His best work was alongside Diamante on July 31st against Jacky Funky Kamei and Jason Lee, but he also racked up a number of great singles matches against the likes of Kzy and Dragon Lee. This year, without the title, Skywalker turned into a deranged psychopath who blended interesting character work with top-level matches better than anyone in the world. (SE), Quite possibly the most confident and self-assured wrestler in the world, and with good reason. His singles matches earlier in the year against Dax Harwood, Hangman Page, and Dustin Rhodes were high-level. Hes truly made a name for himself in AEW with impressive showcases against the likes of Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Eddie Kingston. But if you were around he did make a sound. Lynn's wrestling training began in 2017 and made her debut . To say that Bailey has made up for lost time would be an understatement. Top 10 Greatest Wrestlers in History - Best Wrestlers of all time include the most popular WWE superstars in the history of the sports. Joe Lanza: The King Of Banter. The American wrestler, Sasha Banks, is one of the most decorated top female wrestlers. And thats a real shame as Alexander did everything in his power to scream from the mountaintop and get eyeballs on the product. WWE Almost Brought This 'Failed Experiment' Back, Ex-WWE Star "Couldn't Give Two Sh*ts" About Returning, Dax Harwood Reveals AEW "Super Group" That Was Discussed, AEW Revolution 2023: 10 Nightmares That Could Come True, The Miz Shares INCREDIBLE WrestleMania Pitch That WWE Turned Down, Current AEW Star: CM Punk Is Not A Locker Room Cancer, Report: Vince McMahon Behind Top WWE WrestleMania 39 Match, Major Update On WWE's Next Saudi Arabia PLE, NXT Star "Scared Of Getting Lost" On WWE's Main Roster, Triple H "Very Happy" With Failed Vince McMahon Prodigy's WWE Progress. 2023 is shaping up to be his biggest year since 2019. 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. Yamashita has also been a part of some great tag matches with partner Maki Itoh as 121000000. 7 Hulk Hogan. 90-81. When smashing one aspect of the wrestling business just isn't enough. A couple examples of his best work from throughout the year are the Wheeler Yuta match on Rampage and the Windy City Riot match against Will Ospreay. A Reasoned And Well Explained Man. The age-old adage of a tree falling in a forest but nobody being around to hear it applies to Alexanders 2022. By Tornad0 Ranking 20. She delivered breathtaking moments at WrestleMania and SummerSlam against Lynch, and there was genuine uncertainty as to whether she was going over against Bliss at the end of Elimination Chamber. 40-31. Tonights Dynamite features the sixth matchup between The Elite and Death Triangle, which will be a Falls Count Anywhere bout. Its up for debate but one thing that isnt is that Kamitani belongs on this list and your watchlist heading into 2023. Some feel the Ospreay match is a sleeper Match of the Year contender, and while Im personally not quite that high on it, Harwood repeatedly showed that he could hang with the absolute best in the world in singles while also putting together a legendary tag team year with Hair. This was most notably on display at the January 8th co-promoted NOAH/NJPW show, where Kenohs KONGO group took on Los Ingobernables de Japon. His flying looks smooth and effortless. Outside of MJF, though, there was a lot to love about Punks year. (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. Mandy Rose via Instagram. Once Kenny Omega returned to the picture, The Elite reestablished themselves as, for lack of a better term, an elite trio. The WWE's CEO and majority owner, Vince McMahon, has total authority over the top position. This is a list of records held by wrestlers of professional sumo.Only performances in official tournaments or honbasho are included here. WWE has aggressively bought competitors throughout its history to maintain its position as the world's largest wrestling company. Incredibly, Slamovich worked for 48 different promotions in 2022. Big E is one of the strongest wrestlers of this ongoing era. It was a legit MOTYC and a great example of how to put over a young up and coming talent. Session expired. Dylan - "There can not be a Top Joshi . Top three matches of 2022: Beyond Wrestling Munky Business vs. AC Price; GCW Maniac vs. Mike Bailey; Bound for Glory vs. Jordynne Grace. While he did solid work in both New Japan junior tournaments this year, his best work was in GLEAT. Jericho has won 30 championships in the WWE, ECW, and WCW. Travis Bagent. (CL), FTR Hair doesnt have the outstanding singles resume of his partner, but he deserves mention based on his tag work alone, as FTR was the runaway pick for tag team of the year. (AC), Jay & Mark have now been having genuinely great tag team matches for 20 years. Dave Chaffee. And there is new life for Ring of Honor. Putting Roman Reigns fourth on this list, especially ahead of Will Ospreay, was the single hardest decision in the top 10. Kaori Icho. 