WWE's 10 best women's matches of 2018

2018 truly was the "year of the woman" in WWE. The women's division was easily the main roster's hottest ticket this year. It was a dramatic bounce back from a disappointing 2017.

What made the ascendancy of the women even more remarkable is that throughout much of the year, despite a hot start with the first women's Royal Rumble match, the division was cold, suffering under the doldrums of Alexa Bliss' Carmella's, and Nia Jax's title reigns.

Things got back on track at SummerSlam, and it's been nothing but a blistering pace since. The first women's pay per view, Evolution, easily exceeded the men's-only Crown Jewel event in quality and the women's division is now at the forefront of most fans' thoughts as WrestleMania season approaches. The division has earned the right to main event the Show of Shows this year.

WWE had some very good women's matches in 2018, but these were the best of them.

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#10 Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley (Mae Young Classic, October 24th)

The Ace arrives, but the future is bright

We saw the future in this match, and the future looked bright. Io Shirai's arrival in WWE heralded great anticipation, but Rhea Ripley looked like a shining star in this match against arguably the best female wrestler on the planet.

Improving vastly from her 2017 Mae Young Classic performances, Ripley took Shirai to the limit, displaying her overwhelming power against her much smaller opponent. Shirai, for her part, demonstrated that she could play the imperiled babyface as much as she could the wrestling machine of her shining reputation.

Shirai would ultimately put Ripley away after a long, drawn out battle. Her speed and experience had served her well.

Ripley would become the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion about a month later.

#9 Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey (Money in the Bank)

After Ronda Rousey's performance at WrestleMania 34, everyone was wondering what her first singles match would be like. There was still trepidation. She was green and she was going to have a match with one of the worst workers in the division in Nia Jax.

We needn't have worried. Rousey performed a minor miracle and made a great match out of it - in her first ever singles match, no less.

Rousey sold Nia Jax's power and strength like someone who had been in the business for years. She demonstrated her own fiery athleticism when she began to make her comeback.

Then, just when she was on the verge of victory, with Nia Jax defenseless against the coming armbar, Alexa Bliss interfered and smashed her Money in the Bank briefcase across Rousey's back, ending the match and cashing in, tantalizing the audience for Rousey's ultimate triumph at SummerSlam.

#8 Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4)

It isn't the size of the dog in the fight...

Up to this point, Shayna Baszler had bullied the NXT women's locker room, but was still haunted by the specter of Kairi Sane, who had defeated her in the Mae Young Classic final 11 months earlier. Though the score had since been evened, there was still doubt as to which of the two was supreme.

From the opening bell, it was apparent that Kairi Sane was inside Shayna Baszler's head. Instead of being cowed like others who faced her were, Sane started aggressively, going toe to toe and using submissions against the champion, who claimed to specialize in them.

Kairi Sane then showed incredible babyface fire throughout the match even when she was being beaten down. When she managed to get to the ropes after almost fading in a choke, Brooklyn roared in delight, and the multiple false finishes set up the true finish - countering Baszler's finisher into a rollup, perfectly.

#7 Meiko Satomura vs. Killer Kelly (Mae Young Classic, September 5th)

The living legend is here, and the future still looks bright!

It wouldn't be a "year of the woman" without the presence of Meiko Satomura. One of the best wrestlers in the world of either gender, Satomura is a living legend of women's wrestling, and it was finally time for her to make her WWE debut after 23 years in the business.

What a debut it was!

She took to the ring against NXT UK competitor Killer Kelly, and they put on a clinic on the Mae Young Classic's first night. For a long time, Kelly looked like she would believably take the legend out of the game in what would have been a stunning first round upset.

Meiko Satomura preserved, however, and with incredibly powerful looking offense, put Kelly away.

It was the kind of match that gave both women status boosts. Satomura would go on to be the MVP of the entire tournament, highlighted by a match better still.

#6 Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (Raw, January 29th)

This first time ever meeting was only a taste of what these two could potentially deliver, but it sure was a salivating one.

A brutal physical contest, it came the night after the Royal Rumble, where Asuka won and Sasha lasted nearly an hour.

Of course, this match became infamous for Sasha Banks' botched suicide dive to the outside of the ring, but that wasn't the only stiff blow a competitor got in this match. Asuka's kicks and Sasha's knees told the story on instant replay.

