Mattel's 1980s toy shilling cartoon was far from Ahead Of Its Time in the writing department. Despite an amazing 80s voice cast, many of the episodes were pretty schlocky, even for a kid's show. I didn't have many fond memories of it despite having a complete set of the action figures, castles, and vehicles when I was a kid.

Bored at work in 2022, I decided to listen to the Kevin Smith continuation of the story while I did paperwork and data entry. I was surprised by how progressive and entertaining it was. I decided I should check out the old series. It, uhh...it didn't endear me.

But there are some episodes that feed into the 2021 series that are not only watchable but entertaining in a nostalgic way.

I have made a four season series leading up to the Kevin Smith's series, including ten episodes per season of the 1983 He-Man and the 1985 She-Ra series that were historically important to the new series but also fun to watch.

The first season introduces you to the characters and sets up the journey to the 21st century cartoon. The animation is dated, the writing is...fine. The surprise to me is that even the 80s series is surprisingly progressive, at least when it comes to gender representation and alternatives to violence. One of the recurring themes is that heroes and villains need to work together/keep each other safe from physical harm.

101. Teela's Quest

A really cool introduction to the good guys. We first see how Eternia is connected to Earth, and then we follow Teela as she searches for her birth mother. We also meet Orko, The Sorceress, and Merman. And we see that He-Man is a true hero, not just a violent barbarian. 


102. The Diamond Ray Of Disappearance

Meet the rogues gallery as Skeletor summons all of his henches to Snake Mountain in order to organize an attack on The Royal Palace and capture Castle Grayskull. Plus, meet the never-fleshed-out tertiary heroes whose action figures you only got if you were super whiney or your parents were super rich. 


103. Creatures From The Tar-Swamp

So far, Orko has been the clumsy, somewhat annoying comic relief. In this episode we learn how the magician saved Prince Adam and Cringer as a child (and a kitten). You'll be shocked to know that this episode also features Skeletor trying to conquer Castle Grayskull.


104. Dawn Of Dragoon

More Orko! A female, uhm, Orko arrives and guides him back to his home world where he battles a half-man half-dragon and gets back in touch with his magical powers.  The Sorceress gives He-Man some Alice In Wonderland style magic to help bring Orko back home. 


105. The Witch and The Warrior

He-Man and Teela  journey to a desert to protect a magic fountain from the evil Kothos. Then, jealous Skeletor decides he should take the fountain instead of Kothos, and sends Evil-Lyn and Clawful to interfere. 


106. Prince Adam No More

Skeletor fires Beast-Man for incompetence, and the King of Eternia reluctantly agrees to be guarded by Prince Adam instead of He-Man. The two stories intersect with disastrous results. 


107. The Search

He-Man must stop Skeletor as he drills to the center of Eternia in order to something something power something something Castle Grayskull. 


108. Evilseed

The...gnome?..dwarf..? farmers of Eternia plant an invasive vine that cracks a damn and floods a fertile crescent and then threatens to destroy the palace. The only way to beat the plants may be to team up with a certain skeletal themed villain destined to betray them. 


109. The Taking Of Grayskull

It's Orko's birthday and nobody is paying attention to him. But while their backs are turned on him, they're also turned on Grayskull which, along with He-Man's sword, totally disappears. Sadly, this is the first episode where not one but two strong female characters can't handle the danger themselves and need to be rescued by He-Man.


110. The Problem With Power

Skeletor's new plan to build a giant portal isn't just evil, it's also not going to pass an OSHA inspection. And when He-Man acts first and thinks later, he causes collateral damage causing him to rethink whether he is worthy of the sword of Grayskull.

2019 was a banner year for wrestling. There were bleak days on the horizon, but 2019 brought us Evil Daniel Bryan and Kofimania, Becky Two Belts, The Undisputed Era's total dominance over NXT, Impact wrestling started to return to form, ROH sent their wrestlers on a Jericruise, NXT UK introduced us to Gunther (as Walter) and Imperium, we even get an episode of Evolve (the NXT to WWE's NXT), and finally AEW arrives on the scene at the end of the season with a couple of banger first episodes.

