2022 in Wrestling: Review of the Year.

[The Natural]

2022 in wrestling will go down as a historic year. The following took a lot of time, I tried to do this chronologically:

• Katsuyori Shibata has his first match back proper at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 vs. Ren Narita.
• Thank you to @NikoBaltimore for The Natural sign on AEW Rampage, 21st January. Thank you to @AxB for suggesting it and to @Gordlow for the screen capture: 
• Shane McMahon gets canned from WWE after the WWE Royal Rumble. Mistimed that with what was to come, Shane O'Mac.
• Cody Rhodes leaves AEW for WWE. Huge unexpected development.
• Cesaro leaves WWE.
• WWE stupidly fires William Regal.
• William Regal debuts at AEW Revolution held 6th March, my Birthday.
• AEW Revolution provides three MOTYC in Eddie Kingston/Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley/Bryan Danielson and the best of the three in CM Punk/MJF. Gave that *****.
• Steve Austin has his first match in 19 years at WWE WrestleMania XXXVIII beating Kevin Owens in the main event.
• Roman Reigns is the first to hold the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship at the same time. Reigns' WWE Universal Championship reign is now 800+ days.
• The Undertaker goes into the WWE Hall of Fame.
• Surprisingly the Steiner Brothers do, more so Scott Steiner with what he's said about Triple H and Vince McMahon.
• Scott Hall dies.
• Big E breaks his neck.
• AEW and NJPW announcement of a joint PPV, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
• Tony Khan buys Ring of Honour.
• ROH returns with ROH Supercard of Honour featuring a dream match that delivers, #FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers. *****.
• Triple H announces his retirement.
• Kota Ibushi out of NJPW, his last match was in the G1 Climax 32 Final where he dislocated his shoulder so the match ended with Kazuchika Okada winning his 3rd G1.
• Shinjiro Ohtani is paralysed from the neck down during a match for Pro Wrestling Zero1.
• The Owen Hart Cup Men's and Women's Tournaments for The Owen Hart Foundation/AEW.
• Sasha Banks and Naomi, the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions walk out of WWE in May and get buried by them more than anyone since Steve Austin's 20 years ago.
• Stephanie McMahon takes a leave of absence from WWE.
• The first major WWE PPV in the UK for 30 years, WWE Clash at the Castle hasn't sold the expected amount of tickets, way too expensive. GUNTHER vs. Sheamus go on to have a ***** match and my pick for MOTY.
• MJF no-shows a meet and greet the day before AEW Double or Nothing and we don't know if he'll show for his match with Wardlow. MJF appears doing the job in a squash.
• CM Punk wins the AEW World Championship from Adam Page at AEW Double or Nothing. Five days later on a live AEW Rampage announces he needs surgery. There's confusing mixed messaging whether Punk's vacating or not.
• Instead there's a Battle Royal on next week's AEW Dynamite where the winner will face Jon Moxley in the main event. The winner, faced Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW Interim World Championship, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. Mox won.
• Cody Rhodes tears his right pectoral muscle off the bone the week of WWE Hell in a Cell. Rhodes still wrestles Seth Rollins inside HITC. Rhodes' chest and arm is so badly bruised. A unique spectacle. A ***** match.
• Keiji Muto announces his retirement in 2023.
• #FTR defend the ROH World Tag Team Championship vs. Briscoes in a ***** two out of three falls match at ROH Death Before Dishonour.
• Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Shelton Benjamin celebrate their WWE debut 20 years ago.
• Jeff Hardy gets another DUI, nearly 4 times over the legal limit. Jeff Hardy is suspended without pay from AEW and can only return upon completing successful treatment and maintain sobriety.
• Vince McMahon alleged to pay hush money, $3 million to his mistresses. 
• An injury bug in WWE/AEW/NJPW - Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Tomohiro Ishii and SANADA.
• AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is the best top to bottom wrestling show this year.
• Claudio Castagnoli is the mystery opponent at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door for Zack Sabre Jr replacing the injured Bryan Danielson.
• FTR hold the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, ROH World Tag Team Championship and AAA World Tag Team Championship at the same time.
• Vince McMahon announces he'll retire in a tweet as WWE Chairman and CEO. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan take over. Brock Lesnar walked out on WWE Smackdown Live, the first WWE show since Vince's tweet.
