While he did solid work in both New Japan junior tournaments this year, his best work was in GLEAT. (GDT), The ace of TJPW had another strong year despite losing the Princess of Princess Championship back in March. (JL), Because Shingo spent the back half of the year defending the King of Pro Wrestling title, people may have forgotten just how good the rest of his year was. Before engaging in a backstage fight with The Elite in AEW, Punk was having perhaps his best in-ring year ever. Strickland is great, and he wrestles like a guy who knows it. They include some of the world's best men's and women's wrestlers, organized alphabetically by country with notable accomplishments . Her haters are now in the mud. Joe Gagne: Wrestling podcast OG and trivia master! The STARDOM Icon had yet another impressive year, with the ultimate highlight being her loss in the main event of Historic X-Over against KAIRI for the vacant IWGP Womens Championship. Belair is a rare talent, a complete total package who can convincingly work a wide range of opponents and cut outstanding promos. 10. It just feels right to have John Cena back in WWE. He did it in Impact Wrestling, where, in its current state, its near-impossible to generate buzz or attention. (GDT), In addition to being one-half of the best tag team in the world and being one-fourth of the three best tag matches of the year, FTR Bald padded his resume with rock-solid singles matches against the likes of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Cash Wheeler, and Will Ospreay. Emerald FlowShow #31: The GOAT Does It Again, Super J-Cast The Return of NJPW & CMLL Fantasticamania. Names like Sasha Banks, Kenny Omega, Becky Lynch, and AJ Styles, all of whom are amongst this generation's finest, didn't make the cut, despite their highs. Even after his spectacular year, he remains one of wrestlings best-kept secrets. 5. 12. Ospreay stood alone and was the clear and obvious choice for the best wrestler of 2022. As the inaugural G-REX Champion, Lindaman has racked up tremendous matches against his Stronghearts partners Shigehiro Irie and T-Hawk, as well as the likes of DOUKI, Tetsuya Izuchi, and Takanori Ito. Though this appeared destined to go seven as soon as the dates and stipulations of all the matches were announced, it has been fun watching it all unfold. The Best Bout Machine was ranked #1 on the PWI 100 in 2018. Writer/Editor of the Three Count Fall newsletter. (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. It wasnt all controversy. Who else in history has had such a prolifically great year? Now firmly entrenched in the fabric of pro wrestling, FTRs signature year in 2022 brought them to new heights. (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. Big E is one of the strongest wrestlers of this ongoing era. Ivan Yarygin. Big E has also handled Mark Henry without any hassle showing his sheer force and power. She won the 2021 Royal Rumble match and became the first-ever black superstar to hold the title in WWE. 11. Travis Bagent is a well-known name in the arm wrestling world. Oh and check out her match against Miu Watanabe in the Tokyo Princess Cup. Harwood and Wheeler find a way to capture the essence of pro wrestling. 2022 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.. Beginning in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the professional wrestling industry worldwide, with many promotions presenting shows behind closed doors.Some events were canceled while others were rescheduled to occur in 2021 and then some in 2022. WWE has aggressively bought competitors throughout its history to maintain its position as the world's largest wrestling company. A year spent in many places not normally on the wider radar, but a year that rarely disappointed when you sought him out. Drew McIntyre The Briscoes; Dynamite vs. Dax Harwood; Dynamite vs. Will Ospreay. Open the Voice Gate: Looking Ahead to Champion Gate, Rey De Parejas & More! Stardom has given us the likes of Io Shirai, Kairi Sane and Toni Storm, and the famous Oedo Tai stable that young men across the world go crazy for. High-flying does not begin to capture what he can do in the ring, as Vikingos high-risk lucha is unlike any other offensive skill set in the industryeven when he wrestles in the rain, like he did against John Morrison at Rey de Reyes. The Undertaker" Mark Calaway (Net worth: 15.5 Million Euros) View this post on Instagram. (AC), With OC its always been about finding the right balance with his gimmick, and in 2022, he achieved perfection with that. As far as wrestling games in the late nineties go, WWF Attitude is up there with the best. Josh Alexander. The Leader Of The Hardcore Wrestling Intelligentsia. Its up for debate but one thing that isnt is that Kamitani belongs on this list and your watchlist heading into 2023. We hope to not only provide a credible ranking but also to expose readers to some new 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. Open The Voice Gate - Looking ahead to Champion Gate, Rey de Parejas and More! Im still holding out hope that someone from Death Triangle gets the series-ending win. Gary Goodridge. Trust me, there were plenty of healthy disagreements and debate along the way, which only strengthens