Many seasons, I close things out with the end of an era, a retirement, or a Match Of The Ages. This season, we close with a familiar face returning to debut a new character. Sadly, the character never quite lived up to its concept and introduction, but Oh Man did it look like it was going to be fun.

1801. Everybody Gets The Shamrock Snaps, 2018

Daniel Bryan's triumphant return to wrestling feels pretty triumphant here as he has a pair of matches against AJ Styles, and one against The Beast Incarnate. We also get a 205 Live match, and some long form storytelling in the womens' division that's going to keep going all the way through Wrestlemania!

Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Percy Watson, Renee Young, Vic Joseph, Greg Hamilton, Jojo

1. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
2. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Mustafa Ali
3. Rhonda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair
4. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)
5. Charlotte Flair vs Asuke
6. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles
7. Becky Lynch (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuke in a TLC Match

1802. More Games, 2018

NXT established a top tier New Guard last season, and they're sticking around. Everyone in this episode is a current, former, or future champion, and it shows.

Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Kayla Braxton

1. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Kairi Sane 
2. Aleister Black (as Malakai Black) vs Johnny Gargano
3. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Champ) vs Velveteen Dream
4. Mustache Mountain vs Grizzled Young Veterans for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship

5. Undisputed Era vs Pete Dunne, Ricochet & Viking Raiders in a War Games Match

1803. Returning Glory, 2018



1. Allie (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Su Yung
2. Ray Fenix vs John Morrison vs Petey Williams vs Taiji Ishimori
3. Tessa Blanchard (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Taya Valkerie
4. LAX vs OGz in a Concrete Jungle Match
​5. Austin Aries (Impact Champ) vs John Morrison

1804. Jericruise: Sea Of Honor, 2018

It's the first ever Jericruise where Ring of Honor wrestlers gathered for a singles tournament on a cruise ship where the winner would face Jay Lethal for the ROH Championship. Followed by Alpha Club (Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks) vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, and Marty Scurrl).

Announcers: Colt Cabana, Jay Lethal, SoCal Val

1. Christopher Daniels vs Dalton Castle
2. Marty Scurrl vs Flip Gordon
3. Jay Briscoe vs Cheeseburger
4. Mark Briscoe vs Hangman Page
5. Dalton Castle vs Flip Gordon
6. Mark Briscoe vs Jay Briscoe
7. Jay Briscoe vs Flip Gordon
8. Alpha Club vs Bullet Club

1805. Back On Land, 2018

The ROH women's division has never been as entertaining or as visible as Impact or WWE's, so it's nice to see a couple of great matches here. The rest of the card is mostly familiar ROHers who will soon jump ship to AEW, but who will frequently return to the ROH ring.

​

1. Sumie Sakai (ROH Womens Champ) vs Madison Rayne vs Kelly Klein vs Wendy Choo
2. Jeff Cobb (ROH TV Champ) vs Hangman Page
3. Jonathan Gresham vs Zack Sabre Jr
4. SoCalU (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks vs Briscoes in a Ladder Match
5. Mayu Iwatani (ROH Womens Champ) vs Kelly Klein
6. Jay Lethal (ROH Champ) vs Matt Taven

1806. Takeover Phoenix, 2019

The Gargano/Ciampa/Black/Undisputed Era...era of NXT continues to be just some of the best wrestling in the industry. Plus, we get our first glimpse at the EST, Bianca Belair.

Announcers: Shawn Michaels, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton

1. Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders (as the War Raiders)
2. Ricochet (NXT North American Champ) vs Johnny Gargano
3. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair
4. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Champ) vs Malakai Black
5. DIY & Adam Cole vs Ricochet, Malakai Black & Velveteen Dream

1807. The Rumble Lynchpin, 2019

There are a couple of weird wins this season with someone not technically in the Royal Rumble winning the Royal Rumble, then someone technically not in the Money In The Bank match climbing the ladder and becoming the MITB contract holder but we also have some delightful undercard matches here, and two killer women's title matches. 

Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Mike Rome  

1. Rey Mysterio & Mustafa Ali vs Andrade & Samoa Joe
2. Rey Mysterio vs Andrade in a 2/3 Falls Match
3. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Akira Tozawa vs Hideo Itami vs Kalisto
4. Asuke (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Becky Lynch
5. Ronda Rhousey (WWE Raw Champ) vs Sasha Banks
5. Womens Royal Rumble
Lacey Evans, Natalya, Mandy Rose, Liv Morgan, Mickie James, Ember Moon, Billie Kay, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, Tamina, Xia Li, Sarah Logan, Charlotte Flair, Kairi Sane, Maria Kanellis, Naomi, Candice LeRae, Alicia Fox, Kacy Catanzaro, Zelina Vega, Ruby Riott, Dana Brooke, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Sonya Deville, Alexa Bliss,Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nia Jax,  Carmella

1808. The Phoenix Rumble, 2019

Both the 2018 Men's and Women's Rumble were tough acts to follow, and neither of them really lived up to their predecessors, but this was still a fun, if somewhat predictable match. We skipped over Shane McMahon winning Best Wrestler In The World because it was a travesty but it did lead to the fun frienemy tag team of Shane McMahon and the Miz who spend time at the top of the division in this episode. Plus Lesnar and Balor have a classic David vs Goliath battle over The Universal Championship, and FTR gets their hands on some WWE gold.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Renee Young

1. The Bar (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs Miz & Shane
2. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Finn Balor
3. Men's Royal Rumble Match
Elias Raw, Jeff Jarrett Shinsuke Nakamura, Kurt Angle, Big E, Johnny Gargano, Jinder Mahal, Samoa Joe, Curt Hawkins, Seth Rollins, Titus O'Neil, Kofi Kingston, Mustafa Ali, Dean Ambrose, No Way Jose, Drew McIntyre, Xavier Woods, Pete Dunne, Andrade, Apollo Crews, Aleister, Shelton Benjamin, Baron Corbin, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, Nia Jax

4. Chad Gable & Bobby Roode (WWE Raw Tag Team Champs) vs FTR (as The Revival)
5. Miz & Shane (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs The Usos

1809. Worlds Collide, 2019

A fun cross-promotion tournament between NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live gives us some matches we won't see in any other wrestling organization. The event is kicked off by a fifteen man battle royal to determine the draw for the tournament. I've stripped the tournament down to only the best matches, most of which were in the first round, so you only get one quarterfinal match, and no semifinal matches, but the final match makes the tournament totally worth it.

Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Vic Joseph, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Sarah Schrieber

1. Drew Gulak vs Mark Andrews
2. Keith Lee vs Travis Banks
3. Adam Cole vs Shane Thorne
4. Tyler Bate vs Cedric Alexander
5. Velveteen Dream vs Tony Nese
6. Adam Cole vs Keith Lee
7. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Bate

1810. Kofi's Gauntlet, 2019

This is kind of a bummer of an episode but it's full of great matches that are all leading to even bigger moments. We reach the expected turn in the Shane & Miz storyline but the real stories are Daniel Bryan's evolution into the evil vegan heel who has proclaimed himself "The Planet's Champion." He's also moved on from his feud with AJ Styles just in time to get caught up in the sudden and welcome surge of Kofimania. 

1. Gauntlet Match
Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan
Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy
Kofi Kingston vs Samoa Joe
Kofi Kingston vs AJ Styles
AJ Styles vs Randy Orton

2. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Akira Tozawa
3. The Usos (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs The Miz & Shane
4. WWE Championship Chamber Match
Daniel Bryan vs Samoa Joe vs Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy

1811. Takeover New York, 2019
​
Once again, NXT absolutely destroys. Ricochet and Aleister (Malakai) Black bow out of NXT before joining the main WWE rosters. Velveteen Dream and Riddle have an absolute scorcher. Future superstar Gunther debuts for us as Walter and annihilates everyone. And, due to an injury Tomasso Ciampa has vacated the title, and Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole vie to make it theirs.

Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton

1. Viking Raiders (as War Raiders) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Ricochet & Malakai Black
2. Velveteen Dream (NXT North American Champ) vs Riddle
3. Pete Dunne (WWE UK Champ) vs Gunther (as Walter)
4. Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano for vacant NXT Championship

1812. Kofimania, 2019

Kofi finally gets his flowers after going through a very similar to journey to Daniel Bryan's Yes Movement. Plus, the final probably ever SHIELD match, and the blowoff to the Miz/Shane McMahon storyline.
 
