WWE's Best and Worst Trends of 2018

Best/Worst: The death of the part-timer

Super Slow-Down

For the past decade, WWE has failed to create new stars. They were content to go to the well, relying on the part-time legend of the past. Father Time beats everybody, though, and everyone knew it was only a matter of time until that strategy would fail.

In 2018, it finally did. That's a great thing for the future of the company, but its death throes were agonizing to watch.

John Cena went from having one to both feet out the door, only returning sporadically. Brock Lesnar has long worn out his welcome. The Undertaker gets more pathetic with each appearance, and 2018 was the year most fans finally figured it out. Kane is much the same. Triple H is in a similar spot. His one great performance was in the match with Rousey at WrestleMania, but that was mostly due to Rousey. Shawn Michaels already looked like he regretted his return at Crown Jewel.

Batista might still be left. Goldberg could potentially make a return if he wanted to, but the opportunities are dwindling.

More tellingly, the part-timers didn't move the needle. The constant presence of The Undertaker, Triple H, Kane, and Shawn Michaels throughout the fall did nothing to improve Raw's rating. The well had finally been mined. Vince McMahon did move things, but it already appears like that well, too, has been mined.

The writing is finally on the wall. The company has no choice but to try and turn its current talent into bigger stars. With loud proclamations of a "new era" and seeming pushes to organically popular acts, they look like they realize it, too.

It will no doubt be a long time before we see any dividends, and mistakes will undoubtedly be made along the way, but the first step to fixing a problem is realizing you have one. 2018 was the year WWE was finally forced to realize it had an age problem. That's a good thing, even if it was horrible to watch.