2022 has got to be one of the top 10 contenders for craziest year in WWE history. In-ring MVPs like Gunther and Sheamus and some pleasant surprises from John Cena and Ricochet made sure it ended with what’s most important: good wrestling.
1. WWE Intercontinental Title: Gunther [c] vs. Ricochet (SmackDown 12/16/22)
Another great IC Title defense from Gunther; this relied less on Rey’s old man finesse and more on Gunther just chopping or stretching the shit out of Ricochet, who bumped all over the place but occasionally struck back (hard) or did some obscene high-flying maneuver like a Shooting Star Press. The crowd bought in and they delivered a late little MOTYC. Brutal, beautiful finish too.
2. SmackDown World Cup – Final: Ricochet vs. Santos Escobar (SmackDown 12/2/22)
On FSN, they went all out: tournament final, TV main event, and two of WWE’s most impressive up-and-comers — this had a lot going for it.
3. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. Sheamus & Butch (SmackDown 12/9/22)
Gosh, they were all wrestling so good. The Usos tag is good as a baseline, but an excellent if not unexpected pair of babyfaces in the Brutes raised the ceiling.
4. NXT Tag Team Title: Pretty Deadly [c] vs. The New Day (NXT Deadline 12/10/22)
As they usually do but especially in the more intimate confinements of the PC, New Day had the people Loving It. There was a twerk-off and tope con hilo and Pretty Deadly bumping around, then Kofi and Xavier took turns taking heat before a 4-man Eddie Guerrero tribute spot that was pulled off tremendously.
5. John Cena & Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns & Sami Zayn (SmackDown 12/30/22)
It was 5 minutes long and I don’t think Cena took a bump, but what this match had here was an atmosphere. Kevin Owens against The Bloodline was already great; then they added John Cena.
6. Iron Survivor Challenge: Axiom vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. JD McDonagh vs. Grayson Waller vs. Joe Gacy (NXT Deadline 12/10/22)
7. Iron Survivor Challenge: Indi Hartwell vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade vs. Zoey Stark vs. Kiana James (NXT Deadline 12/10/22)
In this new type of gimmick match, 2 of the 5 began and the 3 remaining entered every 5 minutes; whoever had the most falls at the end of 25-minutes won, and anyone who lost a fall had to spend 90 seconds in a penalty box. I still didn’t completely understand it (or have a grasp on who was in it) until there was a colorful scoreboard listing everyone’s names and points and a timer for who was in the box. Were the matches good? I don’t know. Sometimes.
8. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn (RAW 12/19/22)
9. AJ Styles vs. Chad Gable (RAW 12/12/22)
Before breaking his ankle, AJ Styles seemed to be getting his groove back. It led to some fun matches on Monday Night RAW.
10. Myles Borne vs. Charlie Dempsey (Level Up 12/23/22)
Regal’s kid is a natural but so is Myles Borne, who is both deaf and a freaking athlete. They stuck to the basics and ended up having the best NXT Level Up match I’ve ever seen.
Honorable Mentions: NXT Title: Bron Breakker [c] vs. Apollo Crews (NXT Deadline 12/10/22), Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn (SmackDown 12/2/22), Sheamus vs. Solo Sikoa (NXT 12/27/22), AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs. Baron Corbin & Alpha Academy (RAW 12/5/22), Street Profits & Akira Tozawa vs. Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio (RAW 12/12/22), NXT Tag Team Title: The New Day [c] vs. Briggs & Jensen (NXT 12/10/22), Candice LeRae vs. IYO SKY (RAW 12/12/22), NXT Women’s Title: Mandy Rose [c] vs. Roxanne Perez (NXT 12/13/22), WWE Women’s Tag Team Title: IYO SKY & Dakota Kai [c] vs. Tegan Nox & Liv Morgan (SmackDown 12/16/22)