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome 

1. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Seth Rollins
​2. Roman Reigns vs Elias
3. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs Kevin Owens vs Mustafa Ali
4. The Miz vs Shane McMahon

5. Gauntlet Match
Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus
Kofi Kingston vs Caesaro
Kofi Kingston vs Eric Rowan
Kofi Kingston vs Samoa Joe (WWE US Champ)
Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton
Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)

6. The Shield vs Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin 

1813. Double Or Nothing, 2019

The first actual AEW event set some high standards. Jim Ross returned to announcing professional wrestling, Bret Hart shows up (though he got cut for time here, as he didn't wrestle)

Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez, Allie, Justin Roberts

1. Casino Battle Royal
2. SoCalU vs Strong Hearts
3. Awesome Kong vs Britt Baker vs Nyla Rose vs Kylie Rae
4. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami vs Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki
6. Young Bucks (AAA Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros
​7. Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega

1814. Becky Two Belts, 2019

Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome 
​
1. Rhonda Rousey (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Becky Lynch

2. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs Kofi Kingston
3. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Champ) vs AJ Styles
4. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Lacey Evans
5. Becky Lynch (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair
6. Kofi Kingston (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn in a No DQ Match 

6. Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Baron Corbin, Mustafa Ali, Andrade

1815. We Get It, You're Taking Over, 2019

We're still very much in the midst of the ROH Alumni era of NXT (many of whom will go on to AEW instead of WWE) but we do get a fun throwback with Tyler Breeze's return from his Who's That Guy Again run on the main roster, and future WWE star Iyo Sky gets some revenge on still not quite a WWE star but an absolute killer in NXT, Shayna Baszler. This episode is straight up just NXT Takeover XXV with the ads removed.

Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Taylor

1. Roderick Strong vs Riddle
2. reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) vs Street Profits vs Forgotten Sons vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch for vacant NXT Tag Team Championship

3. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze
4. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Iyo Sky
5. Johnny Gargano (NXT Champ) vs Adam Cole

1816. United We Stand, 2019

1. LA Knight (as Eli Drake) vs Abyss in a Monster's Ball Match
2. LAX (Impact Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros
3. Tessa Blanchard (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Taya Valkyrie
4. John Morrison (Impact Champ) vs Brian Cage
5. Taya Valkyrie (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Jordynne Grace vs Katie Forbes vs Rosemary
6. LAX vs Promociones Dorado
7. Tessa Blanchard vs Joey Ryan
8. Lucha Bros vs RvD & Sabu

1817. Evolve 131, 2019

Evolve is like PREXT for the WWE. You train there, then you get moved up to NXT, then if you're lucky, it's Raw and/or Smackdown. This is going to be our only look at Evolve in this chronology, as their crop of up and coming stars go head to head with Evolve Alumni, most of whom were in NXT at the time. This is our fist glimpse at Shotzi and Austin Theory, one of whom will be a constant presence in the near future, the other will have a couple of moments in the sun.

Announcers: Lenny Leonard, Paul Heyman, 

1. Arturo Ruas vs Anthony Henry
2. Brandi Lauren vs Shotzi
3. The unWanted (Evolve Tag Team Champs) vs AR Fox & Leon Ruff
4. Riddle vs Drew Gulak
5. Austin Theory (Evolve Champ) vs JD Drake (WWN Champ) in a Unification Match
6. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Akira Tozawa

1818. Takeover Cardiff

1. Caesaro vs Ilja Dragunov
2. The Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK Tag Team Champs) vs Gallus vs Mark Andrews & Morgan Webster

3. Mia Yim vs Bianca Belair vs Iyo Sky vs Candace LeRae
4. Toni Storm (NXT UK Womens Champ) vs Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray)
5. Riddle vs Killian Dane
6. Gunther (as Walter) (NXT UK Champ) vs Tyler Bate

