Pantoja’s Top 100 Matches Of 2022 (#80-71)

80. AEW Trios Championship: Best Friends vs. Death Triangle – AEW Dynamite 9/7/22

Image Credit: AEW

After the debacle that was All Out, AEW needed a big episode to turn the tide. They started with a bang by crowning new Trios Champions. This got off to a wild start with some big spots including Best Friends launching Cassidy into a dive onto Death Triangle. I love that the hot tag went to Cassidy only for PAC to totally lay him out and cut off his run. Good twist on the formula. Danhausen tried to confront PAC but Alex Abrahantes interrupted, got cursed, and hit with a low blow. Danhausen tried to curse PAC too but ate a kick before he could. That triggered the closing stretch which featured a bunch of huge spots and tons of excitement. I like a lot of different styles of wrestling and a fun trios tag is right up there. That’s part of why I loved The Shield so much. The Best Friends near fall after they all hit their finishers was sweet. The finish saw Death Triangle hit a trio of Destroyers, the Lucha Brothers hit their finishers and two dives, and then PAC pin Taylor with Black Arrow in 13:04. That was so much goddamn fun and I am here for PAC being AEW’s first double champion. [****]

79. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Alpha Academy [c] vs. Kevin Owen and Seth Rollins vs. RK-Bro – WWE Raw 3/7/22

Image Credit: WWE

Sometimes you attend a show live and a great match feels even more special because you’re there. I was at this particular Raw in Cleveland (after the December Smackdown we bought tickets to was moved to a March Raw) and most of the show was forgettable. However, everything about this 27:03 tag was worth the price of admission. Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins were a blast of a heel team, Alpha Academy is an underrated duo, and RK-Bro was absurdly over. Seriously, Randy Orton got a top five all time pop I’ve ever heard live on this show and it was just a regular ass episode of Raw. This was given a lot of time to be special and the guys made it work, moving in and out with ease, delivering on big moves, and played perfectly to the crowd. Then, there’s the big moment. You have likely seen gifs even if you missed the show and the match. Chad Gable went for a moonsault but Orton snuck in with a mid-air RKO. It was one of the best RKOs in history, which is saying something. Soon after, Riddle snuck in and stole a pin to give the good guys the championships. [****]

78. AEW Trios Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Aussie Open and Will Ospreay vs. Death Triangle – AEW Dynamite 8/24/22

Image Credit: AEW

I attended this show live which I think was part of why I didn’t love it as much as some others. The crowd was totally into Will though. This match was not typically my style of wrestling but it was a blast to see live. I had fun watching people who didn’t really know Will react to his stuff. I’ve seen Ospreay perform the backflip kick and land on his feet on a rana so many times but those new to him were in awe. Death Triangle is also fantastic, though they did lose in 25:18. My issues here came with two things. One, there wasn’t much selling from anyone. I get that’s not the main gist of the match but people were popping up from stuff like nothing happened. Two, the bigger problem, is that I think this works way better on TV. When you’re there live, you can see the guys outside just patiently waiting for the next spot to get involved in while guys did stuff in the ring. That took me out of it at times. On TV, that stuff is usually cut out. That may sound negative but that’s what keeps this from ranking higher. Overall, this is a spectacle of a match that is incredibly fun to rewatch on TV and features some of the wildest spots you’ll find anywhere. [****]

77. ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli [c] vs. Konosuke Takeshita – AEW Battle of the Belts III

Image Credit: AEW

The run of Konosuke Takeshita in AEW is something that deserved more love than it got. People appreciated it but he was pretty fantastic and was a highlight of the company for that entire time. He got his biggest match at the Battle of the Belts III special when he faced Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title and they put on a show. The action was crisp and filled with great counters, impressive moves, and stiff strikes. The biggest problem that this could’ve faced was the lack of drama because nobody believed Takeshita had a shot at winning. That said, they managed to make me believe in a few near falls. The main idea was that Takeshita took Castagnoli to the limit and gave him one of his toughest defenses of the ROH World Title. Things like a running knee and Brainbuster gave Takeshita near falls but he fell to the Ricola Bomb after a fantastic 19:52. Takeshita was always a treat and this was his ultimate shining moment, cementing an impressive stint in AEW. [****]

76. AEW Grand Slam Tournament Of Champions Semifinals: Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho – AEW Dynamite 9/14/22

Image Credit: AEW

I love when a match is logical and this was just that from the start. It sounds simple but it’s so important. Jericho controlled the pace last time and worked a slow style, so Danielson came out with chops and looked to prevent that this time around. Danielson held serve because of it and did things like joint manipulation (another match aspect that I love). Jericho found a way to swing the momentum and even hit a plancha to the outside before adding some disrespectful slaps. The final 10 minutes of this 19:40 match were fantastic. They started throwing bigger moves and then we got the moment of Danielson’s foot getting injured. He had to unlace the boot and everything. Jericho pounced and did the ring post Figure Four, another favorite of mine. Danielson refused to give up despite everything Jericho threw at him. He turned the Walls into the LeBelle Lock, which got him the win to make this a big step up from the PPV thanks to the kind of wrestling that was right up my alley. [****]

75. NXT Cruiserweight & North American Championship Unification Match: Carmelo Hayes [c] vs. Roderick Strong [c] – NXT New Year’s Evil

