The Officially Unofficial Rude Wrestling Awards of 2022
Boy I watched a lot of wrestling last year
Honestly, I had an intro here, but this article got pretty lengthy so allow me to provide you a CliffNotes version:
In rediscovering my love for wrestling this past year, I had the (not so brilliant in hindsight) idea to rank every match. If Dave Meltzer can do it, why couldn’t I? What a mistake I made.
But because I’m stubborn, I saw it out. I will not be doing it again, but it provided me plenty of insight into my awards for 2022.
Without further adieu…
Wrestler of the Year
Honorable mentions (in no order)
Adam “Hangman” Page - After winning the title at the end of 2021, Hangman had some great matches against Bryan Danielson (only one of those took place in 2022) and a great feud with Adam Cole. He lost steam after losing to CM Punk, a move I’m sure Tony Khan regrets considering how the year ended with Punk.
Chris Jericho - In no way did I ever expect to be Jericho in here even as late as about June or July. But Jericho had such a great run with the Ring of Honor title that he deserves plenty of kudos.
Runner-up
Jon Moxley - AEW is not where it’s at to finish 2022 without Moxley. He saved the company in a time when things were going very badly post-All Out and that came after an incredible run of matches to start the year. He’s the Ace of AEW.
Winner
Will Ospreay - What a year Ospreay had. He lit the stage on fire in NJPW, came over to AEW and had five-star match and then had the best match Forbidden Door. He’s the best wrestler in the world, showed it again to start 2023 and is well on his way to a legendary career.
Tag Team of the Year
Honorable mentions (in no order)
Young Bucks - Few do storytelling like the Bucks and Elite do. They may have a formula to their matches at times but there’s a baseline of greatness you can expect from them.
Swerve In Our Glory - Admittedly, I thought this pairing was more one of convenience when both Swerve and Keith Lee entered AEW. But the two build incredible chemistry and told a remarkable story that is one of my favorites of 2022.
The Briscoes - The quantity of matches may not be there in comparison to others but my word you will not find a series of better tag matches than Briscoes vs. FTR.
Runner-up
The Acclaimed - To be completely honest, I had The Acclaimed as winners until I started listing the top tag matches down below and realized how good the winners were. The Acclaimed are fantastic and 2023 will be their year, but they came on just a little too late.
But think about the series of events that led to them getting over. If Danhausen doesn’t pen the name Ass Boys for The Gunn Club and that name doesn’t get super over with fans and Billy doesn’t embrace it the nickname the way he did and the feud doesn’t happen and Billy Gunn doesn’t join The Acclaimed, then so much would have been different in 2022 for The Acclaimed and AEW.
Winner
FTR - This award was wrapped up with an incredible first half of 2022 that had a few finishing touches applied in the final months of the year. No one in the world is better than them in the ring right now as a tag team, even as they dropped the belts they carried around for much of the year in the last month. If I had to guess, this current storyline ends in them taking the belts off The Acclaimed and man will it be great.
Feud of the Year
Honorable mentions (in no order)
Wardlow vs. MJF - A story that was long, long in the making that was brilliantly told, but had an ending marred by MJF and his maybe walkout at Double or Nothing.
Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club - It’s absolutely a feud that has drawn out too long but out of necessity. As everything went wrong around them with injuries and backstage fights, this rivalry had so many variations that were relied upon and produced two fantastic matches in Anarchy in the Arena and Blood & Guts.
The Acclaimed vs. Swerve in Our Glory - I was tempted to put this higher because it was a rivalry that made both acts. It says more about the other feuds than this one that they’re an honorable mention.
Runner-up
FTR vs. Briscoes - What this feud lacked in any sort of build up on the microphone or through promo work was made up for by two iconic tag team matches. Seriously, put these two matches up against any other tag matches in wrestling history.
Winner
CM Punk vs. MJF - It was a great combination of in-ring performance and promo work. These are the two best talkers in wrestling and were given the freedom not often allowed to AEW wrestlers to build up their feud incredibly. The Dog Collar Match lived up to every expectation and was one of the matches of the year.
