Who was WWE's breakout star of 2018?

Many superstars had a good year, but only an elite few could qualify as the breakout wrestler.

As 2018 draws to a close, it's time to look back on the past year and reflect upon the myriad changes in the WWE landscape. With unexpected returns, tragic absences, and an influx of new blood, the World Wrestling Entertainment corporation has had a tumultuous year, to say the least.

With all of the buzz surrounding the world's largest Sports Entertainment company, it's important to take note of those superstars who truly came into their own in the past year. Some of them are new hires who have set the promotion on fire. Some are veterans who have finally come into their own.

Now as we look forward to 2019 and the many changes it will bring, here are ten superstar WWE wrestlers who might be the breakout star of 2018.

#1 Drew McIntyre "The Chosen One"

There was a time, not long ago, that Drew McIntyre was considered one of the biggest disappointments in pro wrestling.

Drew McIntyre bumped into WWE CEO Vince McMahon during a golfing tournament in Scotland. Impressed by the massive stature and obvious charisma of Drew, McMahon eagerly signed him to a contract.

What happened next may have inadvertently hindered Drew in his initial run. Vince McMahon, for the first time ever, stood in the ring with a new hire and proudly declared that one day McIntyre would be world heavyweight champion. This was unprecedented and was clearly meant to give Drew the rub and a big boost.

He embarked on a feud with veterans like Matt Hardy, but despite a strong push, he ended up kind of floundering. While Drew had all the physical tools to be a major star, he was still working on his character and poise. He was packaged into the comedy trio 3MB and was essentially a clone of Heath Slater.

His release came soon after, but after a rigorous training regime that sculpted his body, and a lot of time spent on the Indie circuit, he was hired by Impact wrestling. Under the tutorship of Kurt Angle, he developed further--enough that WWE took notice and re-signed him.

After a run as NXT champion, he was injured, then made his re-debut on RAW. A triumphant comeback if ever there was one.

#2 Lacey Evans

Lacey Evans, the first lady of NXT

Lacey Evans is a former U.S. Marine and member of the Marine Corps Special Reaction Team, roughly equivalent to a civilian SWAT team. It's hard to imagine a background that would make one much tougher than that.

Once her military career ended, Evans trained for the American Premier Wrestling league, cutting her teeth and winning the world championship. Her performance in that promotion got her on the radar of the WWE, who signed her to a developmental contract on their NXT brand. She participated in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, though she did not win the tournament.

2018 has been good to Lacey, who is enjoying a tight push on the NXT brand. With her stunning glamour girl good looks, military and martial arts background, and championship poise, she is well qualified to be the breakout star of 2018 in the WWE.

#3 Andrade Cien Almas

Andrade "Cien" Almas

Andrade Cien Almas spent most of his career under a mask wrestling for the CMLL league. His persona was known as La Sombra, which translates into the Shadow in English. He joined the Los Ingnobles - the dishonourable ones - and became an international star because of CMLL's working relationships with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

WWE is always looking to expand into other markets, and the Hispanic demographic is one of their favourites. The Mexican people tend to be huge wrestling fans, and Lucha Libre is inherently intertwined with their culture. However, except for Rey Misterio WWE has not been able to develop a true Hispanic breakout star.

That may have changed with Almas. While he floundered a bit upon his debut in NXT, the addition of Zelina Vega has sent his career skyrocketing. With Zelina's top-notch mike skills handling the promos and interviews, Almas can concentrate on what he does better than almost anyone in the world; Wrestle.

#4 Rusev

WWE's Rusev

Vince McMahon has been accused of living in the past at times, and that certainly bears out with his attitude towards foreign wrestlers. When Vladimir Kozlov made his debut, the Titantron displayed the flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics...the only problem with that is that the USSR ceased to exist over a decade before Kozlov made his debut.

Not to be daunted, McMahon tried again a few years later with Rusev. Though he is actually from Bulgaria, he was pushed as a "Russian super athlete." With the aid of his valet Lana--who eventually became his wife--Rusev enjoyed a monster push and even worked a program against John Cena. He also enjoyed a long undefeated streak.

However, after his initial push, Rusev struggled to find his footing. He was often used as a mid-card gatekeeper, someone who trashed smaller wrestlers lower on the card but still lost to major superstars.

He managed to turn that all around with the invention of a clever catchphrase--It's Rusev Day!--and a major tweak to his character. Rusev also utilized social media to garner attention and legions of new fans. His upbeat, personable character has been far more successful than his previous one, so much so that he wound up wrestling WWE legend the Undertaker in Saudi Arabia.

#5 Keith Lee "Limitless"

Limitless Keith Lee

Ten years ago, the prospect of a superstar wrestler like Keith Lee, the Limitless one, would have been very poor for the WWE. Lee has a unique body shape which, in spite of his tremendous athletic ability, makes the uneducated, upon first glance believe he is overweight and out of shape.

But it's a new day in WWE. Thanks to athletes such as Samoa Joe, the Samoan Submission Machine, and Kevin Owens, the paradigm of what a WWE athlete should look like has changed tremendously. Keith Lee no longer has to worry about his natural build being a hindrance to his wrestling career.

He created an instant sensation when he made his NXT debut and invited fans and superstars alike to "Bask in his glory." With such a great, ready-made slogan that could be emblazoned upon t-shirts and posters, Lee is in a good place with the WWE. His physical and speedy style have made him a great candidate for Breakout star of the year.