a list like this. His singles matches earlier in the year against Dax Harwood, Hangman Page, and Dustin Rhodes were high-level. Below are biographies of the final 10 wrestlers in the countdown with information about their careers and why they made the list. Who Is The Best Wrestler In The World In 2022? (GDT), The excitement heading into 2023 will be all about how Giulia can top her second half of 2022. Vikingo transforms moves that people have already seen countless timeslike the 450and bestows a new, never-before-seen twist on them. Chances are if you watched Will Ospreay at any point in the year 2022, you saw a great match. That star power placed him on this list. (SF), If there is anyone on this list who should be climbing up in 2023, it will be Starlight Kid. Co-host of the Adam & Mike Big Audio Nightmare and [emailprotected] podcasts. Even if you took away every match Ishii wrestled in Japan in 2022, hed still easily be a Top 50 worldwide wrestler based on his AEW, Impact, and U.S.-based New Japan work alone. Rubie's Daddy's Li'l Girl Inflatable Adult Costume, As Shown, One Size. Hogan is the most versatile wrestling star worldwide and one of the most successful wrestlers in the 1980s. Amanda Rose Saccomanno. The highlight of his year happened outside the walls of NJPW, at the aptly named TAKATaichiDespeMania (TAKA Michinoku 30th Anniversary show), against Jun Kasai in a wild affair that made you clamor to see more of that style from Desperado. 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. In between, Ospreay had standout performances against the likes of Tetsuya Naito, Zack Sabre Jr., Shingo Takagi, Michael Oku, Orange Cassidy, Nick Wayne, Ricky Knight Jr., Mike Bailey, Jon Moxley, Blake Christian, Dax Harwood, and Titus Alexander among others. Thus, the list of most beautiful female wrestlers in the world has listed her name. 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. While overshadowed by what followed in the immediate aftermath, Punks AEW Championship victory over Jon Moxley at ALL OUT shouldnt be forgotten as one of the great matches of 2022. On top of returning to his top singles form, Miyahara was also a part of several high-level tags throughout the year, ending with winning the Real World Tag League with Takuya Nomura. (SF), The Gunther matches will get all of the hype come awards season, but the Brawling Brutes tags were a constant highlight of WWE TV and PPV all year long. 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. Honorable mention: Kazuchika Okada; Chris Jericho; Saya Kamitani; Gunther; Mandy Rose; Josh Alexander; Mike Bailey; Jimmy Uso; Jey Uso; Penta El Zero Miedo. Elsewhere we were treated to a full 12 months of normal feeling wrestling, and it was certainly very welcome for fans. He takes a beating, he fights back, and on his best nights, hes able to win big matches. Bianca Belair hoisted the womens division on her shoulders in 2022. 10. He first came to the WWF in 1990 as Ted DiBiase's mystery partner at The Survivor Series (1990). His time in AEW has elevated his profile and toolbox massively, proving he can deliver in long main event epics back home as a main eventer in DDT or in 10-minute edge-of-the-seat U.S. TV sprints. That was an industry-defining change, and the aftershocks have only just begun. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. His series of matches with MJFculminating in an excellent Dog Collar Match at AEW Revolutionhighlighted Punks 2022. AEW Full Gear. John "JayHey" Heynoski Instead of a litany of matches against the industrys top stars, Hart wrestled a very different roster from what he initially expected. My personal favorite match from 2022 was his Burning Spirit encounter in New Japan against David Finlay. But without looking too far ahead, it will be fun to see Cena back in a WWE ring. Their New Japan arrival has been worth the wait, and theyve only just gotten started. Zayn, of course, would make perfect sense for a partner, and that would be an emotionally-charged match. Taking the mold War Zone presented just a . That fits perfectly with his character, which marinated to perfection in 2022, culminating in his full heel turn on partner Keith Lee. Nakanos Meltear duo with Natsupoi is one of wrestlings biggest success stories, seeing the two main event shows also beginning to break into the mainstream. With a drive to . Full Name. 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. Roman Reigns Tops the PWI 500 List for 2022, Top 20 Wrestlers Revealed. The match that will ultimately define Higushis championship run was his title defense against Konosuke Takeshita, a bout that will no doubt rack up some points in the MOTY race. Her year in 2022 was one of the best in the industry. Lost the Rev Pro tag titles in January, then started an on again, off again feud with Will Ospreay that culminated in Knight finally unseating Ospreay for the Rev Pro title in Augustonly to lose the title (via proxy, with his brother Zak replacing him due to a broken wrist) in December to Great O-Khan. Most versatile wrestling star worldwide and one of the strongest wrestlers best wrestlers in the world 2022 this ongoing era Death Triangle gets the win! 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