Moment of the Year
In lieu of explaining my Honorable Mentions, here’s simply a running list I made late in the year. I’m sure I left some off but these were some of my favorites.
Wardlow turning on MJF at Revolution
Wardlow squashing MJF at Double or Nothing
Moxley squashes CM Punk on Dynamite
MJF returning at All Out
MJF opening Dynamite after All Out
Colt Cabana returns to face Jericho
The 5 minutes on Dynamite of Shibata challenging Orange Cassidy and Rick Ross’ promo
Shibata at Forbidden Door
Hook winning the FTW title
Action Andretti beating Jericho
Regal debuting at Revolution
Regal turning on Blackpool Combat Club
The Elite wrestling in Chicago post-All Out
Hangman and Kenny Omega’s mid-match showdown at All Out
Danhausen’s debut
Winner
Eddie Kingston walking down the ramp with a can of gasoline at Double or Nothing - Did I really think Eddie was going to burn someone alive? No. But there were more than a few moments where I debated it, which is a testament to Eddie and his devotion to his craft.
Promo of the Year
Honorable mentions (in no order)
Christian to Jungle Boy after turning heel - Few can be a heel like Christian does and my word was this a glorious.
Britt Baker vs. Saraya - Britt’s best quality as a wrestler is her mic skills and Saraya, after a rough start, went toe to toe with her ahead of their Full Gear match.
Ricky Starks vs. MJF - While MJF’s skills on the mic were known, Ricky had only flashed some potential and hadn’t been given the reigns before for a full segment like this. He absolutely shined and showed why he’ll be a champion one day.
Runner-up
Ace Steele and CM Punk - It’s a shame that CM Punk became a petulant child after All Out because, God, no one does a promo like him. And Ace Steele went from unknown to fan favorite to cannibal all inside of a week!
Winner
MJF’s pipebomb - When a wrestler is able to blur that line between kayfabe and real life, then you’ve got something magical. After so many rumors about him nearly walking out on the company at Double or Nothing, MJF was handed a mic and delivered a promo that will stand the test of time before disappearing for many, many months.
Breakout Wrestler of the Year
Runner-up
Nick Wayne - Consider this me calling my shot. It may not quite happen yet in 2023, but Nick Wayne is going to be a star.
Winner
Takeshita - Truly, he came out of nowhere. Maybe true wrestling diehards knew of him, but Takeshita came to America and took AEW by storm to the point he earned himself a contract. And he did it in a series of matches he didn’t even win. 2023 will be huge for him.
Top Five Men’s Matches
Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page, Dynamite, Sep. 7
MJF vs. CM Punk, Dynamite, Feb. 2
Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy, Forbidden Door, June 26
Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page, Dynamite, Jan. 5
CM Punk vs. MJF, Revolution, March 6
Top Five Women’s Matches
Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida, All Out, Sep. 4
Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez, Final Battle, Dec. 11
Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm, Full Gear, Nov. 19
Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch, Wrestlemania, April 2
Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida, Dynamite, Dec. 21
Top Five Tag Team/Trios Matches
The Elite vs. Dark Order, All Out, Sep. 4
FTR vs. The Briscoes, Death Before Dishonor, July 23
FTR vs. Young Bucks, Dynamite, April 6
FTR vs. The Briscoes, Supercard of Honor, April 1
FTR vs. The Briscoes, Final Battle, Dec. 10
Top Five AEW Dynamite Matches
MJF vs. CM Punk, Feb. 2
Swerve In Our Glory vs. Young Bucks vs. Team Tazz, July 13
United Empire vs. Death Triangle, Aug. 24
FTR vs. Young Bucks, April 6
Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page, Jan. 5
Top 25 Matches of 2022
What I’m Listening To
Allow me to shamelessly plug my new podcast for The Last of Us which will be covering the show weekly. And I’m almost certain that show and game will be the topic of my next post.
Quote of the Week
I would die for Mike Woodson