2018 Ongoing MOTY List: Ronda vs. Nikki

14. Nikki Bella vs. Ronda Rousey WWE Evolution 10/28

ER: Now this totally owned. I thought the layout was super smart, the use of Brie was smart, and Ronda's selling was awesome. Match starts with Ronda completely toying Nikki, showing her several ways that she can toss her ass over elbow and break her arm, repeatedly letting her get up after having her likely beat. And as you're wondering if this is just going to be a total Ronda mauling, Ronda eats two of the best shots to the ringpost you've seen, I mean full Lawler, just fantastic looking post shots on the floor (and another great one inside the ring) and the spends the rest of the match shaking off the cobwebs. Ronda made those post shots so important, not just by making them look as great as they did, but really treating them as a big deal throughout the match. I had just watched a match with several potential big moments that could have been treated this way, that were moved on from pretty easily. Seeing Ronda taking the postings so seriously, and really turning in an impressively evolving sell throughout the rest of the match, was a real treat to watch. Nikki takes over and Ronda feels like she's in it but also struggling to stay focused, working like she got her bell totally rung and went spaghetti legged and was now fighting from behind. The Bellas throw her around ringside, into the barricade, Nikki hits her big kick off the buckles and locks in an abdominal stretch, Ronda misses a huge crossbody when it looks like she was possibly turning it around, all of it was handled really well and turned what could have feasibly been a 3 minute match into an exciting 15 minute match, great turns and build. Brie finally gets hers when Ronda rolls through an ankle pick into a fireman's carry (and I LOVED how she did it, playing up her dizziness and looking fully unsure if it would work, relying on muscle memory, awesome spot), and when Brie has to reach too far over the ropes to stop it, Ronda uses that leverage to her advantage and also drags Brie in to dispose of them both. Brie gets tossed over the announce table and we get an awesome nearfall as Ronda takes a nasty Alabama Slam and the Rack Attack; easily could have seen the match ending there. But Nikki goes up and Ronda rolls through shakily (which, seeing as how she was selling during that rolling fireman's carry, easily could have been more of the same selling paying off those postings) and yanks that arm. I thought this was completely awesome, a really terrifically laid out match, and a killer main event. I cannot imagine this match being better than what they gave us.

PAS: I agree that this was stellar. I didn't pay much attention to Women's wrestling during the Bellas era, so I was very impressed that Nikki Bella could pull off something this good. Ronda provided most of the sizzle, but Nikki was right there with a nice portion of the steak. Her pushup taunt leg scissors, and abdominal stretch looked great and I dug all of the the double teams with Brie. I loved all of Ronda's early taunting, she has some of the best looking judo takedowns in wrestling history, total examples of elite skill with a wildness and athleticism to them. I totally freak out every time she throws one. I agree with Eric talking up those post shots, Ronda is totally reckless throwing her face into the post, she ended up with scratches and bruises which made her look like she had been in a domestic dispute or a brawl with an alley cat. I loved cocky shit talking Ronda making her comeback only to get caught in a near fall, and that roll through off the top into an armbar was incredible looking. Ronda is a total must watch at this point and a great choice as the face of the non-terror-state propaganda shows.


2018 MOTY MASTER LIST