We continue our rundown of the best performers of 2018 with a mix of those wrestlers that probably should be getting higher in this list and some that had surprisingly good years.
60. Flamita
One of the group of young Lucha wrestlers that are finding great success and acclaim on the worldwide stage. He is a wildly entertaining performer that you should definitely check out if you aren't familiar with him. He wrestled a ton of good matches in 2018 so it shouldn't be hard to find one.
59. Taiji Ishimori
The new Bone Soldier had a year that got better as it went on. After leaving the Impact/NOAH partnership he joined the Bullet Club, which set him off in a prominent position. He had a classic match against Hiromu Takahashi in the BOTSJ final and worked his way to the top of the Jr Heavyweight division. He will be higher in 2019.
58. Cody
It is very hard to place Cody in a list like this as he frequently puts on matches that are just OK but he is also one of the most important figures in modern day wrestling. He has a great grasp of his gimmick and can put on really good matches with the right opponent.
57. Trent Seven
Seven had a more subdued year than he did in 2017, and a lot of his best matches took place in tag matches. His run with the Atlas Title in PROGRESS was the highlight of his singles year and produced some very good matches.
56. Rusev
Another year where Rusev should have been much higher on lists such as this but was held down by those in higher positions. Rusev Day was wildly entertaining and should have been absolutely huge but it ended up being another chapter in the story of one of the most underutilised wrestlers in the world.
55. EVIL
EVIL is more consistent in the singles ranks than his tag partner, SANADA. He put in some more memorable matches in the G1 Climax and had a mini-feud with Chris Jericho over the IWGP IC Title. Everything is EVIL.
54. Joey Janela
Joey Janela is a crazy bastard. He spent a large portion of 2018 establishing himself as the epitome of outlandish indie wrestling, AKA Jim Cornette's worst nightmare. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury later in the year which caused him to miss an extended period of time.
53. Jay Lethal
If ROH is ever in any doubt as to what to do, they put the title on Jay Lethal. That speaks volumes about the level at which he competes on a consistent basis. Having said that, he didn't have the list of great matches that he has in the past.
52. Marty Scurll
The Villain's 2018 was probably best epitomised by his run as the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion. He had a couple of excellent matches, including an absolute banger against Will Ospreay, but ultimately there was a feeling that it just fell a touch short of what it could have been.
51. Keith Lee
Spent the first half of the year adding more high-quality matches to his indie resume before getting signed by the WWE. He hasn't yet established himself on NXT so the second half of his year featured little of great note.
50. Roman Reigns
There is absolutely no doubting the fact that Reigns would have been higher on this list if his year, and title reign, hadn't been curtailed by his leukaemia diagnosis. The lateness of this list does mean that we have had the great news that he is in remission. See you back in action soon, Big Dog.
49. Kevin Owens
As is becoming a theme in this list, Owens lost a portion of his year to injury. Before that, though, he remained one of WWE's best assets, both in the ring and on the mic.
48. Roderick Strong
Strong spent two-thirds of the year competing mostly in tag matches, and that is the only thing stopping Strong being higher on this list because in the ring he is near unparalleled on the WWE roster.
47. Drew McIntyre
Drew was a bit of a victim of being lost in the main roster shuffle. He still looks great regularly, in particular during a tag match against Rollins and Ambrose, but he is somewhat hindered by those he is being associated with. If they let him off the leash he could be excellent.
46. Hiromu Takahashi
Takahashi is another that missed a huge chunk of the year due to injury, but he still managed to put on some classics before that unfortunate moment. He is a true one-of-a-kind wrestler and I look forward to seeing him put on some more phenomenal matches as soon as he can.
45. Juice Robinson
The best pure babyface in wrestling. Look at that picture, the absolute lad.
44. Zeus
One of the best overly muscular big men in wrestling today. Some of the matches he had in AJPW last year were brilliant both in terms of story and execution. He is one of the reasons that All-Japan is retaking a foothold in the Puro scene.
43. Chris Jericho
Nobody reinvents themselves better than Y2J, and what he reinvented himself as in 2018 was a violent goth version of Vince Neil. He was a complete dickhead during his entire NJPW run and it was fantastic. He even managed to have some of his best matches ever. Nobody did more with less.
42. Zack Gibson
'Liverpool's Number 1' is possibly the best heel in wrestling. He gets booed more resoundingly than anyone else in wrestling and that is because he is an utter bastard. He is excellent in the ring too which makes it even better.
41. Jeff Cobb
Jeff Cobb is kinda like a massive version of Chad Gable. A great wrestler with absurd power. He picked up some titles in 2018, winning BOLA in PWG and using that to beat WALTER for the PWG Title. He also picked up gold in ROH and got his foot in the door in NJPW.
40. Shuji Ishikawa
Much like Zeus, Ishikawa is a large part of the AJPW revival. He is one of the most reliably entertaining hoss wrestlers out there right now and if you put him in the ring with the likes of Zeus and Kento Miyahara, you are pretty much guaranteed something great.
39. Samoa Joe
I'm not sure anybody in wrestling sounds more believable when delivering a promo than Joe does. He's damn good in the ring too and I don't think he has ever had a bad year. Even though he hasn't been given the best stories to work with, Joe was still great.
38. Braun Strowman
It's feast or famine with Strowman. He either looks like he is the next major player in the WWE or he is stuck in an interminable feud with Baron Corbin. When it's the former, Braun is an absolute blast to watch.
37. Timothy Thatcher
The lesser talked about, but still bloody brilliant, other half of Ringkampf had what was probably my favourite year of his career. The highlight was a match against teammate WALTER in PROGRESS, but there were many more times when his no nonsense style produced pure gold.
36. Jay White
Jay White is being positioned as the next big thing in New Japan, and while that didn't fully come to fruition in 2018, you can bet your ass that it will in 2019. He is a wrestler that is improving with every match and becoming more comfortable with his new superstar position on the card. Look for a high placement in 2019.
35. Shane Strickland
To be frank, Strickland is fucking great. He kills it wherever he goes, but it was his run in Evolve that I found the most entertaining. His feud with Matt Riddle was superb and produced a number of top notch matches.
34. Daniel Bryan
Make no mistake about it, Bryan will probably be in the top 10 of next year's list, but his return didn't start off in the best fashion, so 34th is what he gets this time around. The heel turn was superb though and his match with Styles at TLC was one of the better non-gimmick WWE matches of the year.
33. Minoru Suzuki
Suzuki is a fucking crazy person. He turns up, makes someone's life hell, then leaves. He did this throughout 2018 and it was highly entertaining.
32. Velveteen Dream
Dream is a star, and the quality of his performances in big matches during 2018 just cemented that. Whether it was as part of a 6-man ladder match or competing for the NXT Title, Dream put his all into making every match feel important. He has some of the best in-ring character work in wrestling.
31. Matt Riddle
For the first 8 months of 2018, Riddle put on another string of memorable matches against the likes of Keith Lee, Minoru Suzuki, Shane Strickland, Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr. After that, he was signed to NXT, and as is often the case, he is taking some time to settle in to the new surroundings.
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