1819. Fyter Fest For The Fallen

Cody and Goldust have a brotherly battle for the ages, that everyone assumed would have eventually happened in the WWE. Later, they team up to fight The Young Bucks in an excellent match. Both Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) and Kenny Omega are in this episode but, surprisingly, given the end of the last episode, they're in separate fantastic matches.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez, Goldenboy, Tony Roberts

1. Cody Rhodes vs Goldust
2. The Elite vs The Lucha Bros & Laredo Kid
3. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Joey Janella
4. Kenny Omega vs Cima
​5. Young Bucks vs Rhodes Brothers

1820. The Firefly Funhouse

A ton of great matches here amongst a scattering of episodes of Firefly Funhouse and the debut of Bray Wyatt as The Fiend! Also, another intergender tag team match as real life couple Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch take on two midcarders desperate to rise to the top. Plus, Brock Lesnar gets goofy for the first, but thankfully not last, time.

1. The Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre & Shane McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match

2. Caesaro vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black)
3. Daniel Bryan & Eric Rowan (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day vs Heavy Machinery

4. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Natalya
5. Charlotte Flair vs Trish Stratus
6. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Champ) & Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans

7. Samoa Joe (WWE US Champ) vs Finn Balor

The shift in the balance of wrestling history really begins here. Yes, we've seen women's wrestling start to improve dramatically over the past few seasons, yes, we've seen NXT prove that so called "indie" wrestlers on their way to the main roster of the WWE are capable of better wrestling and better storylines than a majority of the superstars, yes, we've seen New Japan start to creep into American wrestling, yes, Ring of Honor and Impact have weathered the constant onslaught of WWE's dominance of the wrestling world. But there hasn't been real competition since WCW started to crumble. Well, next season is when we'll see a new promotion instantly grow larger than ROH and WCW, but this season we see its founding.

​Before we get there, not everything in the WWE is bad. NXT, in particular, shines brightly this season. New Japan launches Kenny Omega into the stratosphere of professional wrestling. Ring Of Honor starts to cool its heels except when Bullet Club and New Japan is involved, and Impact is completely absent from this season until some of their stars pop up in the final episode of the season.

And the season ends strong. Our final three episodes include another stellar tournament featuring up and coming women, followed by their meshing with the main women's roster of the WWE, and concluding with the probably the most important wrestling show of the 21st century: All In 2018.

All In came together because professional wrestling's most famed critic and supporter said that nobody other than WWE could sell 10,000 tickets to a wrestling show in the 2010s. So Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks decided to prove him wrong. And they more than succeeded.

1701. Fastlane, 2017/2018

We're flying right into season seventeen. No time spent on who's managing which program, no background stories for new factions. The heaviest hitters from last season plow into each other as we ready for Wrestlemania with both a Royal Rumble and an Elimination Chamber match.

1. Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe
2. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
3. Men's Royal Rumble
Rusev, Finn Bálor, Rhyno, Baron Corbin, Heath Slater, Elias, Andrade, Bray Wyatt, Big E, Sami Zayn, Sheamus, Xavier Woods, Apollo Crews, Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal, Seth Rollins, Matt Hardy, John Cena, The Hurricane, Aiden English, Adam Cole, Randy Orton, Titus O'Neil, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Roman Reigns, Goldust, Dolph Ziggler

4. Elimination Chamber Match
John Cena vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor vs The Miz vs Braun Stroman vs Damian Sandow

1702. Womens' Road To Wrestlemania, 2018

We should be well past the point of segregating womens' cards from mens' but I didn't want an episode that was just two back to back rumbles. Also, the buildup to Charlotte vs Asuka, and Alexa Bliss's continued dominance is a fun storyline from a time when womens' storylines weren't really fun.  I have completely eliminated Ronda Rhousey from this episode, even though her fingerprints were all over this era. But since she hadn't yet been in a match, the idea of her just running around and pointing out signs after other wrestlers had epic matches just never sat right with me. Don't worry, though, she's going to show up soon.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Stephanie McMahon, Tom Phillips, Jojo, Maria Manounos

1. Women's Royal Rumble

Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Sarah Logan, Mandy Rose, Lita, Kairi Sane, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Torrie Wilson, Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan, Molly Holly, Lana, Michelle McCool,  Ruby Riott, Vickie Guerrero, Carmella, Natalya, Kelly Kelly, Naomi, Jacqueline, Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Beth Phoenix, Asuke, Mickie James, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Bayley, Trish Stratus