#6 Matt Riddle, "The King of Bros"

King of Bros himself Matt Riddle

Despite the fact that Matt Riddle was a successful contestant on the Ultimate Fighter program--the television show that the Ultimate fighting championship uses to screen potential new superstars in the world of Mixed Martial Arts--his UFC career didn't end so well.

Matt Riddle tested positive for Marijuana, which despite growing acceptance in the USA is still considered a performance-enhancing drug. To quote the late, great Robin Williams, the drug might enhance tastes, colours, and sensations, but it's not going to make you fight better unless a Snickers bar is the prize.

Drummed out of the UFC by a livid Dana White, it seemed like Riddle had been dealt a fatal blow to his career. However, Riddle was undaunted and even managed to keep a positive attitude about his firing. He switched to wrestling and became an instant sensation.

Now signed with NXT, the King of Bros could be the WWE's breakout star of 2018.

#7 Io Shirai

Io Shirai

Io Shirai is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best professional wrestlers in the world today, male or female. With her high flying moves, quick and deadly strikes, and supreme technical prowess, she made a huge splash in the Mae Young Classic tournament, making it all the way to the finals only to fall to superstar known as Toni Storm.

Shirai means 'purple thunder' in Japanese, and Io certainly brings the thunder to her matches. She is a grand slam champion for World Wonder Ring Stardom and is considered to be the biggest star they have as of yet produced.

Naturally, her talent and beauty put her on the radar of the WWE. After some tense back and forth negotiations, Shirai finally inked a deal with the promotion and debuted in the Mae Young classic. Though she fell to Toni Storm in the finals, she is still poised to make a tremendous splash in NXT and beyond on the main roster.

#8 Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman talks the talk to Brock Lesnar, the Beast Incarnate

Standing nearly six and a half feet tall, and rippling with muscle, Braun Strowman gives us echoes of Bruiser Brody and Lex Luger with his tremendous size and power.

His standing as a former strongman contestant certainly helped his WWE career. He spent a lot of time in developmental and was first seen on WWE television as one of Adam Rose's entourage, the Rosebuds.

When he finally made his in-ring debut, he was paired with the wildly popular Wyatt Family. Given a black sheep mask, he was first the strong silent type, robotically carrying out the whims of Bray Wyatt, the Eater of Worlds.

Once he broke off on his own, he truly began to shine. Braun has the ability to resonate with the WWE audience, and he is going to go down in the history books because of his Wrestlemania 34 tag team victory with Nicholas, a young fan who he picked out of the crowd.

Now struggling with knee issues, he may have slowed down a bit but his momentum never falters. He is a no questions asked main event talent who could be WWE's breakout star of 2018.

#9 Carmella

WWE's Carmella, a former Smackdown women's champion.

Carmella is the daughter of Mixed Martial artist--and former WWE jobber, or enhancement talent if you prefer--Paul Van Dale. Inheriting her father's athleticism, she actually joined the Tough Enough contest in 2010 but then withdrew when she was given the opportunity to join the world famous Laker Girl cheerleading team.

However, the wrestling ring kept calling to her, and in 2013 she signed a developmental deal with the WWE. She first appeared in a segment where she played a hairdresser working with Enzo Amore and Big Cass, but the chemistry between the three stars was good enough that she parlayed that one off appearance into a recurring role as their manager/valet. She also continued to train as a pro wrestler.

She had something of a mini feud with Alexa Bliss before that star was called up to the main roster, but by and large Carmella has had most of her most infamous moments as a member of WWE's main roster. She was Miss Money in the Bank for a long time, eventually cashing in on mega star Charlotte Flair and winning the Smackdown women's championship.

Now paired with R Truth, she continues to dazzle on Smackdown, and might be WWE's breakout star of the year.

#10 Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch

Given the way that Becky Lynch's popularity has skyrocketed since winning the WWE Smackdown women's championship from Charlotte Flair, it's almost hard to remember her dreadful debut on NXT, where she had an Irish dancing gimmick...despite not being a trained dancer.

The gimmick flopped, but Becky Lynch was undaunted. She developed her own persona of the Lass Kicker and based her ring gear on a Steampunk vibed Magic the Gathering playing card.

Lynch had many memorable moments in NXT, and is considered one of the Four Horsewomen--not to be confused with the OTHER Four Horsewomen led by Ronda Rousey--along with Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte.

Becky might just be the most popular superstar on the WWE roster today. In a weird reversal of the problems WWE has with John Cena and Roman Reigns – namely, that they get a lot of boos in spite of being billed as babyface good guys – Lynch gets wall to wall cheers in spite of the fact she is currently portraying a vicious heel. Recently she took to calling herself 'The Man,' both a rip on Charlotte Flair's famous father and a feminist statement of epic proportions.

And the Breakout star of WWE 2018 is...BECKY LYNCH!

Becky Lynch, your Breakout star of 2018

When you look at the candidates--and all of them are quite impressive in their own right--the clear choice for breakout star of 2018 in the WWE goes to the Lass Kicker Becky Lynch.

While there are more decorated, more experienced, and more athletic stars on this list, Lynch has by and large gotten herself over with the WWE Universe all on her own. When given the mike, her golden voice and great cadence make people listen. Her confidence, poise, and technical wrestling ability are also top notch, making her one of the top women wrestlers on planet Earth.

Drew McIntyre may be the Chosen One, Keith Lee may be Limitless, and Io Shirai might be phenomenal, but Becky Lynch presents the total package of what you want in a sports entertainer. Congratulations to Becky Lynch!

Who do YOU think is WWE's breakout star of 2018? Please be sure to comment below, and thanks for reading!