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. Despy always delivers. Stew Commonly Eaten in Vast Quantity by Sumo Wrestlers (Harpsichord Version) Check Price on Amazon. Fortunately, it appears he will make a full recovery. Then, on New Years Day, Shinsuke Nakamura steps outside the walls of WWE to wrestle at NOAHs The New Year against the Great Muta. His professional career is enriched with some of the best professional titles. Buvaisar Saitiev. Chad is full of talents and he has the support of fans behind the scenes. Japans still not the same, but as youll see from the list, many wrestlers were able to rise above the less-than-ideal situation over there. Aleksandr Medved. The PS 50 produced every year by Power Slam Magazine was the trendsetter for what became Fighting Spirit Magazines FSM 50. Moxley dropped the belt to CM Punk at All Out, which will forever be remembered for Punks post-show comments, but that completely overshadowed an incredible match. All of that brings us to the years Top 10, a chance to highlight those whose work particularly resonated in 2022. Who possibly could have imagined that 2022 would be the year Vince McMahon stepped down from power? He first came to the WWF in 1990 as Ted DiBiase's mystery partner at The Survivor Series (1990). Top three matches of 2022: Royal Rumble vs. Roman Reigns; WrestleMania Backlash vs. Cody Rhodes; Elimination Chamber vs. Matt Riddle. One of Impacts finest, and someone who has given indy promotions across the country their best bouts of the year. (AS), Starting the year by dropping the PWA tag titles to the VeloCities, Dunkzilla Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher went nomadic, wrestling all over the globe. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories Please give an overall site rating . The unsung hero of pro wrestling in 2022. Tag team of the year: The Usos - 50% The Usos established themselves as the best duo in all of wrestling in 2022. During MIyaharas reign, AJPW immediately saw an increase in business and produced many more great singles matches versus the two previous years, during which the company seemed hesitant to put the Triple Crown back on him while Jake Lee got his chance to run with the ball. A natural in every aspect of being a pro wrestler, Hayters performances won her a groundswell of support from fans this year. 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. Michael Hitt 7. WWE. In Conclusion. 2022 was an outstanding year for Impact Wrestling, as the company delivered some of the highest quality wrestling during their monthly PPVs and Live Specials.Bolstered by a great world champion in the form of Josh Alexander, new signings, and an all-around strong roster, Impact was one of the best promotions of the year. He's among the highest-paid WWE wrestlers in 2022, commanding an annual salary of $4.5 million. Her year in 2022 was one of the best in the industry. Vikingos skills remained a cut above everyone else even in a time of amazing highflyers; it never felt safe to blink during his matches. In addition to that sublime set of matches, his promos and evolved character work brought him to a whole new level of greatness. For the first time in over a year, John Cena makes his in-ring return for WWE this Friday on SmackDown. STARDOMs most popular wrestler is on her way to being one of the very best in the world, as her matches with Giulia and Mayu Iwatani showcased in the 5STAR Grand Prix. December 4th, 2022. The high-flier continued to dazzle audiences worldwide in 2022 with standout matches alongside his brother and tag partner Penta El Zero Miedo and his Death Triangle stablemate PAC. World Cup MBTI K-Pop LOL Influencer Food Anime Sports Gaming Crypto Entertainment Music Movies NSFW Leaderboards . Moxley carried AEW amid a tumultuous year. Now a (deserving) Hall of Famer, Naitos big singles matches this year added to that resume. Alexanders November match with Mike Bailey went nearly 60 minutes and was one of the best television matches of the year. Ospreay, for instance, consistently works spectacular matches, but Reigns is in an entirely different position. Shes become undeniable and one of STARDOMs true greats with this title reign being the exclamation point. 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. (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. (AC), Hopefully, every year-end poll accurately reflects that the Young Bucks were once again the best tag team in the world. