Predicting WWE's best matches for the rest of 2018

Well, that didn't take long.

NXT concluded its July run by serving up yet another match of the year candidate. The title match between Aleister Black and Tommaso Ciampa was well fought, had many callback elements to advance the arc of the Ciampa character, and, after an extremely rare spot of well-placed interference, delivered a shocking moment by crowning a new champion, all the while Black was kept protected.

For NXT, it's the second match of the year candidate this month, following the tag team match between The Undisputed Era and Moustache Mountain, which got rewarded 5 stars by Dave Meltzer.

Already lagging, the main roster served up none in July, unless next week's Raw or SmackDown delivers a miracle.

Can we expect better from the main roster in the remainder of the year? The SummerSlam card already looks lackluster.

Predictions are a hard game, but that's what makes them fun. We don't yet know what's on the cards or where feuds will evolve, but we can guess. By looking at performers and where they might go, it's possible to predict potential match of the year contenders, if they live up to the hype.

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#1 Ricochet vs. Adam Cole (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)

Ricochet and Adam Cole are on a collision course and will crash into each other in Brooklyn, much as the latter might not want to be on that path. They have a storied history together. Believe it or not, both have two Meltzer-rated five-star matches to their name, and both came in contests where the other was a participant. The first of these was in a 2016 match on the independent circuit. The second came in the legendary ladder match in New Orleans.

Now they'll take each other on one on one on NXT's biggest stage.

Expectations will certainly be high, but they're more than capable of delivering, especially in a year where Cole and Ricochet have both been fantastic.

#2 Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)

"You're still living off the glory of the past because you haven't done anything since."

"I know it. You know it. I can beat you."

A few simple words are really all that's needed. It's a lesson the main roster, ever in love with its dragged out promos, can really do with learning.

While Shayna Baszler's reign as champion hasn't produced the caliber of matches that the horsewomen and Asuka did before her, she's an excellent character, and the story in Brooklyn has been building for a year. Shayna is the consummate heel and Kairi the consummate babyface. The Brooklyn crowd will be clamoring for the bully to finally get her comeuppance.

I'll make a bolder prediction and say this will be one of the best matches of 2018. The women's division certainly needs one.

#3 Moustache Mountain vs. The Undisputed Era (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)

Every time these teams have entered the ring together, lightning has struck. There's no reason to think it won't again on NXT's biggest stage.

Brooklyn will be the third match in their series which started at Royal Albert Hall in London last month. The London match was a match of the year candidate for many. The rematch at Full Sail was even more so. What will Brooklyn have in store? Whatever it is, it's going to be memorable. That's for certain.

And this might not even be the end of the series. More on that in a moment!

#4 Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)

There's no surer prediction than this. Consider it all but official. All three combatants in this inevitable triple threat match have had amazing years, with three match of the year candidates under each of their respective belts. Just thinking about what they're going to do together, in a heated feud, in front of the hot Brooklyn crowd, makes my mouth water.

This should be a crazy, personal contest with everything from great technical wrestling, to hard strikes, to fantastic storytelling. I sincerely wish anything at SummerSlam weekend the best of luck in topping it.

#5 Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura (Mae Young Classic)

If you haven't witnessed a contest between two of the world's best professional wrestlers, male or female, you'll soon be in for a treat. Io Shirai and Meiko Satomura's match this past April is arguably the best women's match in any promotion all year. They always have amazing chemistry together, going back years. Now they're almost certain to meet again under the bright lights of the biggest promotion in the world.

Io Shirai has already been confirmed for the Mae Young Classic. Meiko Satomura has been heavily rumored as a participant, with Tokyo Sports reporting her involvement. If so, they'll almost certainly fight again.

It would be a can't-miss contest and probably the shoe-in for best in the tournament. Io winning will make her look amazing as she embarks on her NXT career.

#6 AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (Hell in a Cell)

The feud has begun, and it's being advertised past SummerSlam. While both men have had down years by their standards, despite Styles' title reign, this rivalry could be just the thing they both need. They have a storied history and their match at SummerSlam looks far and away the best on the card as it currently stands.