Image Credit: WWE

Roderick Strong is one of wrestling’s most underrated talents ever and Carmelo Hayes is the future. Roddy had the crowd behind him, while Hayes wore a Roddy shirt to the ring for some mind games. Although this is the end of the Cruiserweight Title again, I appreciate that it’s getting a sendoff and isn’t just forgotten. I really appreciated the quality back and forth wrestling we got to start this. It’s not a heated feud or anything like that, just two guys trying to be the best. It was Roddy who first took it to the next level with strikes but Hayes had it scouted and hit his springboard leg drop. Hayes hit a big slingshot DDT on the apron just before a break. The idea here was the fast-paced Hayes against the hard-hitting and sometimes ground based style of Roddy. I will never tire of seeing Roddy throw out backbreakers, hitting a trio of them here. The wildest moment came when Roddy did an Explex off the top on Hayes that looked like it might kill him. Or did Hayes hit it? It was wild either way. Hayes added a diving Fameasser to claim the gold in 15:41. That was a hell of a match as Roddy continues to be one of the more unheralded greats of our time and Hayes takes a big step forward as a top star of the brand. The finish was a bit abrupt though. [****]

74. G1 Climax Semifinals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW G1 Climax 8/17/22

Image Credit: NJPW

You guys know my feelings on Willy and Naito was one of my favorites but he hasn’t been Naito in a few years, so I was mixed on this at best. The outcome here also felt obvious because as much as New Japan loves rematches, they weren’t going to do Naito/Okada yet again. The early goings here saw the two trying to feel each other out and it was Naito who gained the first upper hand. Commentary AGAIN went hard on trying to put over Ospreay as a good human as he was getting worked over. We get it, guys, you’re trying really hard. Anyway, Naito targeted the shoulders and neck and Will took a pretty great bump as he crumpled to an elbow. Will did a strong job of selling throughout this actually. He rallied only to have Storm Breaker countered into Destino. Naito must have a lot of finishers stored to always counter everyone else’s. Naito avoided Hidden Blade and hit Destino for two. Kevin Kelly, no matter how shocked you act by it, nobody is surprised to see Destino fail to win a match. It happens all the time. Ospreay avoided another one and hit Hidden Blade and Storm Breaker to win. A great main event though again the lack of drama kept it from being an all-timer. [****]

73. Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Qualifying Match: Cash Wheeler vs. Dax Harwood – AEW Dynamite 4/27/22

Image Credit: AEW

If you know anything about me, then you know this was exactly the kind of wrestling I’d love. Two partners on the best tag team in the world having a banger of a singles match that paid homage to Bret and Owen Hart. It’s basically tailor-made for me. I also loved the touch of them wearing Hart family logs on their trunks. Coming into this year, neither guy was known for singles action but they had some good ones, with Harwood being a true standout. For 14:26, Wheeler was right here with him and that was kind of the theme here. They knew each other so well as partners that they were evenly matched in the ring. At every turn, they had counters or remained level with neither guy gaining a clear upper hand. Things really picked up after the break with German suplexes and bigger offense. The real kicker was the series of pin attempts from inside cradles to jackknife pins to the WrestleMania X victory roll spot. When that spot was done again later in the tournament, it didn’t come off nearly as well. Harwood ultimately won with a small package in a TV classic. [****]

72. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado [c] vs. Taiji Ishimori – NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

Image Credit: NJPW

I immediately got interested in this match as I love some good limb work and Taiji Ishimori targeted El Desperado’s arm. I’m a simple man and sometimes the easiest route is the one I like the most. From arm wringers to submissions to a vicious sounding shoulder thrust into the ring post, Desperado was in clear trouble throughout most of this 14:40 match. However, when Ishimori did a shoulder block, he banged up his own already injured knee. I feel like you don’t see that enough. Someone in control only to make a mistake on their own that changes the tide. He couldn’t take full advantage but this opened the door for Desperado to get going. This really got going late and the final five minutes or so were fantastic. I came in not expecting a title change at all since Ishimori had no real momentum but they had me into this. They traded big blows and counters before Ishimori used the Bone Lock to make Desperado tap, ending a hell of a match. The junior heavyweights don’t get great booking but the same crop of dudes tend to deliver. [****]

71. AEW All Atlantic Title Tournament Qualifying Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru – NJPW New Japan Road 6/20/22

Image Credit: NJPW

Yoshinobu Kanemaru jumped Tomohiro Ishii once he hit the ring, which made total sense given who he is and how much of a disadvantage he is at. That allowed Kanemaru to nearly steal this via countout and rollups. Ishii withstood that to start in with his own stuff but Kanemaru is a tricky bastard. He’d stop him with something like a dropkick to the knee before applying a submission. You really could tell that Kanemaru had a plan and executed it well. He was relentless on the leg and even kept it up after Ishii went after his leg with a shin breaker. Ishii couldn’t counter the Figure Four and had to keep going to the ropes to break it. I love that there’s a spot where Ishii doesn’t even do a move but instead simply runs over Kanemaru. He couldn’t muster up offense but was still flat out bigger than his opponent. The Kanemaru close calls were great because it was a case of “I know he isn’t winning but I’m buying into these near falls.” That’s hard to pull off. Ishii delivered a big headbutt late and eventually hit the Brainbuster to win in 19:37. That ruled. I’ve always said that I’m much more interested in matches that are smartly worked rather than ones trying to do the most moves to get the highest star rating. This was Kanemaru having a brilliant plan, executing it, and making me believe he’d win but Ishii selling his ass off and overcoming it. [****]