1. Becky Lynch gets bloody
The most memorable moment of 2018 was a complete accident. In the show-closing segment on the November 12 episode of Raw, Becky Lynch and Smackdown crew were supposed to “invade the red brand” and lay a beatdown on the Raw women to promote the upcoming brand vs. brand Survivor Series PPV.
This all happened as intended. What wasn’t supposed to was a reckless punch by Nia Jax, which broke Becky’s face and left her with a concussion.
Intentional bleeding is banned in WWE. And Becky had a rare moment to display her toughness on a PG show. After recovering her wits, Becky beat Rousey with a chair, and then flaunted through the audience as the blood continued to stream out of her face.
It was comparable to other iconic “crimson mask” moments, like Bret Hart’s bleeding at Wrestlemania VIII, and Steve Austin’s bleeding at Wrestlemania 13. Becky is currently the hottest thing going in WWE right now. And it can be traced back to this, inadvertent key moment, when blood worked as a narrative device rather than shock for shock’s sake.