​2. Elimination Chamber Match
Mickie James vs Sasha Banks vs Bayley vs Alexa Bliss vs Sonya Deville vs Mandy Rose

3. Natalya & Carmella vs Becky Lynch & Naomi
4. Charlotte Flair (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Ruby Soho (as Ruby Riott)

1703. Takeover Philadelphia, 2018

​Announcers:​

1. Roderick Strong vs Tyler Bate (NXT 1/31/18)
2. Adam Cole vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black) in a Hardcore Match
3. Roderick Strong vs Hideo Itama (205 Live 2/6/18)
4. Andrade (NXT Champ) vs Johnny Gargano 
5. Roderick Strong vs Cedric Alexander (205 Live 3/13/18)
6. Andrade (NXT Champ) vs Johnny Gargano in a Career vs Title Match (2/21/18)

​1704. Wrestle Kingdom, 2018

Dave "I've Rated Every Wrestling Event Since Before You Were Born" Meltzer has a five star rating scale. The lowest star rating he gave out in this episode of Japanese bangers is six stars. See what all the fuss was about with The Elite before they became the founders of AEW.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Kevin Kelly, Don Callis, Matt Striker

1. Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Champ) vs Kenny Omega
2. Kenny Omega (IWGP Champ) vs Tetsuya Naito
3. Cody Rhodes vs Kota Ibushi
4. Young Bucks vs Golden Lovers

1707. Impact Redemption, 2017/2018

1. Trevor Lee (Impact X Champ) vs Dezmond Xavier vs Garza Jr. vs Matt Sydal vs Petey Williams vs Sonjay Dutt

2.Abyss vs Grado in a Monster's Ball Match
3. Ohio Versus Everything (Impact Tag Team Champs) vs LAX in a No DQ Match
4. Taya Valkerie vs Kiera Hogan
5. Austin Aries (Impact World Champ) vs  Pentagon El Zero vs Fenix
6. Ohio Versus Everything vs Eddie Edwards, Moose and Tommy Dreamer in a Hardcore Match

7. Pentagon El Zero vs Sami Callahan in a Hair vs Mask Match

1706. Being The Elite, 2017/2018

The Young Bucks/Bullet Club have been all over ROH and New Japan for a few seasons now, and it's not changing anytime soon. There weren't many interesting non-Bullet Club stories in 2017/8. Luckily, they put on some fantastic matches along with Cody Rhodes, Marty Skurrl, Hangman Page, and Kenny Omega.

Announcers: BJ Whitmer, Ian Riccaboni, Bobby Cruise

1. Bullet Club (ROH 6 Man Tag Champs) vs Search & Destroy
2. Jay Lethal vs Marti Scurrl
3. Bullet Club (ROH 6 Man Tag Champs) vs Dragon Lee, Flip Gordon & Titan
4. Cody Rhodes (ROH Champ) vs Dalton Castle
5. Young Bucks vs Best Friends
6. Hung Bucks vs SoCalU

1707. Low Blow City, 2018

I originally had this episode as the Saudi Arabian Royal Rumble but I'm a huge fan of the John Cena vs Undertaker storyline from this era. The hype around a match that wasn't going to happen was fantastic, and it's really the last interesting storyline for either one of them until Undertaker's Boneyard Match and John Cena's 2023 attempted comeback. We also get to see the best of the many WWE AJ Styles vs Shinsuka Nakamura matches, and the much anticipated Charlotte vs Asuke.

1. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs John Cena vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn vs Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin

2. The Authority vs Kurt Angle & Rhonda Rousey
3. John Cena vs Kane
4. Charlotte Flair (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Asuke
5. John Cena vs Elias
6.AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing Match

1708. Honorversary, 2018

ROH is still all about the Bullet Club. But we also get Dalton Castle's first defense of the ROH title, and a banger between Hangman Page and Koto Ibushi. 

