Top three matches of 2022: Beyond Wrestling Munky Business vs. AC Price; GCW Maniac vs. Mike Bailey; Bound for Glory vs. Jordynne Grace. (CL), What a damn fine professional wrestler Daniel Garcia is, and hanging just fine going toe to toe with Bryan Danielson should be the only proof any of us need. Alexander is one of the best wrestlers in the world; people just need to pay attention. She works best as a heel, and when she is motivated, you can expect a human highlight reel of moves. Top three matches of 2022: Royal Rumble vs. Roman Reigns; WrestleMania Backlash vs. Cody Rhodes; Elimination Chamber vs. Matt Riddle. Top three matches of 2022: Revolution vs. Bryan Danielson; Forbidden Door vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi; Full Gear vs. CM Punk. Despy always delivers. World Cup MBTI K-Pop LOL Influencer Food Anime Sports Gaming Crypto Entertainment Music Movies NSFW Leaderboards . I have been a vocal supporter of Lindaman since his first match, and 2022 was, without a doubt, the best year of his career. 10 women's wrestlers to look out for in 2022. An impressive body of work is important, though this is more than a list of wrestlers with the most ****+ matches. Strickland is great, and he wrestles like a guy who knows it. Last weeks Jamie Hayter-Hikaru Shida bout was hard-hitting, violent, and an incredible display of the craft. 6 Rising - Stardom. (AS), In his first year without a mask, Dragon Dia has become Dragongates next great white-meat babyface. Michael Hitt 7. Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. (SE), In a promotion largely dominated by much older wrestlers and mostly devoid of larger-than-life characters, Kenoh stands out in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He held Gold Class together after the departures of others and now ends the year with gold around his waist too. Regardless of the opponent or his role in the contest, KO always delivers. Ospreay will continue to be tested on the mic in the coming year, but there is absolutely no doubt about his performance in the ring. Case Lowe: Co-host of Open The Voice Gate, lucharesu historian with a wide-ranging wrestling knowledge that defies his years. Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Jon Moxley, Bianca Belair, MJF. The company which was founded 3 years ago has seen a lot of growth this year, especially after the purchase of beloved indie wrestling promotion Ring of Honor, and of course all the drama that came after the company's All Out pay . CM Punks 2022 will always be more about what he did outside of the ring, with the fallout and ripple effects of the aptly named Brawl Out likely permeating wrestling discourse for years to come. Kevin Palko 6. Dont let her underwhelming match with Thunder Rosa in AEW deter you from seeking out her other stuff if youve never seen her before. Chad is full of talents and he has the support of fans behind the scenes. A true legend who may never make the list again, but if he does, would you be surprised? Top three matches of 2022: Beyond Wrestling Munky Business vs. AC Price; GCW Maniac vs. Mike Bailey; Bound for Glory vs. Jordynne Grace. Wrestlers' importance to their home promotions and the business as a whole also factored, as well as their significance to the year's wider wrestling discussions. Add in her Catch The Wave and Regina Di Wave Championship win, and youll understand how this is only the beginning for her on this and many other future lists. 9. 10. Below are biographies of the final 10 wrestlers in the countdown with information about their careers and why they made the list. (JL), One of the only good things about the US indie scene this year was that they helped shine a spotlight on Komander. Top three matches of 2022: Battle of the Belts III vs. Thunder Rosa; Full Gear vs. Toni Storm; Dynamite vs. Hikaru Shida. The standard-bearer of the high-speed style whose championship namesake she wears, AZMs matches against the likes of Starlight Kid and Natsupoi in 2022 rightfully garnered headlines and attention for their creativity, precision, and pace. Also heard and read on FlagshipPatreon.com. MJF spent some time off TV, but returned and became AEW World Champion after defeating Jon Moxley at Full Gear 2022. Tootie Lynn. The professional arm-wrestler has very strong muscles and a powerful arm that is enough to make the opponent down in competitions. While she is far from the most athletic wrestler in STARDOM, her ability to both draw fans into what she is doing and draw something more emotional out of her opponents is unique in the current scene. Skywalker has