Ranking the Top 5 Contenders for 2018 WWE Superstar of the Year

The first half of 2018 has featured unforgettable individual performances and historic achievements for some of the company's most prominent stars. 

From championship victories to show-stealing matches, those men and women have had their names on the tongues of fans eager to tout their excellence. 

As we wave goodbye to the first half of the year and look forward to the roller coaster ride that will be the second half of 2018 for wrestling's most storied promotion, here are the five competitors who established themselves as front-runners for Superstar of the Year honors. The picks are determined by accomplishments, overall performance and their significance to the WWE product from January 1 through June 28.

5. Brock Lesnar

The validity of Brock Lesnar's argument for Superstar of the Year over the first six months of 2018 may take a hit from fans who despise the fact that he is a part-time Superstar with the Universal Championship, but the fact of the matter is it is difficult to argue his resume to this point. 

Lesnar successfully retained his Universal Championship against Kane and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat match in Philadephia at Royal Rumble. From there, he shocked the wrestling world, defeating Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 34 when everyone and their mothers were absolutely certain The Big Dog was winning.

A victory over Reigns in a steel cage rematch at The Greatest Royal Rumble only further cemented his inclusion in this list.

And why shouldn't it?

To suggest that Lesnar is undeserving because he does not compete full time is ludicrous and diminishes what he has accomplished. He beat Reigns and Strowman this year, something few can claim. He retained a title everyone was absolutely certain he would lose.

And above all else, he continues to bring mainstream eyes to the WWE product thanks to his undeniable star power.

Like him or hate him, believe he should be the champion or not, Lesnar belongs on this list.

4. AJ Styles

AJ Styles has brought prestige and credibility back to the WWE Championship in a day and age when that title is often used to make the Superstar who holds it.

The Phenomenal One has successfully retained it against Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura throughout 2018, and in the process, he has further established himself as the face of the SmackDown brand.

A cornerstone of WWE and a franchise player it can rely on to deliver when the spotlight is on, Styles has developed into the guy the company so desperately wanted Roman Reigns to be. He is the guy, undisputedly, on his brand and the measuring stick by which everyone around him is judged.

His quiet consistency was the story of his first six months and will likely continue to be the case.

After all, when someone is as good as Styles is, there is no need for boasting or bragging. His work speaks for itself.

The lack of a Match of the Year candidate is really the only thing impeding his progression up these rankings.

3. Alexa Bliss

It has been a historic 2018 for Alexa Bliss.

She started the year in the midst of her fourth women's title reign, and in February, she won the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match.

While she dropped the gold to Nia Jax at WrestleMania in the culmination of a months-long storyline, she rebounded by winning Money in the Bank and cashing it in that same night, beating Jax to become champion for the fifth time.

Now poised for a feud with Ronda Rousey over the Raw Women's Championship, Bliss figures to remain an integral part of the Raw brand and a Superstar around whom the critically acclaimed women's division can be built. 

For someone who was an afterthought in NXT, that is quite the accomplishment and a hell of a way to start a year.

2. Seth Rollins

No Superstar has been as consistently great from an in-ring perspective as Seth Rollins has been through the first half of 2018.

Whether he is working against Roman Reigns in a gauntlet match on Raw, kicking off WrestleMania in an action-packed Triple Threat match or wrestling in the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz and Finn Balor, Rollins repeatedly set a high bar for in-ring work in WWE.

That he won the IC title and defended it in show-stealing matches from WrestleMania through June 18, when he lost it to Dolph Ziggler, only added to the strength of his first six months.

As the second half of 2018 arrives, Rollins is still as hot as he has ever been as a singles competitor in WWE. Yes, even as hot as when he was the lead heel in the company and the WWE champion.

Speaking of world titles, another reign with one is not out of the question, particularly with the uncertainty facing Brock Lesnar's future with WWE and the necessity to have a champion that appears every week on television.

While most would point to Roman Reigns as the most obvious choice to dethrone The Beast Incarnate, do not be surprised to see management reward Rollins by having him roll into a championship opportunity, burn down Lesnar's oppressive reign over the Raw brand and add another title run to his already impressive resume.

1. Braun Strowman

There is no Superstar who has achieved as much as Braun Strowman has over the first six months of this year.

The Monster Among Men won the Raw Tag Team Championships alongside a 10-year-old at WrestleMania. Weeks later, he arrived in Saudi Arabia and won the first-ever Greatest Royal Rumble, outlasting 49 other Superstars and setting an eliminations record. 

It was his June 17 victory in the Money in the Bank ladder match that really hammered home how strong a first half of 2018 his has been.

Strowman has eclipsed Roman Reigns in terms of popularity, has assumed a more prominent role on Raw and is now in the perfect position to win the Universal Championship whenever he pleases. A massive competitor whose in-ring performances are better than anyone ever expected from him, Strowman has become a cornerstone star of today's WWE.

And the second half of his year looks to be even better and more noteworthy than the first, especially if he cashes in his title opportunity and wins the Universal Championship that has eluded him for the better part of the last year.