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2018 was a great year for the entire women's division. Several marquee women's wrestlers including Ronda Rousey, Toni Storm, Mia Yim, & Io Shirai were signed by WWE. Feuds like Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler defined women's wrestling in 2018 in NXT. There were several firsts including the first ever women's Royal Rumble match, the first ever women's Elimination Chamber match, singles matches for both women's championships at WrestleMania, the first ever all-women pay-per-view, the first ever women's TLC match, and the first time that women headlined a dual-branded pay-per-view.
There was also an excellent women's Money in the Bank ladder match. Before we start the list, here are a few honourable mentions:
Naomi channelled her inner "Kofi Kingston" in the 2018 women's Royal Rumble match by avoiding elimination in an exciting way. She also won the women's battle royal at WrestleMania, competed in her first ever ladder match, and was the captain of Team SmackDown Live at Survivor Series. However, she was an afterthought throughout a good portion of the year and lost matches to Ruby Riott and the IIconics.
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Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are 2 of the most improved women wrestlers of the year. They competed in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble and elimination chamber match. Sonya Deville, in particular, has had fun matches with Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, & Naomi. Mandy Rose also shined against Asuka and was one of the standout performers in the women's elimination match at Survivor Series.
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Ember Moon started off the year as NXT Women's Champion and had a few breakout performances in the Money in the Bank match and the battle royal at Evolution. However, she has been pretty directionless on Raw and that needs to change.
#10 Carmella
Carmella started off the year as Ms Money in the Bank. She lasted for almost 20 minutes in the women's Royal Rumble match and attempted to cash-in her Money in the Bank multiple times in 2018. It looked like Ms Money in the Bank was set to fail her cash in but ended up cashing in on Charlotte Flair on the SmackDown Live after WrestleMania (with some help from the IIconics).
Staten Island's Princess was SmackDown Women's Champion for several months and defeated both Charlotte Flair and Asuka multiple times. She made some notable improvements towards the end of her title reign and had good matches with Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and both Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair in the same match.
The Fabulous One then formed a team with R-Truth known as the Fabulous Truth and the two proved to be quite the entertaining duo. The Fabulous Truth ended up winning the Mixed Match Challenge. As a result of that victory, Carmella will enter the Royal Rumble at #30 and therefore, is a favourite to win the match.
#9 Natalya
Natalya started off the year with a 25-minute performance in the Royal Rumble match where she eliminated Michelle McCool and Beth Phoenix before being eliminated by Trish Stratus. She moved to Raw in April where she turned face and became immediately associated with Ronda Rousey. She was a favourite to win the women's Money in the Bank ladder match and did great in the match.
The Queen of Harts also defeated Raw Women's Champion at the time, Alexa Bliss, multiple times and won a fatal 4-way match involving former women's champions like Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss along with Ember Moon. She then entered a feud with the Riott Squad that resulted in Natalya defeating the Riott Squad alongside Sasha Banks & Bayley at WWE Evolution and defeating Ruby Riott in a table match at TLC.
She then won a gauntlet match by eliminating Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, & Sasha Banks to become #1 contender to the Raw Women's Championship. While she did unsuccessfully challenge Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship, the two still had a pretty good match that allowed Natalya to end 2018 strongly.
#8 Ruby Riott
Ruby Riott started the year by ending Becky Lynch's 30-minute run in the Royal Rumble match before being eliminated by Nia Jax. She then pinned former SmackDown Women's Champions in Becky Lynch and Naomi before unsuccessfully challenging Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Fastlane in a great match.
The Riott Squad then moved to Monday Night Raw where Ruby was truly able to break out. She had a great match with Sasha Banks on Monday Night Raw and also picked up victories over Bayley and Ember Moon before entering a feud with Ronda Rousey & the Bella Twins.
She was able to have a great match against Ronda Rousey on Monday Night Raw before facing a pay per view losing streak. The Riott Squad were defeated by Bayley, Natalya, & Sasha Banks at WWE Evolution and Ruby Riott was defeated by Natalya at TLC. She looks set to break out in 2019 and the Riott Squad have a chance at winning the Women's Tag Team Titles.
#7 The Boss and Hug Connection
Sasha Banks started off the year by making history. She was the Iron Woman of the women's royal rumble match and lasted for almost an hour while eliminating Vickie Guerero, her friend Bayley, and even WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. The Boss was also one of the final 2 competitors in the first-ever women's elimination chamber match, was one of the final 3 women left in the battle royal at Evolution, won her second gauntlet match, and was a standout performer in the women's money in the bank ladder match.
She defeated the Riott Squad alongside Bayley and Natalya at Evolution, was one of the final 3 women in the women's 5 on 5 elimination match at Survivor Series where she eliminated Mandy Rose and was close to becoming #1 contender to the Raw Women's Championship. Bayley, unfortunately, lasted for only 90 seconds in the women's Royal Rumble.
She was a standout performer in the women's elimination chamber match where she eliminated Mickie James and was one of the final 2 competitors in the women's battle royal at WrestleMania. She then entered a feud with the Riott Squad where she eliminated both Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan from a gauntlet match in June. The feud ended when Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Natalya defeated the Riott Squad at WWE Evolution.
#6 Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss started off the year as Raw Women's Champion. She retained the title by winning the first ever women's Elimination Chamber match and eliminating both Bayley and Sasha Banks. The Goddess lost the Raw Women's Championship to Nia Jax at WrestleMania. She then won the women's Money in the Bank ladder match and made history by cashing in on Nia Jax to win back the Raw Women's Championship on the same night that she won the briefcase.