firmly established himself as a wrestler deserving of being discussed as the best in the world. (CL), In hindsight, it was oh so obvious. One of Impacts finest, and someone who has given indy promotions across the country their best bouts of the year. The WWE is currently the largest wrestling organization, the market share of competing models is so small that one can speak of an economic monopoly. Masha Slamovich wrestles for Impact, but she is also an integral piece of the indies. As 2022 winds down, Sports Illustrated is looking back at the themes and teams, storylines and throughlines that shaped the year. 90-81. She stands out amongst various wrestlers while performing. That was the case in their tag bout against the Rock n Roll Express earlier this year for Big Time Wrestlings show in Spartanburg, South Carolina, when they had Bret Hart in their corner in Webster, Massachusetts against Brian Pillman Jr. and Brock Anderson (who had Arn Anderson in their corner), as well as their six-man tag last month with Ricky Steamboat. This dude ruled the world of WWE, having had a successful career in different sports such as martial arts, football, and professional wrestling. While this is always going to be a fun debate, most people within the wrestling community can agree that Omega and Okada had arguably . Top 10 Greatest Wrestlers in History - Best Wrestlers of all time include the most popular WWE superstars in the history of the sports. Mandy Rose via Instagram. (CL), Kiyomiya had a MOTYC on the first day of 2022, and from there, it was an incredible year even if NOAHs booking wasnt always on his side. An element of Rollins transcendent 2022 was his ability to shine while putting others over. She won the 2021 Royal Rumble match and became the first-ever black superstar to hold the title in WWE. In September, he became the promotions first champion by defeating Flamita in one of the best world title matches of the year. (AC), WrestleMania weekend is a dying concept after years of being beaten to death and abused. Yamashita has also been a part of some great tag matches with partner Maki Itoh as 121000000. He ended the year by winning the Jr. Battle of Glory tournament as the Jr. champion and looks to continue his dominance of the division in 2023. (CL). Net Worth: $18 Million. Denis Cyplenkov. He brings significant in-ring value, and he is an athletic marvel that has no limitations in between the ropes. (IH), Hangman entered 2022 the reigning and defending AEW champ, and front-loaded his year with enough high-quality work that he could have done nothing from June on and still been a lock for this list. Stew Commonly Eaten in Vast Quantity by Sumo Wrestlers (Harpsichord Version) Check Price on Amazon. (SE), Followed up his MOTYC with Hangman Page by engaging in a nasty feud with Jon Moxley before the pair came together under the stewardship of William Regal. 2023 is shaping up to be his biggest year since 2019. (Special guest writer TheCubsFan of LuchaBlog), Like his older brother, this Aoyagi had a breakout year. Who else in history has had such a prolifically great year? They have had many storied feuds in those two decades, and this year with FTR, they added yet another legacy rivalry to what should ultimately be a career worthy of Hall Of Fame consideration. We mentioned this match in passing in awarding the Women's Wrestler of the Year honors to Jamie Hayter, but let's dive into it a tad more. Feb. 2023 1 Bryan Danielson + More Championship Rate By Tornad0 Ranking 20. Chuck in one of the grittiest AEW title matches of the year against Mox at Quake By The Lake, and you have the answer to the question that opened this blurb. (AC), Both Hashimoto and her home promotion of Sendai Girls have had a sneaky good 2022. The match will co-main event the show, along with what has the potential to be a superb Kaito Kiyomiya-Kenoh GHC heavyweight championship bout, at Tokyos historic Nippon Budokan venue. Vince McMahon resigned. For the first time in over a year, John Cena makes his in-ring return for WWE this Friday on SmackDown. Once Kenny Omega returned to the picture, The Elite reestablished themselves as, for lack of a better term, an elite trio. He is a left-handed champion who started his professional career at 15. Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Jon Moxley, Bianca Belair, MJF who wins Wrestler of the Year? Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two. (AC), Last year as Dragongates top champion, Shun Skywalker finished 11 in our poll. He is widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world today with an annually salary of $1 million. He should win the Triple Crown in 2023. Kevin Owens. And without a doubt, the undisputed best wrestler of 2022 has to go to Seth 'Freakin' Rollins. He is one of the most brilliant performers in the world, and he is shining a bright light on the art of lucha libre. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY . The age-old adage of a tree falling in a forest but nobody being around to hear it applies to Alexanders 2022. All told, an impressive resume in the United States alone before even mentioning his match-of-the-year contender in his home promotion DDT against Kazusada Higuchi. Rampage Brown. (SE), In a turbulent year for AEW, it was ironically PACsomeone who had gone through multiple stop/start pushes over the years for various reasonswho was able to be one of the anchors of consistency. Date of birth. Best known as "The Undertaker" from World Wrestling Entertainment. Cena teams with Kevin Owens against Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn, which should be a wonderful opportunity to plant seeds of discontent between Reigns and Zayn. Mandy Rose. Platform (s): PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast & Game Boy. The ultimate workhorse, Ospreay wrestled 73 times in 2022 with 33 singles matches. The Best Bout Machine was ranked #1 on the PWI 100 in 2018. Davit Stepanyan 3. A promo by Moxley is an intense, imaginative scene. It gets tougher each year to find the positives, but there was a glaring one in 2022 Speedball engaging in a hugely impressive tour de force. He became a white-hot rookie in Japan before being shipped off to Mexico and seamlessly transitioning to the lucha scene. For 12 months, Rollins has consistently wrestled the most compelling, convincing, and effective matches throughout all of pro wrestling. After a memorable year in and out of the ring, who stands among the best? (GDT). Hogan is the most versatile wrestling star worldwide and one of the most successful wrestlers in the 1980s. Her year in 2022 was one of the best in the industry. But that was just the tip of the iceberg for a year which saw him back full time on the US scene after a half decade of being shut out. Rubie's Daddy's Li'l Girl Inflatable Adult Costume, As Shown, One Size. (AC), Jay & Mark have now been having genuinely great tag team matches for 20 years. 12 / 20. (JL), Youd be forgiven for forgetting that the diminutive mascot is only a year into his Dragongate career. Scott Edwards: One of the most passionate up-and-coming wrestling writers around. by Andy H Murray. 2022 also saw Knight debut for PROGRESS and win the Natural PROGRESSion Series tournament in November. Was consistently the best in-ring amongst AEWs Womens division, and for all the talk of others having the star power its Hayter who truly comes across like a star in an organic and meaningful way. Lee South. Ospreay stood alone and was the clear and obvious choice for the best wrestler of 2022. 02:55:00. In between, Alexander had tremendous singles matches against Alex Shelley, Eddie Edwards, Tomohiro Ishii, Eric Young, Frankie Kazarian, and Moose. Will Ospreays 2022 is the most outstanding individual year for any pro wrestler in history. Richest Wrestlers in the World in 2022. With 47 matches under his belt for AEW in 2022, Mox was one of the promotions hardest workers. They include some of the world's best men's and women's wrestlers, organized alphabetically by country with notable accomplishments . In addition to that sublime set of matches, his promos and evolved character work brought him to a whole new level of greatness. (IH), The lucha standout wrestled in a number of high-profile places this year, but my favorite work from Bandido took place in his own promotion, Big Lucha. Big E is one of the strongest wrestlers of this ongoing era. We hope you enjoy this breakdown of all 50 wrestlers (and some honorable mentions) with some short blurbs about each of their years. (AC). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More than that, Ospreay accomplished this against a variety of opponents spread across several companies and countries. (AC), It could have gone so differently. Owens has worked the majority of his house show matches over the last month, and a tag team title bout against The Usos at WrestleMania 39 would make a lot of sense. The Slovakian female arm wrestler was one of the best in the just concluded 43rd World Armwrestling championships. (JL). The breakout star of the year, Jamie Hayter feels like an overnight sensation in AEW. The English pro wrestler born as Zack Sabre Jr, is currently signed to NJPW and one-half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions alongside fellow Suzuki-gun stablemate Taichi. He's among the highest-paid WWE wrestlers in 2022, commanding an annual salary of $4.5 million. Top three matches of 2022: Forbidden Door vs. Orange Cassidy; G1 Climax vs. Kazuchika Okada; NJPW Burning Spirit vs. David Finlay. With apologies to The Usos, who are phenomenally talented, FTR was the single most important tag team in 2022. (RK), The breakout star of the year for CMLL had a great summer run capped off by a thrilling mask vs mask match victory over Stuka Jr, which was one of the must-watch matches of 2022. His profile is full of national and international professional arm-wrestling titles. Firstly, he worked hard all year to entertain the fans, even when he was out of contract, because the company needed him. But the beauty of this art form is that the script is occasionally forced to change when a new performer connects so intimately with the audience. Ospreay has a perfect home in New Japan, a product entirely built around its wrestling. This statement contains no hyperbole or exaggeration; you will not find any wrestler in history with the vast catalog of great matches that Ospreay produced in 2022. Braun Strowman - $1.2 million WWE . John Smith. Kaori Icho. Those two matches? Her ability to think on her feet and adapt, saving sequences and matches from otherwise falling apart, is also very impressive, even moreso given that she is a seven-year veteran at just 20 years old. Will it all lead to a father-son match at WrestleMania? (SF), If there is anyone on this list who should be climbing up in 2023, it will be Starlight Kid. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter 'Wrestler of the Year' has been revealed and the voting was dominated by three names. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Yoshioka won the tag titles, then King of Gate, then immediately erased any long-term business concerns when he won the Open The Dream Gate belt and proudly took his place at the top of the card. Brock Lesnar. The sky is the limit. Fenix had perhaps the best Lucha match of the year against El Hijo del Vikingo at TripleMania: Mexico City, a tremendous singles match against Andrade El Idolo, and several great multi-man matches in AAA and on the Ric Flair retirement show for the revived Jim Crockett Promotions. With an expanded panel of knowledgeable voters this year, we hope to have covered every corner of the wrestling world well. A rebrand in March almost had the former WALTER share some history that, to be kind, would have been super problematic. (SE), Dragongates new top man has hit a home run every time hes stepped up to the plate this year. Pro Wrestling Illustrated announced today that Reigns topped the 32nd annual list of the 500 best wrestlers in the world, based on criteria that includes win-loss record, titles . Glenn Thomas Jacobs, best known by his ring name Kane, is a politician, actor, and professional wrestler from the United States.He has served as the Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, as a Republican since 2018, presently under contract with WWE. By the end of 2022, he had lapped them and was on the path to possibly becoming an actual junior heavcyweight draw for All Japan. Amazingly enough, 2022 marks 20 years since Brock Lesnar arrived in WWE and took the wrestling world by storm; two decades later, he's still at the top of the food chain. He was a major part of the main event scene since the beginning of WCPW. Tag team wrestling across the globe had a banner year in 2022, but no team . (RK), One of the best in-ring storytellers of this generation had another great year, this time largely centered around her feud with and eventual team with Natsupoi. His animalistic side came out in full at Anarchy In The Arena, but we saw his technical prowess throughout the year also most notably against Daniel Garcia and Matt Sydal. This list is based on a wrestlers work in the ring, the attention their work generated, and overall impact. There is an incredible amount to like about this week in wrestling. Retaining just the forename still led to the usual name change hand-wringing, but it was a main roster call-up where things could have gone especially badly, particularly with Vince McMahon still in control. The final 10 wrestlers in the ring best wrestlers in the world 2022 the Elite reestablished themselves as for... Integral piece of the ring, the Elite reestablished themselves as, for lack of a falling... 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