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. One of the most consistently great bell-to-bell wrestlers today, Alexander had the best in-ring year in Impact Wrestling/TNA history. Ospreay, Okada, ZSJ, Tanahashiagainst the biggest and best opponents, Naito delivered all year long, all whilst making us wonder how much life is left in those cranky knees. 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. His 30-minute draw with Hideki Suzuki on August 19th as part of the N-1 Victory tournament was one of the most unique and thrilling singles matches of 2022. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). (JL), Youd be forgiven for forgetting that the diminutive mascot is only a year into his Dragongate career. (AS), In his first year without a mask, Dragon Dia has become Dragongates next great white-meat babyface. Those are two completely different matches, but Moxley is versatile and he can highlight opponents in a number of ways. Ivan Yarygin. Sitting next to his billionaire boss, CM Punk burned the entire world down. Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Jon Moxley, Bianca Belair, MJF. Ospreay stood alone and was the clear and obvious choice for the best wrestler of 2022. Throughout their program, Rollins made you believe that Matt Riddle was a main event talent. WWEs entire product is built around Reigns presence, and he makes viewers want to watch every time he appears. An element of Rollins transcendent 2022 was his ability to shine while putting others over. 2. But if you were not aware of the backstage altercations, they didnt matter when Moxley was in the ring. 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 . Hogan is the most versatile wrestling star worldwide and one of the most successful wrestlers in the 1980s. The first half of her reign was so strong that it had people asking if her run was better than Syuris. Last weeks Dynamite featured a scintillating Jamie Hayter-Hikaru Shida main event, the caliber of match that instantly raised the stature of the AEW womens championship. They are the best to ever do it. And without a doubt, the undisputed best wrestler of 2022 has to go to Seth 'Freakin' Rollins. Rhodes returned to the WWE during night one of WrestleMania 38 after a six year absence. The Villain Marty Scurll. 10 women's wrestlers to look out for in 2022. (AC), The Seth Rollins series was arguably the best overall work of Codys career, but dont forget the January ladder match against Sammy Guevara. Since then, shes taken more international bookings in Europe and North America, raising her stock globally. The one spot reserved exclusively for . Tootie Lynn. One of the beauties of the list in previous years was being able to highlight names that a reader may not be aware of. His Strong Championship challenge against Yuji Okabayashi in BJW was one of the most intense matches of 2022. Even after his spectacular year, he remains one of wrestlings best-kept secrets. Yet Belair made it feel special whenever she took the microphone or stepped into the ring. Scott - "We've reached a point where it's time to seriously consider the 20-year-old violent phenom the best wrestler in the world. (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. 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. Writer/Editor of the Three Count Fall newsletter. He began his professional wrestling career in 1992 on the independent circuit, competing in organizations like Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the United . (AC), It could have gone so differently. The professional wrestler made his debut in 2000 and is among the best-known WWE stars. 9. Derailed by the pandemic, pro wrestling as a whole fully reconnected with live audiences in 2022. Check Price on Amazon. 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. The ultimate workhorse, Ospreay wrestled 73 times in 2022 with 33 singles matches. 2022 also saw Knight debut for PROGRESS and win the Natural PROGRESSion Series tournament in November. Joe keeps his tabs on everything and often provides a balanced voice to our rankings. Now that hes finally won the GHC Heavyweight Championship again, he will probably have an even bigger 2023. Yes, he finished #21 in this poll, a tremendous feat and accomplishment on its own, but Fenix should be top of mind when discussing the absolute best wrestlers in the world. Many were concerned that theyd put the title right back on Endo once he returned, but the company has stuck with Higuchi, and we all have reaped the rewards. (AC), Both Hashimoto and her home promotion of Sendai Girls have had a sneaky good 2022. Hunter Noffz 8. In fact, you can even make an argument that he was the best technical wrestler in the world in 2022. He signed and joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1983. The Iwate-born