Good morning! [Doesn’t matter when you’re reading this - the old man used to greet everyone with a good morning, even when we were coming home from the bar and Louie’s Diner at 5AM, and that tradition will continue as long as I’m around, at least.] Remember when I was updating this blog weekly? Daily, even? For a while there, it felt like it had served its purpose - I was able to use it as enough evidence that I’m a literate wrestling fan to nab a position as a Features writer over at Wrestling, Inc. I’ve linked to my stuff several times on social media, and I think it’s pretty good as far as list-based work goes. I try to inject a little of my personal brand of humor into the formula they require of me, and I have learned a lot about submission portals and things of the online writerly nature.
An unforeseen bonus to that is that they let me, and every other writer on their site, vote on their year-end awards! While I think my knowledge is firmly focused on WWE and AEW, I also watched a lot more stuff than I did before I started writing. As such, I figured my opinion has at least as much weight as the next “filthy casual.” Since it’s a new year, and we’re on a little bit of a hiatus as they catch up on our features (I have two more pieces waiting in the hopper), I wanted to show you my votes and give a little background as to why I chose who I did. This will also double as the first (hopefully) annual Let’s Watch Some Wrestling Awards - the LWSWies! I’ll link the official WINC list once it goes up - I was tapped to write a little something on there as well. Let’s crack in!
Wrestler of the Year
Roman Reigns
Dax Harwood
Jon Moxley
Our tribal chief, the undisputed WWE champion, Roman Reigns, seems like a gimme for this category. (Do we have a name for these awards? The Watchies? The Luh-Wuh-Suh-Wuhs?) Sure, Dax Harwood (the mustachioed half of FTR) had some great matches - fantastic matches! And Jon Moxley put AEW on his back after beloved (by me) surly Chicagoan C.M. Punk bitterly turned on his company and walked out after winning the championship. But Roman basically ruled his company from start to finish in 2022, and he’s currently involved in the best storyline in all of professional wrestling. (More on that later.) The Head of the Table has at least as many nicknames as he does championships, and he’s managed to defend that undisputed championship ever since he united them at WrestleMania 38. His matches have been really good, too. From the tractor-based SummerSlam rematch with Brock to his banger with Riddle on a regular-ass episode of SmackDown, he’s consistently showcased his own talents while also letting his opponents shine. His acting has been top notch, and he’s led his ever growing family with charisma, discipline, and fury when necessary.
Match of the Year
FTR versus Briscoes, Dog Collar Match, ROH Final Battle
CM Punk versus MJF, Dog Collar Match, AEW Revolution
Will Ospreay versus Orange Cassidy, Forbidden Door
This one was much tougher to choose. I will admit readily that my personal biases might have played into my choices here, but that’s kind of the point. The FTR match against the Briscoes, the third of the year between the two teams, was one of the most brutal mainstream matches I’ve ever seen. There was a ton of creativity, gallons of blood, and in the end the Briscoes took the Ring of Honor titles back - a fine finale as Ring of Honor heads into the new year as a more separate entity from AEW.
Beyond that one, though, it got a little tougher. I put Punk/MJF second because it was a great match, it involved my favorite wrestler ever, and my wife and I were at the event. That being said, I still feel like it was one of the best of the year, and it deserves the spot it inhabits.
Will Ospreay and Orange Cassidy had an amazing, surprising match at Forbidden Door - one that few saw coming despite the talents of both performers. Ospreay is a world class wrestler, but Cassidy is mostly known as a comedy act. But for one night, Cassidy stood toe to toe with Ospreay and held his own, looking every bit the challenger Will deserved.
Storyline of the Year
The Bloodline dominates, adds Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa
Cody Rhodes returns to WWE, feuds with Seth Rollins
White Rabbit teases, Bray Wyatt returns
This year was all about WWE storytelling. It turns out that when most of your plans revolve around guys who either quit or got suspended as a result of what wrestling writers have cleverly dubbed “Brawl Out,” your long-term storylines tend to suffer. Even if that hadn’t happened, WWE was simply on point with several of their stories. Like the telenovelas my grandma and aunts used to watch, (don’t make noise when you come to visit or you’ll eat a flying chancla) you gotta have a throughline that viewers are invested in or the action doesn’t quite hold your attention past the three count.
The Bloodline was dominant all year. Roman and his cousins, Jimmy and Jey Uso, held all the gold from both Raw and SmackDown for the better part of the year, and the addition of cousin Solo Sikoa and groupie-turned-Honorary-Uce Sami Zayn has provided interesting matches and a tense late year development as we’re all waiting for the Samoans to turn on their lovable and well meaning sidekick. With Kevin Owens getting involved in the whole tale again, Sami’s loyalties have come into question and, despite his actions and words showing that he’s willing to do anything to stay in the Bloodline’s good graces, it feels inevitable that Sami’s going to end up the victim of a misunderstanding or the defense of his longtime frenemy KO.
