Opinion
Cook’s Top 5: 2018 Wrestling Memories
Steve Cook is in the final stages of his trip down memory lane, with 2018 bringing up many not-too-distant memories!
Steve Cook is in the final stages of his trip down memory lane, with 2018 bringing up many not-too-distant memories!
Now we’re getting to the part of the countdown that everybody should be able to remember everything about.
The tricky part: Not enough time has passed to tell which events in 2018 will go down in history as the most important. We’ve got a pretty good idea, but who knows for sure? All I can say is that my status in the Internet wrestling writing world remains virtually unchanged since 2018. Could be worse!
Here are the top 5 events from 2018…
5. Gargano vs. Ciampa
Tommaso Ciampa had shocked the NXT world by turning on his tag team partner Johnny Gargano in May 2017. There was a slight inconvenience, as Ciampa suffered a ruptured ACL during the match leading to the turn that would put him out of action until 2018. Once Ciampa returned, it was time for what many call the biggest & best feud in NXT history. Ciampa was the biggest bad guy in the business, while Gargano was that plucky, never say die whitemeat babyface.
Gargano temporarily lost his NXT contract in a match with Andrade that saw some Ciampa interference. Johnny got his contract back by beating Tommaso in an Unsanctioned Match at TakeOver: New Orleans. Ciampa got the edge in a Chicago Street Fight, and beat Aleister Black to win the NXT Championship. Ciampa successfully defended the title against Gargano in a Last Man Standing match, temporarily giving him the advantage in the feud. The story wasn’t quite over when 2018 was.
4. Daniel Bryan Got Cleared
You knew it wasn’t going to be the end. Daniel Bryan would do whatever he possibly could to get back in a wrestling ring. He loved it too much to step away forever, whatever the doctors told him. Once he got cleared by enough doctors, he had to convince WWE’s doctors. It took a long time, but eventually Bryan got cleared to return to a WWE ring.
The guy didn’t take it easy! Bryan lasted 76 minutes in the Greatest Royal Rumble, setting a record that likely won’t be broken anytime soon. Bryan’s in-ring highlight in 2018 came when he turned heel and became WWE Champion again. He was indeed a New Daniel Bryan. He embraced his status as the Planet’s Champion, because environmentalists are evil in WWE.
3. A Deal With The Devil
WWE had run a number of events in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia earlier in the 2010s, those mostly flew under the radar due to the fact they weren’t televised. People took notice in 2018 when WWE announced a ten year multi-platform relationship between themselves & the Saudi General Sports Authority, which would feature two WWE Network events per year, and plenty of propaganda glorifying the Kingdom & its leadership.
It wasn’t a great look for WWE from a PR standpoint. It seems to have worked out pretty well financially, though reportedly not as well as they had originally hoped. Obviously they only held one show in Saudi Arabia in 2020 due to the coronavirus, and there was a bit of a kerfuffle in 2019 where much of the crew had difficulties getting out of the country. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when things “get back to normal”.
2. Evolution
2018 saw WWE’s women doing a ton of things for the first time. The first Women’s Royal Rumble. The first Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. This all wound up leading to the first WWE all-women’s PPV event, which was right around a time when most of WWE’s male roster was in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis weren’t too keen on having women on their shows, so it made sense to give the women a show of their own.
It made sense to have Ronda Rousey & Nikki Bella go on last. After all, Rousey brought a ton of star power with her from her UFC days, while Nikki is still a reality TV show star. In the eyes of many observers, the real main event was the Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch Last Woman Standing match. Charlotte & Becky certainly thought it was the main event, and did everything they could to make sure their match was what people were talking about at the end of the night.
It was one of the best WWE events of 2018, and my personal favorite. No wonder they haven’t had another one yet.
1. All In
This might end up being the most important show ever done depending on where the wrestling business goes after 2020. Right now, it’s All Elite Wrestling’s version of WrestleMania I, except they don’t have the rights to it. AEW wasn’t a thing at this point except an image in the mind of Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page & whoever else was involved in this. It was a response to Dave Meltzer’s opinion that Ring of Honor or anybody else other than WWE couldn’t draw 10,000 fans to a building. Cody took that as a challenge, and the Bucks were on board, and they rounded up everybody they possibly could to create a card that could do big numbers on Labor Day Weekend in Chicago.
It was a damn good show! The main event got cut a little short due to satellite time, but that’s what happens when you book such a loaded card. ROH & the NWA had title matches on this show, and both went over pretty well. Everything went over pretty well, there isn’t one match on this show that I can say screwed the pooch. The seeds were laid on that night, and somebody with a large amount of money that happened to be a big wrestling fan and was able to make connections within the television industry noticed.
These boys went All In, and it paid off for them & the rest of us. Unless you’re one of those folks that only wants wrestling produced by one promotion.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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