When you consider all the matches that take place in promotions all over the world and try to whittle that list down to just twenty-five matches that is a daunting task. However, I have put together the twenty-five must see matches of 2022.
This is my second annual best of the year list; however, this has been the first year for Wrestling Republic, that I have done my personal best matches of the month lists leading up to these 25 best matches of the year list. It was a lot of fun for me to put together the best matches of the month lists. Sometimes matches didn’t happen that exact month when I finally got around to seeing them. The one requirement that I stuck to was, it will not be considered for match of the month, because that would be unfair but could be on the list and make the end of the year top 25 matches list.
There are only so many hours in a day and only so much wrestling I can watch. Please keep in mind these are just my opinion of the best matches I saw this year and is not a definitive list and is not the official Wrestling Republic ratings and rankings.
I had to make a lot of tough choices with the list to narrow it down to a final 25 and I tried to be well rounded and impartial with the listings. Although, you may not agree with the order or the matches on this list or you think I should have included other matches; that is ok because again this is subjective. For me, I factor in not only the match itself but the storyline, the presentation (promo packages), storytelling in the ring as well as the finish (did it make sense, was it clean, was it believable, did it further the story along or conclude it), when determining whether to include it on my monthly or yearly list.
The rankings were determined as follows:
Winners of the Best of the Month lists – Guaranteed 12 Slots
The remaining slots will be made up of matches on the Best of the Month lists.
The top 25-matches list is in order unlike the monthly that are in no particular order.
25) Hangman Page (c) vs Lance Archer – Texas Death, AEW World Championship – AEW Dynamite – February 9, 2022

This was my match of the month winner for February and one of the few highlights during Hangman’s lackluster title run. This was a hard-hitting war and it truly showcased both men. Archer is one of those talents that is a tremendous talent that has never really been given that opportunity to prove it. This match certainly helped both men elevating their careers.
24) Grayson Waller vs Carmelo Hayes vs JD McDonagh vs Joe Gacy vs Axiom – Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge – NXT Deadline

This is a match that was a first of its kind type match and all these men absolutely delivered. The match took elements of an Iron Man match and the penalty box from Impact’s King of the Mountain. These men put on a show and the way Waller won made sense. All these men could be major stars in this business in the years to come.
23) Ilja Dragunov (c) vs Nathan Frazer – NXT UK Championship – NXT UK – March 3, 2022

This is one of those hidden gem matches that many fans may not have seen but should definitely check out. Dragunov is unlike any other wrestler going today as he is a hard-hitting rapid machine and in a lot of ways, he reminds me of a young Chris Benoit’s in-ring style. Nathan Frazer reminds me a lot of his mentor and trainer, Seth Rollins, when it comes to his in-ring style. These men gelled amazing well together and I look forward to the next time they face off again. This match helped elevate both men in my opinion.
22) Seth Rollins (c) vs Bobby Lashley vs Austin Theory – Triple Threat WWE U.S. Championship – WWE Survivor Series: War Games

This is a match that totally surprised me on how good this match turned out to be. They had a chemistry that I was not anticipating as all three men absolutely delivered and helped elevate themselves and the U.S. title at the same time. This was one of the best triple threat matches of the year from any company.
21) Bianca Belair (c) vs Becky Lynch – Raw Women’s Championship – WWE Summerslam

These women have been telling an absolutely amazing story during their entire rivalry and deliver in the ring. Bianca is totally coming into her own and Becky is one of the best ever at elevating the women that she is in the ring with and putting over Bianca at both this show after squashing her last year and losing to her at WrestleMania as well. These women are GOATs in being able to put themselves and their opponents over as well.