Cody Rhodes’ surprise return at WrestleMania 38, the answer to Seth Rollins’ open challenge, was an amazing moment. This whole year’s votes and rankings might be dramatically different if Cody hadn’t suffered a horrifying pectoral tear only a few months after his WWE debut - many had him pegged to take Roman’s title at SummerSlam. Fortunately, the Royal Rumble is fast approaching and there hasn’t been much Cody in the news - while this is normally a bad thing in sports, in wrestling it’s important to keep the surprise return as surprising as humanly possible.
The White Rabbit teases that went on for months were terrific as well - little QR code drops and hints that something might be coming started to congeal around Halloween and WWE had a cherry on top of their teases by ending the Extreme Rules event with Riddle celebrating and the trademark logo (which usually signifies the end of a broadcast) going up and fading out - and then the lights went out. Bray Wyatt returned after being fired from the company in real life and, while it hasn’t been the smoothest road back to relevancy, that build was undeniably riveting.
Event of the Year
WrestleMania 38
AEW Revolution
AEW Double Or Nothing
WrestleMania is the wrestling event that everybody knows. You ask somebody on the street about AEW Dynamite, you might get a bomb squad called on you. But you ask about WrestleMania and almost everyone has a story to tell you, either about watching an event with friends, or attending a show. It’s like Xerox to copiers, or Kleenex to tissues. After WrestleMania 35, with its SEVEN AND A HALF HOUR runtime and horrible transit issues for live attendees, WWE made the decision to split the show into two nights, making it more palatable for fans and more profitable for their network. ‘Mania 38 did a lot right, and it deserves to be back on top of the wrestling world. The main events were rightfully positioned - a returning “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, in Texas no less, battled Kevin Owens in a Falls Count Anywhere match on night one, and night two featured champions Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match for the title of Undisputed WWE Champion. The show moved at a good pace, and there were plenty of huge surprises, including Logan Paul being shockingly good at pro wrestling, Cody Rhodes returning to WWE as Seth Rollins’ mystery opponent, and Sami Zayn getting a great performance out of “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville.
Breakout star of the year
Sami Zayn
Rhea Ripley
Konosuke Takeshita
I’ve already mentioned him a couple times, and I’ll give him at least one more later because Sami Zayn is having A YEAR. From the rivalry with Johnny Knoxville and his conspiracy-fearing character from early in the year to his connection with the Bloodline, Sami has been performing better than anyone. His in ring ability is fantastic, as always, but his ability to play a character and really get the audience invested is what put him over the top this year. It’s gonna be so heartbreaking when the Bloodline eventually turns on this lovable moppet.
Rhea Ripley has gone from intense, scary good guy to intense, scary Mami of the faction The Judgment Day in no time, and she’s become the de facto leader of that group ever since they replaced Edge with Finn Balor. The WWE’s desire to not have her interact with men seems to be waning, and even though good guys won’t go after her she has no reservations about attacking dudes who are in the way of her pals. It’s a good shift for her, and she’s taken to it well. Takeshita, who I’ve written about for Wrestling, Inc., is having an incredible 2022 as well, coming over from Japan’s DDT promotion, getting an AEW contract, and becoming the lovable over muscled child we all need, if not the one we deserve.
- Tag team(s) of the year - THREE WAY DANCE/TIE
FTR
The Acclaimed
The Usos
All three of these teams deserve the top spot, and since they’re my awards on this blog they all get it. FTR had some amazing matches, including two Match of the Year contenders with the Briscoes in Ring of Honor. The Acclaimed have grown their brand to the point where half the AEW crowds are covered in bright pink and have foam fingers designed for “scissoring.” The Usos have performed more than anyone, constantly defending their Undisputed Tag Team Championships against the likes of the New Day, RK-Bro, and Sheamus-n-pals and putting on some fantastic battles in the process. Sure, FTR is on top because I had to vote and you put the MOTY guys up top - but all three of these teams have found incredible success in their own unique ways this year.
TV show of the year
AEW Dynamite
WWE SmackDown
WWE NXT (2.0)
SmackDown has been the better of the two main WWE shows this year, mainly because it’s the show that features our tribal chief, but also because it never hits “slog” territory as often as RAW can. NXT 2.0 was the best version of a dumb idea, but over and over again. Sure, those kids weren’t ready to be on TV, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have fun with the over-the-top characters that WWE forced upon them. Tony D’Angelo’s mafia pals, Tiffany Stratton’s valley girl, and Mandy Rose and Toxic Attraction’s sex appeal made for some dumb, fun stuff.
