Every WWE PPV Of 2018 Ranked

2018 was one of the more bizarre years in WWE history. Between Daniel Bryan coming out of retirement, the relaunch of the XFL, WWE signing a huge television contract with FOX, and Roman Reigns taking a leave of absence in order to receive treatment for leukaemia, it seemed like the next major happening was never too far away. 

Throw in WWE entering into a deal to produce major shows in Saudi Arabia and Brock Lesnar flirting with leaving the company in order to go back to the UFC, there were plenty of distractions for the company to contend with while trying to produce weekly wrestling content. 

On pay-per-view, 2018 was a mixed bag, but the good shows were really good and there weren’t too many disasters. This is every WWE pay-per-view of 2018 ranked from worst to best. 

15. Crown Jewel

Though it was always a controversial decision for WWE to enter into a business agreement with the Saudi government, shocking real-world events led to a particularly dark cloud hanging over Crown Jewel as WWE decided to still go to Saudi Arabia despite the assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in an operation approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  

While incredibly minor in the grand scheme of things, it made watching Crown Jewel anything but a simple piece of escapism from the real world. 

The show was also rubbish, with the last three matches guaranteeing that it was the poorest pay-per-view of 2018. 

The headliner should have been a grand occasion of The Brothers of Destruction facing off with DX in something of a dream match, but this was 2018, not 1998. Shawn Michaels’s first match since retiring eight years prior at WrestleMania XXVI was fine as a bit of nostalgia, but dragged on way too long considering the accumulative age and wear and tear on all four guys, and it wasn’t helped by Triple H suffering an injury during the opening minutes. There were also a number of botches, including Kane’s mask coming off during the match. 

The other featured attraction, Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant Universal Title, could and really should have finally been The Monster Among Men’s big moment. Sadly, WWE played it safe and had The Beast Incarnate handily dispatch him within a few minutes. 

Elsewhere, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe was good and could have been better if they had more time to play with. The Bar vs. The New Day was also fine, even with The Big Show’s bizarre inclusion alongside Sheamus and Cesaro. 

The rest of the show was dedicated to the tournament to crown the best wrestler in the entire world, won by Shane McMahon, who was substituting for an injured Miz. All of the tournament matches were brief and inoffensive, having been designed to be basic and appeal to a live audience that may not be too familiar with the product. 

Just remember that out of Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and The Miz, Shane McMahon was selected to win the tournament. 

14. Greatest Royal Rumble

The second-worst pay-per-view of the year was WWE’s first trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and it remains one of WWE’s more infamous major events to this day. 

The show was built around a 50-man Royal Rumble just a few months after the real thing and featured the likes of Hiroki Sumi, Babatunde and Dan Matha. The match itself wasn’t horrendous, but it was just needlessly long, with some serious dead spots in between the arrivals of any genuine stars.  

Aside from the Greatest Royal Rumble, WWE really stacked the card with all the big stars making an appearance. John Cena vs. Triple H was a solid and safe choice for an opener and they had a decent match. An Intercontinental Title Four-Way Ladder Match with The Miz, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe was also good viewing. 

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns in a steel cage was the same as every Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns match you’ve ever seen, just inside a steel cage. WWE shockingly ranked this as the greatest steel cage match of all time in 2026 in something that just isn’t true.

Elsewhere, AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura was another good but unexceptional match, while Rusev vs. The Undertaker was a bit of throwback fun despite ‘Taker’s opponent going from Rusev to Chris Jericho, then back to Rusev. The other matches on the show very much just existed. 

13. Backlash

It’s fair to say that nobody had any great expectations going into Backlash 2018, but the show still underachieved as the main event was dominated by chants of “CM Punk” and “Boring”, and that was from the fans who bothered to stay until the end. 

The show had a hot start as The Miz vs. Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Title was a 20-minute banger that just kept building and building to a grand finale. This was the peak of the show, however, and nothing could really bring it back despite a hot crowd and some matches that looked good on paper. 

One such match was the next instalment in the AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura series. Again, they had a tight enough match that, ultimately, fell below what they were capable of and ended in another unsatisfying manner with a double kick to the nether regions.

Everything else, from Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy’s US Title clash to Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax’s Raw Women’s Title showdown was just average. Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair, Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass, and Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley & Braun Strowman were less great. The less said about the Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe show-closer, the better. 

