wrestling / Columns

Pantoja’s Top 100 Matches Of 2022 (#50-41)

January 30, 2023 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
Roman Reigns Brock Lesnar WWE SummerSlam Image Credit: WWE

50. IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Jay White – NJPW Dominion

Image Credit: NJPW

My Okada formula issue is that the slow start often means nothing in the grand scheme. Here, we got the slow start but it was entertaining as Jay nails the antics and mannerisms in between the slow stuff to keep you hooked. He also told Gedo not to get involved, only for him to be okay when Okada got tripped up by him. I love Jay matches because he’s not about “I’m gonna hit the coolest moves to get the highest star rating.” He’s here to win as a kayfabe wrestler should be. For example, he just kept going for pins at one point because it’s all about the win. Okada did his cross-body over the guardrail about a third of the way through this, kind of setting things up for the next portion. Still, Jay remained in control with a Flatliner and German suplex. It was a rare case of Okada really looking like he was outclassed. Jay had an answer for everything and was in total control. I loved Jay using the TTO and Texas Cloverleaf all while talking trash to Tanahashi who was on commentary. Okada used a GORGEOUS dropkick to finally stop Jay though the challenger kept surviving the Money Clip. The closing stretch saw Jay throw everything at Okada from a Brainbuster to his own Rainmaker. Okada avoided Blade Runner several times and they countered each other a bunch before White turned a Rainmaker into Blade Runner to win back the title he never should’ve lost in 2019 after 36:05. A hell of a match with the right outcome. Jay told multiple stories throughout and Okada was on his game. The middle portion actually dragged a bit rather than the opening stuff but overall, one of New Japan’s better main events. [****¼]

49. El Desperado vs. El Lindaman – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/24/22

Image Credit: NJPW

There was hype here, especially after Desperado mentioned El Lindaman in a promo while Jr. Heavyweight Champion. The crowd was way into this as the guys hit each other hard from the start. Even dives to the outside had an extra layer of intensity to them, with a Desperado one seemingly catching Lindaman right on the nose. Desperado started going after the leg and Lindaman’s call to combat it was to throw big offensive moves. He could pull out a suplex when you’d least expect it, stopping Desperado in his track. Of course, Desperado could grab at the leg and apply something like the Stretch Muffler at almost any given time. Down the stretch they went into a fantastic series of counters and offense with Lindaman finally ending it by hitting a great looking Tiger Suplex in 15:08. That ruled. It had an intensity level that was unmatched in the tournament and played well off of the build. They had a stiff match that played to both of their strengths and this was huge for Lindaman. [****¼]

48. Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE SummerSlam

Image Credit: WWE

This feud has always sucked. Brock jumped off the tractor he rode to the ring during introductions to attack Roman and get us off to a fast start. I was worried about this early on as they were kind of just doing spots for spots’ sake and throwing each other around in ways that weren’t interesting. Thankfully, things turned around when Brock got Roman in the tractor and dropped him onto the mat to try and win. Roman survived a bunch of F5s and more before they trade guillotine chokes. Brock used the tractor to push the ring and then lifted it, knocking Roman out of the ring in one of the wildest spots I’ve ever seen. The Usos showed up and Heyman pleaded with Brock only for all three to get taken out, including Heyman eating an F5 through the table. Brock beat a bunch of counts after eating more offense from spears to shots with the title. Eventually, it took Brock getting buried under Roman, the Usos, and a bunch of weapons to end this in 22:51. That was so dumb in the best way possible. I love dumb shit like tractor spots in wrestling. [****¼]

47. AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks [c] vs. Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks vs. Swerve In Our Glory – AEW Fyter Fest

