Two nights of WrestleMania in April raised the significance and quality of WWE’s wrestling matches if not the amount of them, and one night of WrestleMania Backlash in May brought them back to the baseline. Here were ten matches in May that still stood out.
1. I Quit Match – SmackDown Women’s Title: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Ronda Rousey (WrestleMania Backlash 5/6/22)
Charlotte and Ronda throw it back to the days of the WWE women’s division when a couple ladies would just beat the shit out of each other. For the business. In between the brawling and violence they packed this with cool spots (flying camera! swear words! kendo stick ninja!) and kept an unbelievable pace, like Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher if they had God-tier cardio. Their approach to the “I Quit” stipulation felt refreshing too, rooted less in submissions or convoluted setups and more just them trying to hurt each other and assuming the other would say they’re done.
2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn (SmackDown 5/20/22)
I think it’s safe to say Nakamura and Zayn have or will one day reach legend status so I probably shouldn’t have been surprised this was so good, but it was so good! And they barely did anything! Maybe I’m just numb to the repetition that comes with being employed by WWE, but armed with just a pair of (two!) countout teases these two legends briefly made SmackDown the most exciting thing on television.
3. Triple Threat Match – NXT North American Title: Cameron Grimes [c] vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes (NXT 5/3/22)
The Triple Threat Match has been bastardized, the WWE Triple Threat Match has been worse than that, but put the right combo of fellas in there and sometimes it can still hit. Here’s a great example of that happening.
4. Drew McIntyre & RK-Bro vs. Roman Reigns & The Usos (WrestleMania Backlash 5/6/22)
Very fun 6-man tag that got pretty incredible off a few near falls towards the end, and would’ve been even better if Riddle was a better or more sympathetic face-in-peril. It couldn’t help but feel like something thrown together to pass the time, but then again: what is professional wrestling, anyways? Namaste.
5. Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins (WrestleMania Backlash 5/6/22)
The inherent big feel that came with WrestleMania and Cody’s return was swapped with the inherent exciting feel of a WWE PPV opener, and this ended up a more focused, surprising, and just better wrestling match than their first one – which was already pretty good, even if both occasionally felt like subpar tributes to Cena or Triple H’s efforts after 2015. Special shoutout to Rollins’ early counter of the Beautiful Disaster too: a push!
6. Nathan Frazer vs. Grayson Waller (NXT 5/3/22)
Nathan Frazer made his debut in NXT U.S. by having an especially good match with Grayson Waller, who stepped in the background and let the kid shine. One of Frazer’s best matches in WWE, to be honest.
7. Heritage Cup Rules: A-Kid [c] vs. Charlie Dempsey (NXT UK 5/26/22)
A-Kid and Charlie Dempsey round two had actual rounds, as it was Heritage Cup Rules which are European Rules. You know the drill here: lots of holds and counters of holds, but good ones.
8. Kofi Kingston vs. Butch (SmackDown 5/13/22)
The consistency of Kofi Kingston allowed for a fun TV showcase by the artist formerly known as Pete Dunne. Ol’ Butch had another fun one with Xavier Woods the next week too.
9. Sasha Banks vs. Shayna Baszler (SmackDown 5/6/22)
One of those pairings that could’ve had a solid program at some point, but will probably have to settle for the few sweet moves they got on TV here.
10. Riddle & Street Profits vs. Sami Zayn & The Usos (RAW 5/23/22)
WWE does the 6-man tag almost too well. A crowd-pleaser and whatnot.
Honorable Mentions: Loser Leaves Town – NXT UK Title: Ilja Dragunov [c] vs. Jordan Devlin (NXT UK 5/12/22), Bianca Belair, Asuka & Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley & Sonya Deville (RAW 5/2/22), Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn (SmackDown 5/6/22), RAW Tag Team Title: RK-Bro [c] vs. Street Profits (RAW 5/9/22), Riddle vs. Sami Zayn (SmackDown 5/13/22), Tag Team Title Unification Match: RK-Bro [c] vs. The Usos (SmackDown 5/20/22)
WWE Tag Team Championship Contender’s Match: Riddle & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. The Usos (RAW 5/30/22), The Viking Raiders vs. The Creed Brothers (NXT 5/3/22), Dog Collar Match: Wild Boar vs. Eddie Dennis (NXT UK 5/19/22), Natalya vs. Cora Jade (NXT 5/10/22), AJ Styles & Finn Balor vs. Los Lotharios (RAW 5/16/22), Yulisa Leon vs. Ivy Nile (Level Up 5/20/22), Xavier Woods vs. Butch (SmackDown 5/20/22)