12. Extreme Rules

With Brock Lesnar on one of his many hiatuses during his 18-month Universal Title reign, WWE put the Intercontinental Title centre stage at Extreme Rules, booking the Iron Man Match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins as the first time the belt had been defended in the main event of a pay-per-view since Backlash 2001. The match was as athletic and dramatic as you would expect and a refreshing change of pace to the usual WWE main event style. 

Further down the card, Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns had a fun match won by Lashley, Finn Balor eked out a victory over Constable Corbin, and Kevin Owens beat Braun Strowman in a Steel Cage Match after he took a tumble from the top of the cage through the announce table. 

Elsewhere, Shinsuke Nakamura downed Jeff Hardy in six seconds to win the United States Championship following a pre-match low blow, Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax had an Extreme Rules Match that featured a lot of smoke and mirrors and run-ins from Mickie James, Natalya and Ronda Rousey. Also, Carmella beat Asuka with James Ellsworth suspended above the ring in a shark cage in a match that happened. 

The B Team of Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas also toppled Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy for the Raw Tag Team Titles, while Team Hell No’s reunion was cut short because The Big Red Machine developed tendinitis, with the Bludgeon Brothers retaining the SmackDown Tag Team Championships after just eight minutes.

11. Super Show-Down

WWE’s first major stadium show in Australia, the show featured a main event of Triple H vs. The Undertaker in what was billed as their final-ever singles match. This was an unnecessary sequel to their incredible Hell in a Cell match at 2012’s WrestleMania XXVIII and was a slow and plodding contest that could have accomplished setting up a Brothers of Destruction vs. D-Generation X match in about half the time.

Other major happenings on a 10-match card included AJ Styles beating Samoa Joe by submission in their WWE Title match, hometown hero Buddy Murphy beating Cedric Alexander in a really good and hard-hitting match to capture the Cruiserweight Title, and The Shield besting Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre in another good, long match.

Apart from that, there isn't much to write home about at Super Show-Down.

10. Elimination Chamber

By 2018, the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view concept had been running for eight years. The shows had produced mainly solid matches in that time but it had become stagnant, which resulted in WWE shaking things up for this year. 

The show had the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match with Bayley, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Sonya Deville, Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks competing for the Raw Women’s Title. Expertly laid out and containing the right mix of smooth action, big moves and storytelling, this was a fantastic showcase for the division.

Another innovation was making the men’s Elimination Chamber Match a seven-man affair. Though not as good as the women’s match, it still had its bright spots, and Braun Strowman looked like a star by eliminating five guys before Roman Reigns, of course, won to punch his ticket to WrestleMania 34.

Elsewhere, not much of note happened besides Asuka and Nia Jax having a good, hard-fought match and Ronda Rousey suplexing Triple H through a table during her WrestleMania contract signing.

9. Fastlane

Another stop on the road to WrestleMania 34, Fastlane kicked off with a match that was good, even if it never quite got out of second gear as Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev on Rusev Day. That was followed by Randy Orton taking on Bobby Roode in a US Title match in a match that existed and was forgotten about 24 hours later. 

Both Naomi & Becky Lynch vs. Carmella and Natalya and The Usos vs. The New Day were entirely skippable, while Charlotte Flair and Ruby Riott’s SmackDown Women’s Title match was a good showing and helped set up Asuka’s challenge of Flair at WrestleMania.  

After a long stretch of okay action, things really picked up with the main event, a superb Six-Pack Challenge Match for the WWE Championship as AJ Styles defended against John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin in a chaotic and fast-paced encounter that just about saved the show from being a total washout. 

8. WrestleMania 34

If WrestleMania 34 was as good as it was long, it would have been the best wrestling show of all time. As it was, it was an uneven card with a few great matches and the occasional head-scratcher. 

For the good, the main card kicked off in style with an energetic Triple Threat between The Miz, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor over the Intercontinental Title. Charlotte and Asuka then had another great match, though at the time some baulked at ending Asuka’s winning streak on the Grandest Stage of Them All, and to Charlotte Flair, who really didn’t need the rub. 

Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle’s hotly anticipated match with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon began with one of the funniest WrestleMania entrances of all time and then built superbly into the best match on the show. Rousey proved to be a natural with great instincts and timing and scored a very popular win, tapping out the Billion Dollar Princess. 

Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles also had a decent-enough match, although it majorly underwhelmed and paled in comparison to their Wrestle Kingdom 10 outing two years earlier.

For the not-so-good, John Cena and The Undertaker’s meeting, something that fans had been clamouring to see on the big stage for years, should have been an epic for the ages. What we got was a short and bizarre squash where Cena got in a single move before being destroyed in just a couple of minutes. 

