WWE's Top 10 Matches of December 2018

December is typically a quiet month in WWE but, to give the company credit, they put in the effort under the Christmas lights this time around. Faced with ratings and attendance declining at an accelerating rate, half-measures simply weren't good enough anymore. Major effort was going to be needed to bring some excitement back to a product that wasn't as good as it should be, especially considering the strength of the roster that it currently boasts.

The result was a month that showed some promise for the coming year, if only that momentum can be sustained. Time will tell. We've been in this spot before, so scepticism is warranted.

Here were the matches that lit up the Holiday season.

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#10 Asuka vs. Charlotte (SmackDown, December 11th)

There was no way that this match was going to be able to live up to their original WrestleMania 34 classic - TV and commercial interruptions make sure of that - but Asuka and Charlotte put on a great showing to get everyone amped up for the coming attraction at TLC.

Asuka was a tougher opponent for Charlotte to put away the second time around. She got to show more moves than usual here as if the old Asuka really had returned after a long slumber. The result was that Charlotte got frustrated, so she did what she did against Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series and got herself disqualified with a kendo stick.

Becky Lynch, who sat at ringside, snickered in the background, but Charlotte attacked her too as she was swaggering out. Becky retaliated. Asuka got the better of both of them in the end, swinging the kendo stick in a frenzy that had the crowd on its feet. It was a great segment to close out a great main event.

#9 Cesaro vs. Xavier Woods vs. Jey Uso (SmackDown, December 4th)

Exceeding the triple threat tag team match that came at TLC, this triple threat match between members of the competing tag teams was filled with excitement. The three competitors showed why their tag teams are the best in the company, and everyone got involved in some fashion or another. Though, again, the New Day on commentary was a minor nuisance to the quality of the match.

There were numerous exciting near falls, and Cesaro once again proved how strong he is by his big swing/airplane spin combination on Jey Uso and Xavier Woods. He was the quiet glue of the match with some big spots that amped the crowd up.

Jey Uso would eventually pick up the win after hitting Cesaro with a surprise superkick. Everybody looked good heading into TLC. The match there ultimately couldn't live up to this one.

#8 AJ Styles and Mustafa Ali vs. Daniel Bryan and Andrade "Cien" Almas (SmackDown, December 18th)

This was a nice way to live up to the hype about giving us new matches with new faces. Mustafa Ali joined the SmackDown roster in December, and he added a fresh face to this lineup. Additionally, Andrade "Cien" Almas got more attention by being put into this match.

With those four involved, there was no way that this match wasn't going to deliver. We got some high-octane action back and forth to close SmackDown out. The match ultimately ended in a shocking moment, with Mustafa Ali pinning Daniel Bryan after delivering the 054.

The look on his face told the whole story. Mustafa Ali, in the span of a few weeks, went from a big fish in the small 205 Live pond to pinning the WWE Champion. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come for him in 2019.

#7 The Undisputed Era vs. Heavy Machinery (NXT, December 26th)

Heavy Machinery got a good Christmas present in their NXT farewell. This was the best match that they put on during their time between the yellow ropes at Full Sail.

The Undisputed Era obviously played a large role in that, of course. They've been having great tag team title defenses for the entire year. Still, Heavy Machinery should be commended for performing the way they have. They took the fight to the champions and overpowered them throughout the match. The Era bumped and sold for the bigger men while still looking great themselves.

They would ultimately get the victory after delivering their high-low finisher. Heavy Machinery didn't lose too much in defeat. They were sent off to the main roster looking as good as they possibly could. Might they show up on Raw during next week's tag team championship match?

#6 Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler (Raw, December 31st)

This was a brilliant way to end the year.

For a while, this cage match looked relatively hum-drum, but it picked up in the middle, and the real brilliant thing was its ending and aftermath. Drew McIntyre decimated his former tag team partner, delivering two Claymore kicks to end the match.