Announcers: Ian Ricabboni, Colt Cabana, Shane Taylor, Bobby Cruise

1. Dalton Castle (ROH Champ) vs Jay Lethal
2. Koto Ibushi vs Hangman Page
3. SoCalU (ROH 6Man Tag Champs) vs Flip Gordon & Young Bucks
4. Cody Rhodes vs Kenny Omega

1709. The Saudi Arabian Rumble, 2018

It's an Intercontinental episode as we see Rollins defend the workhorse title twice in two fantastic matches, and Nia Jax's greatest storyline against Alexa Bliss. Plus, a fifty person rumble.

1. Seth Rollins (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Finn Balor
2. Alexa Bliss (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Nia Jax
3. Seth Rollins (WWW Intercontinental Champ) vs The Miz
4. Nia Jax (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Alexa Bliss
5. The Greatest Royal Rumble
Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Sin Cara, Curtis Axel, Mark Henry, Mike Kanellis, Hiroki Sumi, Viktor, Kofi Kingston, Tony Nese, Dash Wilder, Hornswoggle, Primo, Xavier Woods, Bo Dallas, Kurt Angle, Scott Dawson, Goldust, Konnor, Elias, Luke Gallows, Rhyno, Tucker Knight, Bobby Roode, Fandango, Chad Gable, Rey Mysterio, Mojo Rawley, Tyler Breeze, Big E, Karl Anderson, Apollo Crews, Roderick Strong, Randy Orton, Heath Slater, Babatunde, Baron Corbin, Titus O'Neil, Dan Matha, Braun Strowman, Tye Dillinger, Curt Hawkins, Bobby Lashley, The Great Khali, Kevin Owens, Shane McMahon, Shelton Benjamin, Big Cass, Chris Jericho

1710. Takeover New Orleans, 2018
​
It's pretty rare that I include an entire pay-per-view without removing any matches but this event was near perfection. I've added a great 205 Live 4-way match as an intro and then it's all New Orleans as EC3 joins NXT, and Gargano and Ciampa's long-awaited match after last season's betrayal not only doesn't disappoint, it exceeds expectations by miles.

Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Mike Rome, Greg Hamilton

1. Akira Tozawa vs Buddy Murphy vs TJ Perkins vs Kallisto 
2. EC3 vs Adam Cole vs Ricochet vs Velveteen Dream vs Big Damo vs Lars Sullivan in a Ladder Match for the inaugural NXT North American Championship

3. Ember Moon (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shayna Baszler
4. The Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Future Shock vs Authors Of Pain
5. Andrade (NXT Champ) vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black)
6. Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa in an Unsanctioned Match

1711. Chicago Rules, 2018

1. Buddy Murphy vs Mustafa Ali (5/8/18)
2. Cedric Alexander (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Buddy Murphy (5/29/18)
3. Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan
4. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Nikki Cross
5. Ricochet vs Velveteen Dream
6. Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa in a Street Fight

1712. UKC3, 2018

NXT was firing on all cylinders in 2018. In particular, their British stars. This episode is wound around the Undisputed Era/Mustache Mountain feud with a few other title matches thrown in. 

Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton, Andy Shepherd
​
1. The Undisputed Era vs British Strong Style
2. Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Mustache Mountain
3. Pete Dunne (NXT UK Champ) vs Zack Gibson
4. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Kairi Sane
5. Mustache Mountain (NXT Tag Team Champs) & Ricochet vs Undisputed Era
6. Malakai Black (as Aleister Black) (NXT Champ) vs Tomasso Ciampa
7. Mustache Mountain (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Future Shock (as Undisputed Era)

1713. Omega Man, 2018

Kenny Omega is the absolute star of this season. Here, he features in three of the four matches, and they are some of the best of the season. All of this action takes place in New Japan, as The Elite portion of Bullet Club gets ready for the launch of a whole new wrestling promotion next season.

Announcers: Don Callis, Kevin Kelly

1. Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho in a No DQ Match
2. Roppongi 3K (IWGP Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks
3. Adam Page vs Kenny Omega
4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega

1714. Rusev Day, 2018
WWE hasn't had a ton of love this season because there matches and storylines took a bit of a dip. Here we see the consistently fun Money In The Bank ladder matches from the year, as well as seeing an obvious person ascend to a title and a complete left field choice win a title.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton, Jojo

1. Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Ember Moon, Alexa Bliss

2. Nia Jax (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Rhonda Rousey
3. Men's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Braun Stroman, Bobby Roode, Rusev

4. Deleters Of Worlds (WWE Raw Tag Team Champs) vs The B Team
5. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Rusev

1715. Ducks In A Row, 2018

Lethal claimed yet another ROH title between episodes, Bubba Ray Dudley returns to the ring for, what else, a tables match, and more Bullet Club shenanigans.