• Triple H takes over creative. Shows are much better. The secondary titles are treated far better, meaning something again.
• Claudio Castagnoli wins his first world title, the ROH World Championship at ROH Death Before Dishonour. Claudio Castagnoli doesn't hold it long.
• Bayley returns at WWE SummerSlam, 13 months out with an ACL tear.
• More injuries: Becky Lynch separates her shoulder vs. Bianca Belair at WWE SummerSlam but finishes the match, Dax Harwood, Santana, Chris Jericho, Christian Cage, Kris Statlander, Thunder Rosa and Ruby Soho.
• Triple H brings back Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, the Good Brothers and Braun Strowman.
• NXT UK is no more, it will be NXT Europe. Numerous NXT UK talent are released. The NXT UK Titles are unified with the NXT 2.0 ones.
• NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 reverts to a one night show, the first since NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13.
• MJF returns at AEW All Out.
• CM Punk regains the AEW World Championship beating Jon Moxley at AEW All Out. The press conference afterwards is better than the disappointing show as CM Punk rips into Colt Cabana, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Adam Page. This then leads to a fight backstage. It's revealed CM Punk picked up another significant injury during the match with Mox, a triceps tear.
• Earlier on the show, the Elite won the final to crown the first AEW World Trios Champions.
• On the post AEW All Out Dynamite, the AEW World Championship and the AEW World Trios Championship are vacated.
• Chris Jericho wins the Ring of Honour World Championship and in a three month reign faces former ROH Champions.
• Saraya joins AEW.
• Andrade El Idolo and Sammy Guevara have a backstage fight after going at it on Twitter. Andrade is sent home.
• Antonio Inoki passes away, the founder of New Japan Pro-Wrestling which turned 50 this year.
• Thank you to @NikoBaltimore meeting Bret Hart and saying how much the Cameo meant to me. Thanks to @Craig H, @Sammo~! and all contributions to that, one of the nicest and coolest things anybody has ever done me. So glad you got your sunglasses, Nick.
• Bray Wyatt returns at WWE Extreme Rules.
• Sami Zayn breaks Roman Reigns and Jey Uso on WWE Smackdown Live, 28th October 2022 in one of the funniest segments ever.
• Logan Paul can wrestle, his third match is against WWE Undisputed Universal Champion, Roman Reigns at WWE Crown Jewel in a losing effort.
• Logan Paul and R-Truth get major injuries.
• MJF wins the AEW World Title at AEW Full Gear from Jon Moxley via William Regal's brass knuckles. The best match of the night sees Jamie Hayter beat Toni Storm for the Interim AEW Women's World Championship. The Elite return from suspension. Saraya beats Dr. Britt Baker in her first match in five years.
• Thankfully Tony Khan drops the Interim bullshit on the post AEW Full Gear Dynamite. Jamie Hayter is made the AEW Women's World Championship and Toni Storm retroactively.
• NJPW drops a bombshell video package at Historic X-Over as Kenny Omega challenges Will Ospreay at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.
• NJPW introduce two new belts. The IWGP Women's Championship won by KAIRI in the tournament final at Historic X-Over. The NJPW World Television Championship, the tournament final between Zack Sabre Jr and Ren Narita at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.
• WarGames makes its WWE main roster debut at Survivor Series.
• William Regal is going back to WWE.
• The Briscoes beat #FTR in a Double Dog Collar Match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship at ROH Final Battle in another ***** bout. #FTR vs. The Briscoes is one of the best wrestling trilogies ever. Feud of the Year by far.
• Claudio Castagnoli regains the ROH World Championship from Chris Jericho in the main event of said show. #FTR/Briscoes should have gone on last. Said the same thing at Supercard of Honour.
• Rumours Sasha Banks will appear at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.
• Matt Riddle enters rehab following a suspension from WWE.
• Vince McMahon has interest in returning to WWE.
• Mandy Rose 413 day reign as NXT Women's Champion ends on NXT TV. Mandy Rose is fired the next day. Unexpected development.
• Minoru Suzuki announced the end of Suzuki-gun, 2011-2022.
• John Cena teams with Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns/Sami Zayn on this week's WWE Smackdown to keep his streak of having a match every year from 2002-2022.