Anything else would have been better than 10-year-old Nicholas as the payoff to Braun Strowman’s mystery partner angle, which saw Strowman single-handedly defeat The Bar to win the Raw Tag Team Titles.

The main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns could have been a good match, but the complete rejection of it by the fans meant that this one didn’t have a chance, and the action wasn’t exactly great anyway as Brock Lesnar shockingly retained on the biggest stage. The rest of the show was forgettable filler.

7. TLC

Sandwiched between Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble, TLC was not a must-see show in 2018, but there was plenty to enjoy. 

This was especially true of the Tables, Ladders and Chairs main event between Asuka, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. The cavalcade of gutsy spots and hard-hitting action was the perfect way to close out the show as the three talents took full advantage of the stipulations and somehow avoided disaster while putting it all on the line. 

Also putting it all on the line but without the plunder to aid them was AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, two of the best of this generation who were given almost 30 minutes to construct their work of art, more than enough time to tell an engrossing story that sucked the fans in as Bryan remained WWE Champion. 

Ronda Rousey also continued her positive first run with WWE as she had an engrossing match with Nia Jax that was a good example of the David vs. Goliath formula.

Elsewhere, Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton had an inventive Chairs Match, Finn Balor and Drew McIntyre had a fun singles match, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar took on New Day and The Usos, and Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins had a terrible match which was massively affected by the godawful storyline going into it as Ambrose won the Intercontinental Title.

6. SummerSlam

SummerSlam 2018 was a promising show that, thankfully, delivered on that promise and got off to a blistering start with Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler’s rollercoaster of an IC Title match. Other scorching action came courtesy of Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Carmella in a spirited Triple Threat match for the SmackDown Women’s Title, only topped by Lynch turning on Charlotte to huge cheers after the match.

Though the storyline wasn’t the best, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe had an excellent WWE Title match on the way to the dud of a finish after Styles snapped when Joe threatened Styles’ family. 

The Miz and Daniel Bryan’s years-long saga also continued in an average, long match that also suffered from a poor finish as Miz defeated The American Dragon, with Bryan Danielson never quite giving Miz his comeuppance.

Jeff Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura had a longer match than their Extreme Rules effort that was a fun encounter on Nakamura’s way to victory. Then Ronda Rousey again gave off the air of someone who had been doing professional wrestling for many years in her successful Raw Women’s Title win over Alexa Bliss. 

In the main event, Roman Reigns finally overcame Brock Lesnar in a match that was short and to the point and came across much better than their earlier WrestleMania flop. 

Overall, SummerSlam 2018 is a good show in front of a hot crowd. 

5. Survivor Series

Survivor Series very much reinforced the status quo in WWE of Raw as the flagship and SmackDown as the B show as the red brand scored a clean sweep of six victories to zero losses over their blue contemporaries in the battle for BRAND SUPREMACY. 

The two traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team matches were both enjoyable and given plenty of time to develop and tell their stories, but the key reason to check out the show were the matches between the SmackDown and Raw women’s and men’s singles champions. 

The best of the bunch was Daniel Bryan’s herculean effort against Brock Lesnar in a great David vs. Goliath contest that saw Bryan Danielson come close to victory before Lesnar reasserted himself as WWE’s top star. 

Original plans for Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch had to be scrapped after Nia Jax destroyed The Man’s face. The replacement of Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair was a fun match that really picked up as it moved along, before the cheap DQ ending. 

In other highlights, Seth Rollins continued his exceptional year in the ring by beating Shinsuke Nakamura, while Mustafa Ali and Buddy Murphy’s Cruiserweight Title match was a gem. 

In one particularly lowlight, Enzo Amore decided to show up in the crowd and hijack the event during The Bar vs. the Authors of Pain, leading to his removal from the building. The finish of that match featured Drake Maverick peeing himself.

4. Money In The Bank

WWE Money in the Bank was one of the best pay-per-views of the year, with the namesake ladder matches, once again, delivering as Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss captured the briefcases.

Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles had yet another match which was possibly the best in their series. Fought under Last Man Standing Rules, this had great pacing, big moves, stiff strikes and an amazing finish in the shape of AJ’s Phenomenal Forearm through the announce table. 

Seth Rollins continued his outstanding run of form by dragging a very good match out of Elias, while Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax contested a fun match that was unlike anything else on the show. There was a great twist at the end, too, with Money in the Bank briefcase holder Alexa Bliss cashing in on Nia after causing the disqualification. 