Announcers: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Bobby Cruise

1. Jay Lethal vs Kushida
2. The Briscoes (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks
3. Bubba Ray Dudley & Silas Young vs Flip Gordon & Colt Cabana in a Tables Match
4. Bullet Club vs Chaos in a 10 Man Tag Match
5. Jay Lethal (ROH Champ) vs Will Ospreay

​1716. Takeover Backlash, 2018

Vengeance is the theme of this episode as we mostly see some return matches that somehow deliver even stronger than their originals, and we see the impressive debut of Riddle.

Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton, Andy Shepherd

1. Adam Cole (NXT US Champ) vs Ricochet
2. Riddle vs Casius Ohno
3. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Kairi Sane in a 2/3 Falls Match
4. Mustache Mountain (NXT UK Tag Team Champs) vs Grizzled Young Vets
5. Tomasso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing Match  

1717. Super Showdown, 2018

​Announcers:

1. The Bar (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day (Smackdown 8/7/2018)
2. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Samoa Joe
3. Seth Rollins (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Kevin Owens (Raw 8/27/18)
4. Charlotte Flair (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Becky Lynch
5. Cedric Alexander (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Buddy Murphy
6. D0lph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (WWE Raw Tag Team Champs) vs The SHIELD

1718. Alundra Blayze Classic

The second annual Mae Young Classic gives us some returns from the first edition but also introduces us to some future WWE, Impact, and AEW stars like Tay Melo, Killer Kelly, Iyo Sky, and Toni Storm. This is really a highlight reel of the whole competition, leaving out the final match, which is a part of the next episode.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, Renee Young, Kayla Braxton

1. MJ Jenkins vs. Rhea Ripley
2. Killer Kelly vs. Meiko Satomura
3. Toni Storm vs Jinny
4. Mia Yim vs. Allysin Kay
5. Toni Storm vs Hiroyo Matsumoto
6. Kayden Carter (as Lacey Lane) vs Tay Melo (as Taynara Conti)
7.  Meiko Satomura vs Mercedes Martinez
8. Toni Storm vs Meiko Satomura
9. Rhea Ripley vs Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai)

1719. Stephanie McMahon's Evolution

Now that we've seen the future superstars of various women's divisions, it's time to see how well they fare mixed in with the NXT and WWE women's main roster talent.

​Announcers: Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, Renee Young, Lillian Garcia

1. Trish Stratus & Lita vs Mickey James & Alicia Fox
2. 20 Women Battle Royal for Championship Match
3. Toni Storm vs Iyo Sky
4. Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalya vs Riott Squad
5. Kairi Sane (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shayna Baszler
6. Becky Lynch (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing Match

7. Rhonda Rousey (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Nikki Bella

1720. All In On The Big Dream, 2018

We end the season with the groundbreaking event that set up AEW. Cody Rhodes uses all his indie connections to put on a supershow of NWA, Ring Of Honor, Impact, AAA, and more. Everybody showed up and put on some devastating matches to prove that there's room in the big stadiums for more than just WWE. The most unexpected return on the card? Sean Mooney, who hadn't been seen on wrestling television since working for WWE in the late 1980s.

Announcers: Ian Riccaboni, Excalibur, Don Callis, Tenille Dashwood, Mandy Leon, Bret Tarring, Sean Mooney, Alicia Atout, Bobby Cruise, Justin Roberts


1. Tessa Blanchard vs Britt Baker vs Chelsea Green vs Madison Rayne
2. Nick Aldis (NWA Champ) vs Cody Rhodes
3. Hangman Page vs Joey Janella
4. Kenny Omega vs Penta El Zero
5. Kazuchika Okada vs Marty Skurrl
6. The Golden Elite vs Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix & Bandido