Image Credit: AEW

AEW kind of drove three-way tags into the ground around this time. I liked the early stages here with things like the Bucks acting like they were hot shit, including Matt Jackson trying and failing to suplex Hobbs and Lee. That actually played into the story of the match and wasn’t just a spot for the sake of having fun. The Bucks’ hubris got them into this situation and could end up costing them. They were the most experienced and successful team here by a mile but these were two hungry, talented duos to face at once. The teams worked through a break and picked up the already wild pace afterward. Lee cleaned house before he got a challenge from Hobbs, capped by a sick looking Frog Splash. Seriously, he might have the second best frog splash right now behind Montez Ford. The rope walk Doomsday Cutter by Team Taz was one of my favorite spots of the year. I popped for Ricky joining the Superkick Party and even posing with the Bucks. A ref bump led to things getting even wilder and we got some more dissension between Swerve and Keith Lee, leading to some great drama. Lee and Swerve turned things around and got going, hitting the Swerve Stomp/Powerbomb combo on Matt for a ridiculously good near fall as the pin was broken up. The closing stretch saw more action and Lee hitting a wild somersault to the outside before Swerve got the surprise win on the Swerve Stomp at the 18:04 mark. Probably AEW’s most shocking title change and a welcome one that proves anything can happen in such a loaded tag division. A fantastic main event filled with close calls and tons of action. [****¼]

46. WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Royal Rumble

Image Credit: WWE

Right off the bat, this felt incredible as “SIERRA, HOTEL, INDIA, ECHO, LIMA, DELTA, SHIELD,” hit the speakers. Seth Rollins came out in full Shield gear and walked through the crowd, really getting into Roman’s head. It worked as he dominated the early stages, hitting a powerbomb through the announce table, Buckle Bomb, and Curb Stomp for a close call. Roman was rattled and it was clear. He weathered the storm and started getting his own stuff going, throwing bombs at Seth. I typically don’t like matches where it’s just a bunch of kickouts of big moves but this was a rare case of it working for me. There was a section in the middle that didn’t work as well as the rest but was still good. The biggest issue people had was with the finish. Reigns hit a Spear and Rollins laughed while hurt, offering a Shield fist bump. A frustrated and pissed Reigns put him in the Guillotine Choke and refused to let go when Seth got to the ropes, giving us a DQ in 14:44. That ended kind of killed this. It should’ve been the start of a longer story. The money is in Seth vs. Roman more than any other match WWE can put together. [****¼]

45. Death Triangle vs. The House of Black – AEW Double or Nothing

Image Credit: AEW

I mostly felt like Double or Nothing was a disappointing show but leave it to the House of Black and Death Triangle to deliver. Six guys who have been killing it for a while made sure to put on a fantastic match. If only they were booked like top guys. They just went all out for 15:19 and did some incredible things. There were wild spots, tons of action, and some ridiculous moments in the best possible way. I feel like people forget just how good the Lucha Brothers are sometimes. Murphy looks like an Adonis and wrestles like one of the best in the world. Malakai and PAC had some exchanges that left my jaw on the ground and Brody was the big brute he needs to be. The finish finally led to the culmination of the Julia Hart storyline as she showed up, spit mist in PAC’s eyes, and Black Mass ended him. It’s wild that we never really got PAC vs. Malaki. [****¼]

44. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Orange Cassidy – AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door

Image Credit: AEW

The early goings here proved why as Cassidy’s attitude of not caring played perfectly into Will’s overly serious nature these days since he’s trying so hard to be a vicious heel. Cassidy frustrated him at every turn. They got into the actual meat of the match and most of it was strong. I did get distracted by Jim Ross on commentary. He is like, historically terrible. Cassidy’s comeback with his hands in pocket was awesome. It’s wild that he can do a better kip-up with no hands than most athletic guys can with the help of their hands. Anyway, the final few minutes were absurd with huge moves that looked great. Cassidy casually avoiding the Oscutter and hitting a sick Stundog Millionaire were great moments. I liked that Will got to be the bigger brute here though I wish Hidden Blade came off better. He kind of whiffed. I also felt that they went a bit into overkill mode on close calls and near falls late though I did bite on one for OC. Will finished it with Stormbreaker in 16:10. I keep saying it OVER and OVER but again, Willy was at his best in a shorter match setting. [****¼]

43. WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther [c] vs. Ricochet – WWE Smackdown 12/16/22

Image Credit: WWE

Not enough people mention him when they discuss the best in the world right now but Gunther is as good as it gets. It doesn’t matter who he faces, he manages to put on bangers no matter what. The match where he won the Intercontinental Title from Ricochet earlier this year was good but they topped it and then some in the rematch. Ricochet was hot off of winning the Smackdown World Cup and got his shot against the match who bested him once. For 21:49 he hung tough with his larger opponent and Gunther again proved that he can deliver greatness with smaller guys. He sold enough to make Ricochet feel like a legitimate threat and star but remained dominant enough for himself to stand out. It’s a fine balance to get right. I didn’t think Ricochet would win but they made me bite on a few near falls, which is hard to do. Ricochet’s final chance saw him get chopped out of the air and then he lost to a stiff powerbomb in one of the best TV matches of the year. [****¼]

42. Blood & Guts: The Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz vs. The Jericho Appreciation Society – AEW Dynamite 6/29/22

Image Credit: AEW

Sammy Guevara chose to start but seemed to regret it once Claudio stepped in against him. I got to see Claudio beat his ass for a few minutes, so this was riding on five stars for a while. Moxley, Yuta, and Claudio dominated to the point where Angelo Parker entered with three opponents staring him down which meant a nice change of pace. They used weapons like broken glass, kendo sticks, and thumbtacks as this went on. Kingston was last in and the match officially began. I loved that he just walked through the JAS with kendo stick shots in his desperation to get to Jericho. It was exactly what it needed to be. Some weapons stuff didn’t work like Hager’s table bump but the stuff with the tacks came off well. 2.0 seemed to be on a mission to prove themselves, bleeding buckets and taking bumps on tacks. Parker was even hung by his leg upside down out of the cage with blood pouring. They exposed the ring under the mat though that didn’t amount to much. Jericho and Kingston battled up top and Sammy followed to take the token bump off the top as he was sent down through tables. Menard and Claudio also went up top, with Claudio saving Kingston from the Walls. Jericho took the swing on top of the cage and got put in the Stretch Plum as Claudio put Menard in the Sharpshooter. Just before Jericho could tap, Menard did, giving Claudio the win in 46:45. An absolutely wild match. [****¼]

41. New Japan Cup First Round: El Desperado vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/2/22

Image Credit: NJPW

It’s our usual Anniversary Jr. Heavyweight vs. Heavyweight Champion match except it comes in the New Japan Cup. This match is basically one of the MVPs of New Japan over the past two years and also Kazuchika Okada. I loved how Desperado started by stepping on Okada’s toes to bring him down to size. He quickly went after the knee, knowing that Naito targeted it in throughout the Golden Series gimmick. I appreciate that this didn’t follow typical Okada formula. The early stages meant something in terms of showcasing Desperado having Okada scouted and targeting the knee. Of course, Okada could reset the momentum with something as simple as a flapjack or his gorgeous dropkick. Desperado came close a few times but my biggest gripe with this match is that they never made me feel like he could win. I believed YOH might upset Tanahashi but not that Desperado would topple Okada. I think the problem was that a lot of his best shots involved the Stretch Muffler and there was no way that Okada would tap. Okada kept going to the Money Clip, with the idea being that a junior heavyweight wasn’t worthy of the Rainmaker. When the Money Clip failed, Desperado suddenly became worthy of it as Okada started to want to hit the move but Desperado blocked it with a forearm and hit Pinche Loco. He wanted a second which set up a series of reversals and Okada won with the Rainmaker in 26:21 to set up a match with Master Wato in round two. I loved this match as it showed again why Desperado is great and was Okada doing something different. [****¼]