She successfully retained the title against Nia Jax in the first ever women's Extreme Rules match and then entered one of the year's best rivalries against Ronda Rousey. Alexa Bliss lost the Raw Women's Championship to Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam and lost her rematch against the Baddest Woman on the Planet at Hell in a Cell. Unfortunately, Alexa Bliss has been injured since then but will likely be cleared to compete soon and will likely compete in the women's royal rumble match.
#5 Nia Jax
Nia Jax started off the year as a dominant monster. She eliminated Ruby Riott, Kelly Kelly, Jacqueline, and Naomi from the women's Royal Rumble match before being eliminated by Asuka, the Bella Twins, Natalya, and Trish Stratus. She then took Asuka to the limit multiple times and turned face before defeating Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship and facing Ronda Rousey in a dream match for the Raw Women's Championship at Money in the Bank.
Alexa Bliss interrupted the match, cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase, and became Raw Women's Champion. Nia Jax then took some time off due to an injury. She made her return and won the 20-women battle royal at Evolution to become #1 contender to the Raw Women's Championship, turned heel by forming an alliance with Tamina Snuka, and was the sole survivor for the Raw women's team in the 5 on 5 elimination match at Survivor Series.
The Irresistible Force also (briefly) became the most hated superstar on the roster when she punched Becky Lynch in the face and broke her face. Nia Jax was defeated by Ronda Rousey at TLC but will likely feud with Becky Lynch in 2019 and have another dominant performance in the royal rumble match.
#4 Asuka
Asuka started off the year by eliminating 3 women (Ember Moon, Nia Jax, and Nikki Bella) and winning the first ever women's Royal Rumble match. She then defeated Nia Jax multiple times and won the Mixed Match Challenge alongside The Miz before her two and a half year undefeated streak was snapped by Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34. She then moved to SmackDown Live and faced a slump.
She lost to Carmella in two different SmackDown Women's Championship matches. The Empress of Tomorrow then formed a tag team with Naomi before they lost to the IIconics. Asuka then was a part of the battle royal at Evolution and was the last woman eliminated from the 5 on 5 women's elimination match at Survivor Series. She then fought her way into the first ever women's TLC match by eliminating the IIconics, Carmella, and Sonya Deville to win a battle royal.
Asuka would then defeat both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the main event of TLC to become SmackDown Women's Champion in one of the best matches of the year. Since then the SmackDown Women's Champion has defended her championship against Naomi and will likely be SmackDown Women's Champion heading into WrestleMania 34.
#3 Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair started off the year as SmackDown Women's Champion. The second generation competitor defeated Ruby Riott at Fastlane and snapped Asuka's undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34 in 2 great matches. She then lost her title to Carmella when Carmella cashed in Money in the Bank.
Charlotte Flair then competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match and won back the SmackDown Women's Championship from Carmella in a triple threat match that also involved Becky Lynch in a triple threat match at SummerSlam. The Queen was then involved in the best WWE rivalry of the year with Becky Lynch.
She lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Becky Lynch at Hell in a Cell. Charlotte Flair then continued her pursuit for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WWE Super Showdown and an episode of SmackDown Live before facing Becky Lynch in a Last Women's Standing Match at Evolution.
Their match at Evolution was WWE's best match of the year. She then faced Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series in another great match that led to Charlotte Flair turning heel. Charlotte was the standout performer in the TLC triple threat for the SmackDown Women's Championship and is a favourite to win the Royal Rumble.
#2 Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey has possibly had the greatest debut year in WWE history. She first appeared after the women's Royal Rumble and after that, she had one of the greatest debut matches ever when she teamed with Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34.
She then helped to guide Nia Jax through her best match in WWE at Money in the Bank. Her first attempt at becoming Raw Women's Champion was foiled when Alexa Bliss cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase. This led to Ronda Rousey completely crushing Alexa Bliss in their match at WWE SummerSlam and became Raw Women's Champion.
After defeating Alexa Bliss, she had 2 great matches with Ruby Riott on Raw and Nikki Bella at TLC. The Baddest Woman then faced Charlotte Flair in one of the best matches of the year at Survivor Series and successfully retained her championship against Nia Jax in another great match at TLC. Ronda Rousey recently successfully defended her championship against Natalya on Raw and is set to feud with both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in 2019.
#1 Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch started off the year by lasting 30 minutes in the Royal Rumble match and eliminating Lita in the match. She then had a pretty average run before qualifying for the women's money in the bank ladder match by defeating Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a triple threat match. She became insanely close to winning the money in the bank.
The Irish Lass Kicker then went on a winning streak by defeating Billie Kay, Sonya Deville, Peyton Royce, Mandy Rose, and Carmella. Charlotte Flair then stole the victory from her in a triple threat match for the SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam. After that, Becky Lynch slapped Charlotte Flair in the face and became The Man.
She went from a heel to a face with an edge and defeated Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell. At WWE Evolution, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Women's Standing Match to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship in the main roster's best match of the year.
She was then set to face Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series before Nia Jax broke her face. After that, Becky Lynch lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Asuka in a triple threat TLC match that also involved Charlotte Flair due to interference from Ronda Rousey. Becky Lynch will now likely win the women's royal rumble match and face Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 35.
