lynch that should lead them to WrestleMania next year.To sum it all up, Rousey has been a joy to watch and has won over the WWE Universe due to her hard work. It helps that she is also a genuine wrestling fan rather than somebody that is just doing it because it’s a nice paycheck. Rousey should continue to get better in the months and years ahead too.8. The affordability of WWE Network
16. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa as the heart and soul of NXT
Johnny Gargano and current NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa really stood out this year whether it was in their matches against eachother or against others. The match quality is through the roof whenever they are wrestling at a Takeover. Gargano’s match with then-NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT Takeover Philadelphia was the first match of the year contender. He followed that up with three more against Ciampa in New Orleans, Chicago, and Brooklyn. When Gargano had “Johnny Takeover” on his tights at this past Saturday’s WarGames, it was brilliant because the nickname fits him perfectly. He has become Mr. Takeover this year just like he was in the past when he teamed with Ciampa as the #DIY tag team.As for Ciampa, he is one of the best heels in the company and backs it up in the ring as well. Whether he’s against Gargano, Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream, or anybody else, you know Ciampa is going to deliver a memorable performance. Like Gargano, he’s not a big dude because he wrestles at around 200 pounds, but they both carry themselves like superstars and get the reactions that any wrestler would want. Ciampa is a lot of fun as the current NXT Champion with the championship, which he calls “Goldie” as his prized possession.There are so many other greats on the NXT right now whether it’s Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream, Ricochet, Pete Dunne, The Undisputed Era or the women’s division led by Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane. However, the leaders in 2018 have been Gargano and Ciampa. What a spectacular year it’s been. Should they go to the main roster? A part of me says yes, but I think they would be great in NXT for the majority of their careers too.
17. The fighting spirit of Roman Reigns
When Roman Reigns stood in the ring on October 22 edition of Raw to tell the world that his leukemia came back, it broke my heart. I know I’m not the only one, because even Roman’s harshest critics feel sympathy for a man that has busted his ass for the past six years in WWE as one of their biggest names.I’m thankful for Roman’s courage at a time when everybody would have understood if he just stayed at home without addressing what happened. He didn’t have to go in the ring to pour his heart out to the world. The fact that he did it shows that he wants to help others and inspire people that may be dealing with leukemia or some other kind of illness.Roman isn’t going to give up. He’s going to continue to fight. I respect him so much. I wish him good health and happiness moving forward with his life. If he’s able to wrestle again one day that would be great, but all I really want is for him to live a normal life with his family.
18. The true evolution of women’s wrestling
This year in WWE, there was the first ever women’s Royal Rumble, women’s Elimination Chamber match and of course, the Evolution pay-per-view in October that I thought was the best PPV of the year. For the past four years, WWE has been shoving the terms “women’s revolution” and “women’s evolution” down our throats. This is the year where they really proved it by giving their women’s wrestlers the spotlight that they deserve.Next year, the women’s evolution might go to that next level that was thought to be impossible. I’m talking about WrestleMania and the possibility of Becky Lynch facing Ronda Rousey in the main event. It’s the match that should be the main event and if it’s not, I’ll be very surprised because that’s the match the fans want more than anything else.That’s all for this column looking at everything we should be thankful for as WWE fans. I know things can be tough sometimes when trying towatch WWE programming, but it’s important to remember the good things and why you became a fan in the first place.
Happy Thanksgiving.