The ending came with a bit of technical wizardry between the two. The Banks Statement was locked in, Asuka almost got to the rope to counter it, but Sasha rolled back to the center of the ring. Asuka, however, used the transition to duck underneath Sasha's arm and get the Asuka Lock and the tapout.

Unfortunately, the crowd wasn't a good one. This match might have been much better with a hotter one.

#5 Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (Survivor Series)

WWE had to scramble with an unexpected injury to Becky Lynch, forcing the cancellation of the champion vs. champion match originally scheduled. Charlotte Flair was chosen as Lynch's replacement.

It felt like WrestleMania came early and that was the match we wound up getting.

Rousey and Flair took each other to the limit. Neither woman could claim to truly be winning after minutes of agonizing, grueling action. It was a stalemate through and through. Neither of the two could seem to complete any sequence to land their big moves, though that didn't mean that they weren't battering one another trying to do just that.

That's when Charlotte Flair got frustrated and beat Ronda Rousey senseless, starting with a kendo stick and escalating with a chair around her neck.

The crowd was cheering to the rafters through all of it.

It set up things to come perfectly.

#4 Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (WrestleMania 34)

This was one of the most anticipated matches of the night. Many people, including Asuka herself, said that this was the women's match they most wanted to see at a WrestleMania.

There was some incredible action in this 13-minute scorcher. Asuka reversing Charlotte Flair's moonsault into a triangle choke is one of the spots that I'll be remembering the most when looking back on it.

Unfortunately, the thing that prevented this match from rising to the all time classic it could have become was the ending. Asuka tapped to a one armed Figure Eight and to make matters worse, congratulated Charlotte.

It was an anticlimactic way to end a 914 day undefeated streak. The match could also have done with being at least five minutes longer.

That being acknowledged, it's impossible to deny the high caliber of this match. It felt like it should have been the main event.

#3 Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez (Mae Young Classic, October 3rd)

If you haven't taken the time to watch this match, I suggest you do so, because it was easily the best technical women's match of 2018. That shouldn't have been too surprising in hindsight. Martinez and Satomura are both veterans of decades' standing.

Satomura and Martinez tried to get a feel for each other, though it was painful in the latter's case, because her opponent's strikes were so brutal. Nevertheless, Mercedes Martinez was a fierce competitor, and nearly beat Satomura with her Fisherman Buster finisher. Her failure to do so sent noticeable shocks through her system.

Eventually, Satomura rallied back, hitting her Scorpion Rising axe kick to put Martinez away and advance to the third round of the Mae Young Classic.

It's a shame that the match happened so early in the tournament. It easily felt like it should have been a semifinal.

#2 Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (TLC)

It still hasn't even been a week, so recency bias could be a factor. Nevertheless, it's hard to deny that this was an instant classic. We knew it would be going in. The three competitors involved are too good for it not to have been.

Each played their role perfectly. Becky Lynch had the full confidence of a champion who rose to the occasion in this situation before. Charlotte Flair, aggrieved, had a score to settle, and rampaged like a woman possessed. Asuka wanted to reassert herself back into the center of things and she did so like the warrior that she is.

Ronda Rousey got involved at the end, tipping a ladder over with Lynch and Flair on it and allowing Asuka to finally claim her first main roster title, all the while setting up the Road to WrestleMania.

In a rarity for WWE, it was picture perfect booking along with great ring work.

#1 Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (Evolution)

There was never any doubt about this one. This was the best women's WWE match since Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at the original NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

Becky Lynch had won the title a month before, but hadn't yet established herself as champion, getting two screwy finishes in a row at Super Show-Down and on SmackDown throughout the month. She still had something to prove and Charlotte was still in her way.

We saw some innovative spots in this match, with Charlotte applying the Figure Eight through a ladder. No one will forget Becky's leg drop off the top of the ladder and through the announce table, either.

Her shock at the end when Charlotte got up from all of this was a classic image all by its lonesome.

Eventually, Lynch powerbombed Charlotte from the turnbuckle through a table outside the ring, but even then, Charlotte almost got back on her feet before the count of 10, giving us a thrill to the very end.

Edited by Gabby Duran