5 Wrestlers who grabbed the brass ring in 2018

#2 Tomasso Ciampa

The Blackheart 'Tomasso Ciampa'

One of the purest heels in the business at the moment, Tomasso Ciampa has been one of the biggest attractions of WWE's developmental brand throughout 2018.

After missing a major part of 2017 due to his leg injury and turning on his longtime friend and tag team partner, Johnny Gargano, Ciampa became the most hated man in all of professional wrestling.

After making a spate of sporadic appearances in 2017, the Blackheart returned to full-time competition at the start of the year, costing Gargano the NXT Championship in a career vs Title Match.

Gargano and Ciampa would face off against one another in an unsanctioned Match at NXT Takeover: New Orleans, with the stipulation that if Gargano won, he would be reinstated in NXT.

Gargano would win the match, the first in the series of three matches, and would be reinstated in NXT.

The duo would once again lock horns at NXT Takeover: Chicago II in a Chicago Street Fight where Ciampa would come out victorious. In the meantime, Ciampa would challenge Aleister Black for the NXT Championship, winning the championship due to interference from Johnny Gargano.

Gargano Vs Ciampa Vs Black would be booked for the NXT Championship in the main event of NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV, which would then turn into a one-on-one match between Gargano and Ciampa after Black was attacked by Gargano weeks prior to the match.

Ciampa defeated Gargano in a Last Man Standing Match at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV and retained his NXT Championship. Ciampa would once again defend his title against The Velveteen Dream at NXT Takeover: Wargames II. Ciampa's success in 2018 has been a total shock to fans as they believed that Gargano would be the one getting the spotlight and Ciampa would be a transitional champion.

But, Ciampa has proved his doubters wrong by putting on one great match after another. While Ciampa was always a great wrestler, fans excepted Gargano to be the most successful as a singles star but that hasn't been the case, at least not so far.

Ciampa has been a heat magnet throughout the year and is one of the most hated superstars in the company right now. But, the Blackheart proved through his performances in the ring and on the mic that he deserves to be at the very top.