Edited December 27, 2022 by The Natural

[The Natural]

My top 22 for 22:

22. Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta. AEW Rampage, 8th April.

21. Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins. WWE WrestleMania Backlash, 8th May.

20. Roman Reigns/Sami Zayn/Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso/Solo Sikoa vs. Sheamus/Butch/Ridge Holland/Kevin Owens/Drew McIntyre. WWE Survivor Series WarGames. 26th November.

19. Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler. AEW Dynamite, 27th April.

18. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita. AEW Battle of the Belts III, 5th August.

17. Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida. AEW Rampage Holiday Blast, 21st December.

16. Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter. AEW Full Gear, 19th November.

15. GUNTHER vs. Ricochet. WWE Smackdown, 16th December.

14. Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins. WWE WrestleMania XXXVII Night 1, 2nd April.

13. Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch. WWE WrestleMania XXXVII Night 1, 2nd April.

12. Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Revolution, 6th March.

11. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis. NJPW Royal Quest II, 1st October. *****.

10. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson. AEW Dynamite, 6th April. *****.

9.  Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii. NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, 1st May. *****.

8. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe. ROH Death Before Dishonour, 23rd July. *****.

7. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler. ROH Final Battle, 10th December. *****.

6. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe. ROH Supercard of Honour, 1st April. *****.

5. CM Punk vs. MJF. AEW Revolution, 6th March. *****.

4. MJF vs. CM Punk. AEW Dynamite, 2nd February. *****.

3. Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson. AEW Dynamite, 6th January. *****.

2. Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins. WWE Hell in a Cell, 5th June. *****.

1. GUNTHER vs. Sheamus. WWE Clash at the Castle, 10th September. *****.

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

Awesome job on the timeline and the list, buddy! 

Although, you somehow seem to have forgotten that The Greatest Professional Wrestling Match of All Time took place in 2022. A match which in comparison made Bret vs Austin look like HHH vs Scott Steiner from RR '03. Of course I am talking about Brandon Cutler vs Pretty Peter Avalon Chapter IV. Other than that baffling oversight, though...

Seriously, great work. What an amazing year!

[NikoBaltimore]

This all happened in one fucking year.  Goddamn.  If even a fraction of this happened in years past it'd be considered a really big deal.

I think the biggest thing for me was the Vince situation leading to him leaving.  I've been wanting that for so many years that while the situation is fucked up him leaving has led to me being interested in WWE again.  If this alone happened this year with not much else going on then that alone would be historic.

 

[DEAN]

This is breaking my head.  I'm trying to remember my favorite matches of 2022 BUT THERE WERE A MILLION GREAT WRESTLING MATCHES IN 2022!

My favorite match from:

AEW:  Konosuke Takeshita vs Jon Moxley, the last one.  Then Hikaru Shida vs Jamie Hayter. Or twelve million other matches, many involving Chris Jericho.

WWE:  GUNTHER vs Sheamus.  Then GUNTHER vs Ricochet.

ROH:  The Briscoes vs FTR, the first one.  That would also be my match of the year.  THEN the dog collar match. Which would be my second place match of the year.

IMPACT!: Josh Alexander vs Speedball Mike Bailey.  Then Masha Slamovich vs Jordynn Grace and then Masha Slamovich vs Allie Katch.

NEW JAPAN:  Orange Cassidy vs Will Ospreay. FORBIDDEN DOOR.

DDT: Takeshita vs Higuchi for the KOD.

AAA:  Villano IV vs Pentagon Jr.

CMLL: Women's Gran Prix Cibernetico

IWRG: Los Terribles Cerebros vs La Pandemia

NWA: Kamille vs KiLynn King

MLW: Jacob Fatu vs Mads Kruger Table Match.

Women's Wrestling Army: Masha Slamovich vs Gia Scott.  Then every match Queen Aminata had.

SENDAI GIRLS:  Chihiro Hashimoto vs Ryo Mizunami.  Actually, THIS is my match of the year.

STARDOM: My mind exploded.  Something with Saya Kamitani?  Natsupio?  Himeka?  Too many to sort through.

There you go.  The best indie match was Shane Taylor vs Bryan Keith.  That was fucking balls out.

  

[For Great Justice]

Moxley, Roman, Jericho, Sami, Jey Uso, Sheamus, Gunther, Danielson

No clue how you order them but that’s Tier 1 for this year IMO. I might give it to Jericho just because of the age factor (which is incredible), but man like Jey Uso or Gunther killed it. All these guys did.

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

Wow! Phil is capable of enjoying himself some fun, spectacle-style pro wrestling! Who knew? Great write-ups this week, as well as surprising and interesting choices. I fully endorse his "other" selection this week.

https://www.theringer.com/2023/1/3/23537395/shinsuke-nakamura-the-great-muta-best-wrestling-matches

edit: whoops, meant to post this in the "Phil's lists" thread.

Edited January 4, 2023 by Gordlow

[HarryArchieGus]

Here's the ones I can remember...

1. FTR v Briscoes I-III were easily the most exciting matches of the year. Too bad that dull Lowell crowd got 2, but kudos to the great state of Texas for involvement in 1 and 3. The Aussie Open match in the UK rates nicely alongside these classics. As does the Boston TV match with the Bucks.

