WWE World Titles – 2018
- Feb 16, 2020
- 3 min read
Welcome to my blog. This is the start of a new series, where I’ll be looking back at the history of WWE World Titles (not counting ECW) and ranking all the World Title reigns since the “Modern Era”. The “Modern Era” goes all the way back to the birth of Hulkamania in 1984, and that’s where we’ll end. Today we look back at the year 2018, and we’ll continue to go back from here.
In front of my star ratings for the matches, you’ll either see “HR”, “R” or “RTA”. “HR” means the match is highly recommended ; “R” means the match is recommended ; “RTA” means recommendation to avoid. In case nothing appears, the match is watchable but nothing spectacular.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
AJ Styles (November 7, 2017 – November 13, 2018)
Televised matches: 48
Record: 31-14 (3 draws)
My match ratings:
AJ Styles def. Jinder Mahal(c) – SmackDown LIVE Nov. 7 2017 (**1/2)
Brock Lesnar def. AJ Styles – Survivor Series 2017 (****1/2) *HR*
AJ Styles(c) def. Jinder Mahal – Clash of Champions 2017 (**3/4)
AJ Styles(c) def. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a Handicap Match – Royal Rumble 2018 (***)
AJ Styles(c) def. John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin – Fastlane 2018 (****1/4) *R*
AJ Styles(c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura – WrestleMania 34 (***1/2)
AJ Styles(c) draw. Shinsuke Nakamura – Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 (***)
AJ Styles(c) draw. Shinsuke Nakamura – Backlash 2018 (***)
Shinsuke Nakamura def. AJ Styles – SmackDown LIVE May 15 2018 (***3/4) *R*
AJ Styles(c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing Match – Money in the Bank (****1/4) *R*
AJ Styles(c) def. Rusev – Extreme Rules 2018 (****) *R*
AJ Styles def. Andrade Cien Almas – SmackDown LIVE July 17 2018 (***1/2) *R*
Samoa Joe def. AJ Styles(c) by DQ – SummerSlam 2018 (****1/4) *HR*
AJ Styles(c) def. Samoa Joe – Hell in a Cell 2018 (****) *R*
AJ Styles(c) def. Samoa Joe – Super ShowDown 2018 (***3/4) *R*
AJ Styles(c) def. Daniel Bryan – SmackDown LIVE Oct. 30 2018 (***1/2) *R*
AJ Styles(c) def. Samoa Joe – Crown Jewel 2018 (***)
Daniel Bryan def. AJ Styles(c) – SmackDown LIVE Nov. 13 2018 (***1/2) *R*
After defeating Jinder Mahal on an episode of SmackDown in November 2017, AJ Styles spent more than a year as WWE Champion. To be quite honest, creative didn’t help him at all, with two never-ending storylines against Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe throughout 2018. However, despite the booking not being the best, AJ always had good matches no matter who he was facing. Out of the seventeen matches I rated above, eleven are recommended and the other six are way above average. That is impressive, and it is what elevates my overall rating for AJ’s second reign as WWE Champion.
Rating: 7/10
WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Roman Reigns (August 19, 2018 – October 22, 2018)
Televised matches: 11
Record: 9-1 (1 draw)
My match ratings:
Roman Reigns def. Brock Lesnar(c) – SummerSlam 2018 (**1/2)
Roman Reigns(c) vs. Braun Strowman in a HIAC Match – Hell in a Cell 2018 (**3/4)
The Shield def. The Dogs Of War – Super ShowDown 2018 (***1/4)
No, I didn’t include Brock Lesnar in this year. Instead I’ll leave his first reign as Universal Champion for the 2017 edition. After months and months of feuding with Lesnar and challenging him in bad matches at WrestleMania and Greatest Royal Rumble, Reigns FINALLY won the title to end the feud once and for all. Once he won the title, he went on to have that weird Hell in a Cell Match against Braun Strowman with Mick Foley as referee that ended in a draw thanks to Brock Lesnar’s interference, and spent the rest of his reign working with The Shield before being diagnosed with leukemia. He had to vacate the belt, but his reign up until that point wasn’t setting the world on fire.
Rating: 3/10
ALL-TIME CHAMPIONS RANKING
Daniel Bryan (WWE Championship, 13/11/2018 – 07/04/2019) 9
AJ Styles (WWE Championship, 07/11/2017 – 13/11/2018) 7
Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship, 02/11/2018 – 07/04/2019) 5
Seth Rollins (Universal Championship, 11/08/2019 – 31/10/2019) 5
Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship, 07/04/2019 – 04/10/2019) 4
Seth Rollins (Universal Championship, 07/04/2019 – 14/07/2019) 4
Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship, 14/07/2019 – 11/08/2019) 3
Roman Reigns (Universal Championship, 19/08/2018 – 22/10/2018) 3
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