But the match at Hell in a Cell is the one to really look forward to. It's already being advertised. Locking the two of them in the cell is a no-brainer.

Samoa Joe brings such an aura to anything he does that he's seemingly immune to bad booking. The cell is the perfect playground for his brutality. Meanwhile, anyone will have fun imagining AJ Styles in his first Hell in a Cell match.

Already, I'm looking past SummerSlam. It might be the summer's biggest party, but the fall holds more promise with these two.

#7 Io Shirai vs. Deonna Purazzo (Evolution)

With roughly 20 of the 32 competitors revealed, the direction the Mae Young Classic is headed in looks clear. Io Shirai and Deonna Purazzo are the faraway favorites and are likeliest to meet in the final at Evolution on October 28th.

Both considered among the best in the world, Shirai's high-flying, hard-hitting style will clash well with her opponent's ground-based mat wrestling game which is heavy on submissions. Would Deonna Purazzo be able to keep the "Genius of the Sky" grounded for long enough to lock in her armbar? Or will Io Shirai just deliver hard hit after hard hit to get to the Mae Young Classic trophy?

Much like the tournament itself, this year's final should easily exceed last year's, both in quality and on the size of the stage it's on.

#8 Asuka vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (Evolution)

I'm going to hold my nose and predict this match for Evolution. It's entirely possible I'm wrong and that Carmella's awful reign will continue (especially given that Becky just beat her this week), but if WWE really wants to make Evolution as impactful as possible, it needs to have a SmackDown women's title match worth watching. There's no bigger one to make an impact than a triple threat between its top three competitors.

Presumably, Charlotte Flair would at that point soon be on the verge of being transferred to Raw after winning next year's Royal Rumble, so she might come up short in her title aspirations, leaving Becky and Asuka the real competitors for the strap between Evolution and WrestleMania, so this triple threat match would need to happen sometime between then.

There's no better time than at Evolution.

#9 The Undisputed Era vs. British Strong Style vs. War Raiders and Ricochet (NXT TakeOver: War Games II)

If you watched NXT last night, you got a major hint at what the next War Games match is going to be.

Ricochet challenged Adam Cole. War Raiders showed up to stare down the Undisputed Era. Moustache Mountain showed up too. Pete Dunne still has beef with the Era as well.

Did that happen by accident? No. It's far likelier that these nine lives will be intertwined over the next few months, much as the Undisputed Era had simultaneous beef with SAnitY and the Authors of Pain last year.

It'll be at War Games where they collide, with all the gold likely to be on the line.

Color me excited.

#10 Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT TakeOver: War Games II)

They're 1-1 against each other this year. Now, the top prize in NXT has made its way into their rivalry. Tommaso Ciampa will probably retain in a triple threat match also involving Aleister Black in Brooklyn. Afterward, the rubber match between these two, for the gold, is inevitable, and the only satisfying conclusion to this feud is to have it in a brutal stipulation affair, with Gargano finally winning the top prize that's eluded him for so long.

Has there ever been a singles War Games match? No, of course there hasn't. NXT likes to innovate, though. Locking these two in the double cage could be the yellow brand's equivalent to Hell in a Cell.

Of course, this match could be delayed until January for another stipulation, but it would make little sense, and risks dragging the feud out far too long. November should be the conclusion in an epic contest.

#11 Becky Lynch or Asuka vs. Ronda Rousey (Survivor Series)

Ronda Rousey is likely to win the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam and hold it for a good while.

The SmackDown equivalent is harder to guess. However, Becky Lynch or Asuka would obviously make for the ideal opponents against Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series. As for which one of them, it depends on what the company sees as a bigger contest.

Becky Lynch would tie into the horsewomen vs. horsewomen stuff that was set up last year. Asuka would arguably make for a more electric match. Either way, the contest would be explosive and likely etch itself into match of the year conversations.

Or they could continue with Carmella's horrible push and ruin it all. I put nothing past them. In which case, scratch this off the list.