2022 Wrestler Of The Year: Anthony Henry

When it comes to the Wrestler Of The Year honor I have two factors by which to judge it: The quality of your matches and the quality of your opponents.   It's very easy to think about someone having their best year if they're on that Goldberg run, but it's also something to be in there with the best but also having the best matches of your career.   

Based on these qualities, I can without a doubt in my mind say that the 2022 Wrestler Of The Year is Anthony Henry.   Few wrestlers have done what Anthony Henry has accomplished this year, but even fewer wrestlers (and by that I mean none) have done so at that same level that Anthony Henry is competing.   Some names came close, sure, but if you've been truly paying attention then you know no one has had the same year as Anthony Henry.

Now, it's important to note that Anthony Henry started off this year better than perhaps anyone else could have even ever thought of doing.   New Year's Eve 2021, as part of The Wrestival and the ACTION/SUP showcase, Anthony Henry picked up a win over Masha Slamovich.  And then, to top that off, Anthony Henry set the tone for the year, taking the eventual Limitless Wrestling Champion Ace Romero to his limit on New Year's Day in Worcester, MA.

If you have someone in your mind as a "Wrestler Of The Year" in 2022 that isn't Anthony Henry, odds are that Henry has been in the ring with them in some form.  From Adam Priest to Tom Lawlor, Lee Moriarty on Dark and Tre Lamar, as part of The Work Horsemen with JD Drake Henry was also in the ring opposite The Briscoe Brothers and Bryan Danielson/Jon Moxley.  

This all takes us to April 2022, in which The Work Horsemen defeated the team of Davey Richards and Speedball Mike Bailey at BLP's "Norm" event.  Mike Bailey is a close contender for "Wrestler Of The Year" as well and whoever brings me that one v one between Henry and Bailey will forever have my love because that match is going to just absolutely rule.

Just looking at the CageMatch page your mind will be blown if you haven't been paying attention.   Names like ACH, Hammerstone, Hook, Bear Country and even Alec Price as part of Wrestling Open.  And then on 4/29/22, The Work Horsemen came to GRIND to take on The Saito Brothers in one of the best tag team matches of the year.   

At ACTION Jaw Breakers, Anthony Henry had an instant classic against Alex Shelley and then rounded out the first half of his year with matches against Colby Corino, Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland, Jake Crist, Brandon Williams and Kevin Ku.  Going into the summer is when Anthony Henry really began to peak and secure this spot for me, and just look at all he's done leading up to it!

Matches at Uncharted Territory against Daniel Makabe and Channing Thomas brought Henry back to GRIND to face off against Travis Huckabee in just one of the single best wrestling matches I have ever seen.   If this isn't my Match Of The Year, it's damn sure close and that just means so much to why Anthony Henry is my Wrestler Of The Year.   From there, Henry would go on to face Alan Angels, Colt Cabana, KUSHIDA/Ren Narita for NJPW STRONG, Tank and in August he was on Dark opposite Orange Cassidy.

At this point, The Work Horsemen also seem to go on a bit of a winning streak on AEW Dark and are out there having some more serious matches where it feels like AEW might be investing in them as a tag team.  But Anthony Henry is also fighting the likes of Jordan Oliver at GCW and on December 2nd it all goes down as Anthony Henry defeats Adam Priest to become the ACTION Champion.  

It should also be noted that prior to this title win, Anthony Henry once again tore it up in GRIND, this time against Alec Price, and that had some deep Match Of The Year contention points as well.   The way I see it is, one of the best matches of this year was Alec Price vs Speedball Mike Bailey from Blitzkrieg! Pro.   Then you put Price in there against Anthony Henry, well, now we just need Henry vs Bailey to complete the prophecy!

        To close out the year, Anthony Henry was what many referred to as the MVP of The Wrestival, having three matches in one day on New Year's Eve and a singles match the night before against Robert Martyr.   Many had multiple matches at The Wrestival, but none the same caliber as Anthony Henry.   And just look at his opponents!  Henry started New Year's Eve at Pro Wrestling GRIND "All We Are" against Ryan Mooney in one of the best matches of the year as Mooney just would not stay down for Henry.   

        Anthony Henry would go on to face not only Kevin Blackwood- who is perhaps most like his style- at Limitless but Ichiban at the Beyond show as well.  When you consider the names of Robert Martyr, Ryan Mooney, Kevin Blackwood and Ichiban there isn't really a more diverse group of tough opponents out there and the fact that Anthony Henry had these stand out matches with them all in that time frame just caps off the best year of any wrestler for me.

        Part of being the Wrestler Of The Year though also leaves some things to be desired.  Aside from my biggest match want right now- Anthony Henry vs Speedball Mike Bailey- Anthony Henry has quite the possibilities for the year 2023.  Anthony Henry vs Anthony Greene, Andy Brown, Perry Von Vicious, O'Shay Edwards, Austin Luke, Trish Adora and just the world of other possibilities keep me on my toes for 2023.