Daniel Bryan further demonstrated his incredible abilities in the opener with Big Cass in what was the future Big Bill’s best WWE match. 

A couple of slow spots in Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal weren’t enough to drag this down and it stands as the fourth best WWE pay-per-view of 2018. 

3. Hell In A Cell

Hell in a Cell 2018 was a very good show, with several exceptional matches and just the one stinker, albeit it did happen in the main event. 

Hell in a Cell kicked off with a gruesome and imaginative cell match between Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton as they used ladders, chairs, tables and, in one sickening spot, a screwdriver, as Orton defeated Hardy with an RKO as Jeff tumbled from the top of the cell. 

After Hardy and Orton’s DIY circus, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair kept the momentum going as the then-heel Becky captured the SmackDown Women’s Title in a very popular moment in San Antonio. 

The hot streak continued in match three in Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler, while AJ Styles and Samoa Joe had another great match with a vicious battle over the WWE Title. This played nicely off their previous matches and didn’t have the distractions that their SummerSlam match had. Also, the finish, with AJ tapping out while pinning Joe for the three, ensured more goodness was to come in the weeks following. 

After Joe and AJ, the show cooled off slightly but none of the matches were ever boring or not worth sitting through. Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan against The Miz and Maryse was a nice bit of sports entertainment, and Ronda Rousey’s defence of the Raw Women’s Title over Alexa Bliss was longer and more compelling than their SummerSlam match, even if the result was never in any doubt.

Finally, we get to the main event, a Hell in a Cell Universal Title match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman with Mick Foley as special referee. Another spine-jarring match, this had plenty of violence, run-ins and a big bump off the side of the cell from Rollins and Ziggler. It would have been a much better match and end to the show were it not for the Brock Lesnar appearance and non-finish. 

Nonetheless, this was an excellent show from beginning until the main event rolled around. 

2. Evolution

A long time coming, the first-ever all-women’s WWE pay-per-view, Evolution, was a welcome celebration of WWE’s women both past and present and got underway with the return of two WWE Hall of Famers, Lita and Trish Stratus, going up against Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a hot opener.

A fun 20-woman battle royal for a future title shot followed. It was nice to see the likes of Madusa, Ivory and Molly Holly come back and mix it up with today’s stars, but less heartening to see Nia Jax win after a dominant display. 

The Mae Young Classic final between Io Shirai and Toni Storm, while not bad, wasn’t the classic that they are capable of. 

Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya’s win over the Riott Squad, while perhaps not the best use of the babyface team, was a good demonstration of their talents and got them on a show that they absolutely should have been a part of, considering their contributions to the women’s revolution movement within WWE. 

The next two matches were a marked improvement from a match quality standpoint as Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane had a very tidy NXT Women’s Title match, before Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch had an impactful Last Woman Standing Match. 

In the main event, Ronda Rousey beat Nikki Bella in a very good match that had people genuinely thinking that Nikki could win the Raw Women’s Title. 

Really, match quality wasn’t the main concern when it came to a show like this, but everything was good and the top three matches delivered. The look and feel of the show was different and fans seemed to react very positively to the presentation. It eventually returned for a sequel in 2025.

1. Royal Rumble

Many months before Evolution, WWE’s women made history by main eventing the Royal Rumble pay-per-view with the first all-female Royal Rumble match. With no deadwood, plenty of surprise returns, and a very popular winner, it delivered on all fronts and was a great way to close out what had been a pretty decent show to that point. After the match, Ronda Rousey showed up at the end of the night to let everyone know that she was now a WWE Superstar and was on her way to WrestleMania by pointing a lot.

The men’s Royal Rumble was also a fine piece of work and had enough possible winners in it to keep fans guessing right up until the end. The final four segment between Roman Reigns, John Cena, Finn Balor, and eventual winner Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the best WWE had done in years and had fans on the edge of their seats. 

Elsewhere, AJ Styles took on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in an indie-riffic WWE Title match, and Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin and The Usos had a terrific Two out of Three Falls Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. 

Brock Lesnar’s defence of the Universal Title over Kane and Braun Strowman may not have been pretty, but then again it was three 300 lb wrestlers smacking each other across the head, literally so when Lesnar decided to give Strowman a receipt for some previous indiscretion. 

Two very good Rumbles and some decent undercard action made this the best WWE pay-per-view of 2018.