But Dynamite was the show you want to show people who don’t get why you’re into wrestling. If you’re here because you like ME and not wrestling (and thanks for that, I love you too) I encourage you to check out an episode of Dynamite on TBS on Wednesday evenings. There’s always one or two really fun matches, a lot of the character work is fun, and you don’t really need a strong background on the rivalries to enjoy what’s going on in the ring. My wife, my buddy Adam, and I just went to a live show recently (see above). Give it a shot, yeah?
- Promotion of the year
WWE
AEW
GCW
WWE is on top once again, thanks in no small part to having a fantastic throughline in the Bloodline. From Roman, to the Usos, to Solo Sokoa, Paul Heyman, and Sami Zayn, this faction has done more for the product than any group I can remember since the NWO’s early days in WCW. Every story and every show doesn’t necessarily revolve around them, but their presence is always felt in a way that feels compelling. Even though it’s a hate-watch for many, as we all await the inevitable collapse of the family, it’s done a lot to help WWE get back to where they were. The booking of Triple H, who took over for Mr. McMahon after scandals forced his retirement, has been a welcome change recently as well. Turns out a 78 year old man simply isn’t still the mastermind he was 30-40 years ago when he made WWE the brand it is today - and that would have been fine if he was willing to turn over the reigns sooner. Still, things are looking up. And AEW has a great year ahead of them if they can get past all the little things that make them feel small-time - a new look is set to be introduced next week, and I think that’s a great first step in rebranding the company for their next wave of success. GCW has garnered a lot of interest this year as well, making even us casual types stand up and take notice of their bloody version of professional wrestling.
- Finisher of the year
Roman Reigns’ Guillotine Choke
Bianca Belair's KOD
Everybody in BCC’s Hammer and Anvil Strikes
A category that means different things without clear direction, I took this prompt as “moves what gets you wins,” and nobody won more when it counted than Roman Reigns. He’s probably more known for his spear and Superman punch, but this year he finished more matches with his signature guillotine than any other move. It makes sense for his character, as it shows his dominance in the ring, but it also helps his opponents by letting them pass out rather than submit, which WWE likely prefers since they’re in the business of keeping their top talent “looking strong” even in defeat. Bianca Belair won her title back from Becky Lynch with the Kiss of Death, and she continues to use the KOD for her finisher, which shows off her power. And the Blackpool Combat Club over in AEW has been using a punishing series of elbows to the chests of their opponents to dominate the shows with their signature brand of brutality.
Non-wrestler of the year (Announcer, manager, authority figure, etc)
Excalibur (AEW Announcer)
Steven Regal (AEW Manager)
Renee Paquette (podcast host, AEW interviewer)
I felt this was an easy call simply because Excalibur adds so much to AEW broadcasts. He’s funny, he’s passionate, he might know every move in wrestling, and he gets on great with his colleagues. There were plenty of other candidates - Heyman and Regal were great on-screen characters, and Renee Paquette is fantastic no matter what role she’s filling - but the amount of work Excalibur does, and the contributions he makes to the weekly AEW shows, put him on top.
Promo of the year
Sami Zayn questions whether Jey Uso can be more “Ucey”, WWE SmackDown, 8/28
Jon Moxley is in no mood after All Out 9/7
Cody Rhodes returns, WWE Raw, 4/4
This is a difficult category to judge because there are simply far, far too many promos in far, far too many promotions to realistically follow them all. A match, sure, you can do a little Google-fu and hunt it down if you hear about a good one. But promos? Aside from AEW and WWE - already over ten hours of weekly content between the two - there’s not a lot of tracking when somebody busts out a great line.
Still, somebody’s gotta rank things and I am that somebody. Sami Zayn getting every last member of the Bloodline to laugh was genuinely amazing. It was an excellent segment already, Jey was increasingly angry with Sami’s hanging-on and the rest of the group’s acceptance of it. After Jey foolishly brushed off the suggestion that Sami’s involvement in the Bloodline was Roman’s plan, Sami immediately got between the cousins and blamed both himself and Jey’s recent difficulties as the reasons he hasn’t been feeling “Ucey,” a line that broke everybody in the ring. The segment went on but it was obvious that our Tribal Chief and his cousins didn’t expect that line, and they were doing their best to hide their faces to get the giggles out.
Let me know your thoughts on my rankings, and if you liked some other stuff feel free to link to it so we can all enjoy it! There’s so much wrestling out there, from small independents to international promotions, that there’s something for everyone and I think that’s amazing. Thanks for reading this far and for supporting me on the insanity that was last year, both the good parts and the really, really lousy ones. We’ll see ya next…week? Maybe? Yes, let’s shoot for that.
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