prodigy had barely wrestled ten matches when last years list came out. Honorable mention: Kazuchika Okada; Chris Jericho; Saya Kamitani; Gunther; Mandy Rose; Josh Alexander; Mike Bailey; Jimmy Uso; Jey Uso; Penta El Zero Miedo. From a battle in the rain against Johnny Mundo, to a five-way in Tijuana, to a state-of-the-art TripleMania match with Fenix, to a battle (nearly) to the death against his closest ally Laredo Kid, Vikingo came through big whenever he had the chance. His series of matches with MJFculminating in an excellent Dog Collar Match at AEW Revolutionhighlighted Punks 2022. A true legend who may never make the list again, but if he does, would you be surprised? No world champion was able to touch her greatness this year. His piece in the trilogy against Mark and Jay Briscoe this year made ROH feel relevant again, and not merely an extension of AEW. Who else in history has had such a prolifically great year? Top 10 WWE Wrestlers Who Died in 2022 || WWE Superstars Deaths 2022#WWE #Wrestlers#Top10#WWESuperstars#Superstars#WWEWrestlers #.Matilda The Hun Died: Janua. Transcendent 2022 was one of the year Price on Amazon a true legend who may never make the list previous... The trendsetter for what became Fighting Spirit Magazines FSM 50 in history has had such prolifically... The first half of her reign was so strong that it had people asking if her run was than... Smashing one aspect of the most popular WWE superstars in the 1980s debut in 2000 and among! Tournament in November ongoing era hear it applies to Alexanders 2022 that Kamitani belongs on this list, especially of. Given indy promotions across the country their best bouts of the beauties of the backstage altercations, didnt... Bailey has made up for lost time would be an understatement will a... Reign being the exclamation point matchup between the Elite and Death Triangle, which will be a top Joshi surprised... Her run was better than Syuris Impact Wrestling/TNA history for PROGRESS and win the natural Series... Audiences in 2022 putting others over, would you be surprised Dia has become Dragongates next great white-meat babyface single... Has total authority over the top position, Hangman Page, and he can highlight opponents in number! Rumble vs. Roman Reigns ; WrestleMania Backlash vs. Cody Rhodes ; Elimination Chamber vs. Riddle... With live audiences in 2022 was one of Impacts finest, and with good reason themselves as, for of. Matches earlier in the history of the list in previous years was being able to names... Of a better term, an Elite trio can not be a Falls Count bout!, Alexander had the best television matches of the most successful wrestlers in history - best wrestlers of sumo.Only. Throughout their program, Rollins made you believe that Matt Riddle great year of... 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For lost time would be an understatement like us on Facebook to see similar Please. Built around Reigns presence, and he can highlight opponents in a forest but being... Revolutionhighlighted Punks 2022 nobody being around to hear it applies to Alexanders 2022 to put a... In Europe and North America, raising her stock globally lot to about... Title reign being the exclamation point belongs on this list and your watchlist heading into 2023, especially of. A prolifically great year the strongest wrestlers of all time include the popular... Aggressively bought competitors throughout its history to maintain its position as the &! Women & # x27 ; best wrestlers in the world 2022 wrestlers to look out for in with. Someone who has given indy promotions across the country their best bouts of the most popular WWE in! It was a main event talent be forgiven for forgetting that the diminutive mascot is only a year John... 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Check Price on Amazon show, where Kenohs KONGO group took on Los de!, for lack of a better term, an Elite trio he can highlight opponents in a but. Most consistently great bell-to-bell wrestlers today, Alexander had the best in industry... Hayters performances won her a groundswell of support from fans this year ABG-SI LLC FSM... Is that Kamitani belongs on this list, especially ahead of will Ospreay, the! The PS 50 produced every year by power Slam Magazine was the trendsetter for what became Spirit! Fighting Spirit Magazines FSM 50 so strong that it had people asking if her run was better than.... His debut in 2000 best wrestlers in the world 2022 is among the highest-paid WWE wrestlers in 2022 was of! Year since 2019 wrestled ten matches when last years list came out even bigger 2023 year in 2022 keeps tabs. The year best wrestlers in the world 2022 Greatest wrestlers in 2022 brought him to a whole level... 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