2. I loved Gunther v Sheamus from the Castle. The Six Man tag from Extreme Rules was great too. Everything I've seen from WWEWalter has been fantastic. Second only to the Sheamus bout was the excellent TV Main Event vs Mysterio. And obviously the Riccochet match. I rate the Rey Rey higher, for as talented as he is Riccochet is a pretty dorky babyface. Rey somehow makes melodrama work. See also the excellent character work with his special talent son Dominik.

3. Ospreay v Cassidy from the Forbidden Door. Ospreay's entire AEW run was so fun. He showed great character on AEW TV that suggested he's well suited for the American Sports Entertainment style. Speaking of which banner year for Cassidy. No surprise.

4. The Masha Slamovich v Jordynne Grace bout from the Impact PPV was easily my favorite on the Ladies side. TK oughtta bring this battle of the behemoths to a wider audience. And maybe throw the great Jamie Hayter in the mix. Toni Storm too. Honorable mention to Bayley who is completely awesome. Also, goddamn, can we have Asuka v Io Shirai already? Their moments in tag bouts were as good as anything this year.

5. Danielson v Hangman was so great. And a ton of fun to read predictions and chat about on here. I can't even remember Hangman v Punk at all, but I'm on the spot planning a rewatch. I think I loved every single Bryan Danielson match from 2022. Including the excellent PPV match with Moxley featuring the Regal debut.

6.  I loved the MJF v Punk feud culminating in the excellent dog collar match. Great build and deliver. I hope they find a way to slot Punk back into the show.

7. I loved all of both the Eddie Kingston and Chris Jericho 2022 Match catalogs (including the multi man tags and both of their matches v Ishii), and especially their battle versus one another. Side mention to Action Andretti v Jericho which wasn't technically one of the better matches I saw this year, but beyond 'technically' it kinda was. Crowd heat eclipses any other variable. That said, the Sammy v Eddie match from Queens was one of the more underrated matches of the year. Glad to see ppl are coming around on and accepting Guevara for the incredible heat machine and talent that he is.

9. Okada v JONAH from the G1. In an incredibly stale year for NJPW (perhaps Gedo oughtta take a seat) JONAH came in and brought some fun factor. Fun factor was high on his entire year. Some super fun matches in Impact and a bunch of Indy shots that look great on paper. I especially liked his bouts with Josh Alexander and Pierre Carl Oulette. I really wish 'Paul' hadn't spoiled that NJPW party.

10. Zack Sabre JR v Claudio Castignoli from Forbidden Door. It was so exciting to see Claudio again after a long, long time of not seeing him. I love Zack Sabre Jr. I really look forward to Sabre coming to the US one day, and hopefully for AEW. 

11. Claudio v Konsuke Takeshita from AEWTV. I don't recall anything I didn't love from either of these guys. I have no doubt that a healthy Takeshita will have some of the best matches in 2023.

12. Darby Allin had a ton of fun matches in 2022 ( CAN'T SEEM TO LINK HIS CAGEMATCH PROFILE ) that I really liked or loVed. The first bout with Samoa Joe kinda topped off quietly one of the best years of any wrestler in 2022. Which reminds me of the King of Television and what a great year he had too. Joe's back! Honorable mentions to so many Darby bouts like those with Guevara, and the three way with Sammy and Andrade (and one on one coffin match). The Brody King match and Battle Royal finish. The rare count out victory vs Butcher. The Six man with Shingo and Sting against El-P and the Bucks. Sooo many terrific matches. 

13. Chad Gable v Kevin Owens from Raw. Excellent TV match from two of my main reasons to tune into HHHWWETV. I'm new to the Chad Gable catalog. I dream of a day when Gable is free to have the kind of matches afforded AEW, NJPW and Indy workers. I understand his position in WWE, but he's as good as anybody in pro wrestling right now. 

14. Jon Moxley v Wheeler Yuta from Rampage. My favorite of a banner year for Mox. Seeing Moxley live in Toronto added something to the package. Live he comes off as an even bigger deal than on weekly television. Oh, that Biff Buisick match was great too. 

15. Elite v Death Triangle. Ppl scoffed at the idea of a 7 match series. I'm not sure I was convinced it was a good idea, but these matches have been unreal. The entire Trios division since the tournament began has been so incredibly fun. Honorable mention to Ospreay and the Aussie Open. 

16. Honorable mention to the recent (2023 early best) Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay. Obviously this match had lofty expectations which they somehow met and surpassed. The press conference promos (shout out to Don Callis) were as good as any feud building talk in 2022. Bring on the USTV rematch. 

I'm certainly forgetting soooo many great matches right now. What a year!

Edited January 8, 2023 by HarryArchieGus