Unsatisfied with that and wanting to teach Ziggler a lesson for his defiance, McIntyre delivered a further beating, going on to then deliver a scorching promo where he declared himself "the king of the Raw jungle," as well as outlining his Royal Rumble intentions.

After a rocky December that saw him embroiled too fully with Dolph Ziggler and Finn Balor, this was the perfect New Year's Eve for Drew McIntyre. His star aura was rebuilt and then some with last night's performance.

Woe to those who oppose him in the Royal Rumble!

#5 Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax (TLC)

She did it again.

Ronda Rousey performed another minor miracle and got a very good match out of Nia Jax. This was an intense encounter, with Nia Jax using her power and Ronda Rousey selling for it. For a split second, it even appeared that there would be a shocker with Nia Jax having the title won, until Ronda Rousey forced us to come back to her senses by kicking out. The selling would continue from there.

That was, of course, until Rousey's explosive athleticism and Chess-like maneuvers with human body parts began to show themselves in the match. Staring Tamina down and keeping her at bay with just a glare, Rousey put Nia Jax in the armbar and forced her to submit.

At TLC, Ronda Rousey capped off another title defense with flying colors to end what has been a banner rookie campaign.

#4 Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT, December 19th)

While this match couldn't live up to their match of the year candidate at War Games a month earlier, Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano still took one another to the limit in this steel cage encounter.

There were some awkward spots, such as Black getting back inside the cage when he had the match won, but it was ultimately subsumed with the great work that two of WWE's best could do with each other.

The shocker in this match came with the entrance of Tommaso Ciampa into the fray. With both Ciampa and Gargano having beef with Black, the two actually did DIY's old finisher to put Black down.

Gargano won the match and his descent into madness continues past depths we previously couldn't fathom. Ciampa has completely warped Gargano to the point that he might have his old blood enemy back in the fold and dancing to his tune.

We'll just have to see what happens next.

#3 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (SmackDown, December 25th)

Credit to WWE - on a day most people wouldn't bother watching, the company delivered a merry little episode of SmackDown, with the merriest Rusev Day of all headlining the show.

Rusev and Nakamura had a great United States Championship match. It was a desperate battle. While Rusev was someone most people were favoring, it was far from clear if WWE would pull the trigger on him. It was far from out of the question that Nakamura would retain.

Through a back and forth contest that saw some great selling from both men, the company made clear that it would finally pull the trigger on Rusev, at least as far as a mid-card push goes.

Rusev hit one final kick and mercifully ended Nakamura's forgettable title reign, much to the delight of the crowd. It was great to see him finally get a big moment.

#2 AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan (TLC)

This was the pay per view match between these two that we were all waiting for. Without commercial interruption or any kind of shenanigans, AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan showed the kind of technical classic we all knew they could eventually put on.

For a while, neither man could claim to truly be winning, which led into the ending, which was a nice touch as well. Daniel Bryan didn't need to use heel tactics or even a big move to ultimately beat AJ Styles. He just outwrestled him and got a rollup after reversing an attempt at a rollup by his opponent, delivering a heartbreaking loss to the former WWE Champion, his rematch clause behind him. It was a nice foreshadowing for this supposed "new era."

Coming close doesn't matter as much as it used to, now that the rematch clause is thankfully dead.

This lived up to its hype in every way that the subsequent Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins match did not.

#1 Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (TLC)

Some people preferred the AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan clash. Others preferred this match. For me, this was a perfect war between three intense competitors, living up to its stipulation in every way that the previous match lived up to standard wrestling fare. However, it was crackling with fire in a way that Styles vs. Bryan wasn't, so this match gets the top spot.

With these three competitors, there was no way this match wasn't going to live up to the hype. Nearly as good as Charlotte and Becky's last woman standing match a couple of months earlier.

The ending was great, too. Asuka finally got her overdue title win, while Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair furthered their feud with Ronda Rousey, setting up the Road to WrestleMania. Nobody looked bad on the other end of this match. That's a rarity.