5 Wrestlers who grabbed the brass ring in 2018

#1 Jay White

The Switchblade 'Jay White'

How many of you had heard of Jay White a year and a half ago, I, for, one didn't know anything about the New Zealander?

In a short span of less than a year, Jay White has gone from being an unknown rookie to the leader of one of the most influential factions of the modern era. The Young Lion graduate had a brief run in New Japan in 2015 before he was sent on a year-long foreign excursion.

White returned to New Japan in November 2017 at Power Struggle debuting the 'Switchblade' character and attacking Hiroshi Tanahashi and challenging the Ace for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at WrestleKingdom 12 at the Tokyo Dome.

White would lose his match to Tanahashi. At New Years Dash, White would attack Kenny Omega after the latter offered him a spot in the Bullet Club.

A day later, White would officially join 'Chaos' led by Kazuchika Okada and challenge Omega for the IWGP United States Championship.

White would defeat Omega in one of the biggest upsets in New Japan history at New Begining in Sapporo to win the IWGP United States Championship. He would successfully defend on three separate occasions before being defeated by Juice Robinson at the G1 Special in San Fransico, ending his reign at 160 days.

White would then compete in the G1 Climax scoring upset victories over Kazuchika Okada and eventual winner, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

He would then attack Tanahashi and Okada at New Japan's Destruction in Kobe where he along with Gedo turned on Chaos Leader, Okada.

After losing to Tanahashi at King of Pro wrestling for the G1 briefcase before Okada came for the rescue of the Ace, White would then be joined by Gedo, Tama Tonga and the rest of Bullet Club OGs in their attack on Tanahashi and Okada, thereby resulting in him and Gedo deflecting to the Bullet Club.

White is slated to go one-on-one against Okada at WrestleKingdom 13. White's rise from obscurity to become one of the most talked about stat in New Japan has been an absolutely phenomenal feat.

The Auckland-native is considered by many to be the future of New Japan and is a future IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the making.

The Switchblade has been the biggest breakout star in the wrestling world in 2018 and that is saying something considering the highly competitive nature of the business