As a wrestling fan, I can tell you that I watch a lot of different styles of wrestling and so I don't feel like I can really do a "Top 10 Matches of 2022" list or even pick one match throughout this entire list that was my favorite match. These are all matches I experienced live- which does make a difference- and I just can't pick even one match per month for this year. It was that damn good of a year for wrestling.
Without getting ahead of myself, I will tell you that going into November I had picked matches with Mickie Knuckles vs Kasey Kirk and MSP vs BUSSY as my favorites. These matches were quite different, but that's why it's so difficult for me to pick between them. I also was at some point going to try and get an actual number on this- like My Top 25- and that got away from me as well.
To me, when you get inside of that ring, sure it's competition but I don't feel like it's easy to say that one match is better than another when they can bring two different things to the table. I know this feels weird to type because I will name a Favorite Wrestler (and tag team) so it's kind of like "Why can I narrow it down to one definitive wrestler for the year and not just one match" and I don't know, but this is just how it goes.
January :::
Right away, I will tell you that going anywhere in the winter months is not always possible. The only wrestling show we went to in January of 2022 was Pro Wrestling GRIND "Overkill", which seemed to work out fine because it was my first entry into my "Match of the Year" document as Perry Von Vicious and Travis Huckabee had an absolute war. This wasn't just the type of match that had opened up a lot of eyes, but I truly feel as if this match set the tone for these two wrestlers for the rest of the year.
February :::
We went to three different wrestling shows in February, and yet somehow two of them were our last trips for a while. On February 11th, we went to Chaotic Wrestling for the last time (haven't been back since) and on February 13th we went to Worcester, MA for WWR+ "Galentine's Day Massacre". We would not return to Worcester, MA until almost the very end of 2022 for The Wrestival.
At WWR+ we saw a match which looked promising on paper and delivered inside of that ring as Allie Katch wrestled Ashley D'Amboise. While there are a lot of women's wrestling promotions out there, none of them feel as close as WWR+ did and though they had some joint shows with Beyond, I really miss these stand alone shows and wish they'd come back. If not, I just want to see more of Ashley D'Amboise because this seemed to be where she was really growing and beginning to shine even brighter as a star.
February was also the first Blitzkrieg! Pro show of the year, "PMA", and though this was one of my favorite Blitzkrieg! Pro shows of the year it had one of my favorite matches as well, as Evil Uno faced off against Lince Dorado. This was overall one of those shows you must see, but just the fact that you had a current AEW wrestler vs a former WWE wrestler and the match was just so good made it all worthwhile for me. This match was truly something special.
March :::
In March we attended our last NCW show and the only other shows we went to were Blitzkrieg! Pro and GRIND. This became a theme for 2022, as those were the two promotions we went to the most. We also went to TOS "Lone Survivor" in March- our last solo TOS show- but we won't talk about that.
At Pro Wrestling GRIND "Price Of A Mile" on 3/18, "Rabid" Ryan Mooney had a career-making match against Gary Jay. It has been long enough as I type this that I feel like everyone should know about this match already and have seen that photo of how red Mooney's chest was after the fact as well. Look, I saw two Ryan Mooney matches before this match and one was a scramble. So, this wasn't just such a great match because of how it made me view Mooney as a star, but also because of the fight between these two.
And then, a week later, on 3/25, we had Blitzkrieg! Pro "Energy", which featured my favorite match of the year. After seeing Alec Price vs Speedball Mike Bailey live, I knew in my mind it was all about any other match having to try and top that not only for the rest of the year but perhaps for the rest of time. It was literally one of the best pro wrestling matches I have ever seen live and I am so glad that we were there to see it.
April :::
April felt like a busy month for reasons outside of wrestling. We only went to one show and it was GRIND's "Antisocial". There was a tag team match between The Saito Brothers and Work Horsemen which was just not only my favorite match but one of my all-time favorite tag team matches. I've had an on again/off again relationship with tag team wrestling, but this match really made me happy and just showed how important tag team wrestling can be when given that spotlight.
May :::
May was similar to April in the way that we only went to one show and it was GRIND's "Come And Get It". This was our first time seeing Derek Neal live and I really enjoyed his match vs Rip Byson, even if it didn't have a winner. Also, from that same show, Travis Huckabee and Ryan Mooney had one of those matches everyone should go out of their way to see, as both were having a year to be remembered in 2022.
June :::
During the summer, at this point in time, I will admit that we were going to more baseball games than we were wrestling shows. But when Invictus Pro made their way to CT to have a show with TOS, I knew it was something we needed to be at because "United We Fight" just felt like one of those truly special shows of this year.
My favorite match of this show and the entire month of June was seeing Milk Chocolate (at the time the Invictus Pro Tag Team Champions) taking on Miracle Generation (at the time the TOS Tag Team Champions) This match just went all over the place and was unlike any other match I've seen involving these two teams.
Miracle Generation are known for being fast and high flyers, but during this match they took to the air and used their speed outside of the ring more than inside of it. It's also funny that how much Miracle Generation was cheered- how much they are loved- that is how much Milk Chocolate was booed and just overall hated.
We also went to our first Tough & Talented show in June, which saw the main even of Slyck Wagner Brown vs Bull Dredd- two legends in CT that had never faced each other before this show. That was a nice piece of CT wrestling history to witness and whether or not it means the same to people who live outside of this area doesn't matter because it should mean a lot to those who do live here.
July :::
Being that July is that middle of summer type of vibe, I can tell you that we only went to one show and it was Pro Wrestling GRIND's "Doctor, Doctor". The fact that we only went to one show was likely due to baseball, but that is just to be expected now. The match on "Doctor, Doctor" which was really the first match the entire year that made me question my pick of Alec Price vs Mike Bailey as MOTY contender was Anthony Henry vs Travis Huckabee. In a world where I can be more decisive, I would be able to pick one or even say that these two matches tie for MOTY, but all of these matches really mean a lot to me and that includes this one maybe a little bit more.
August :::
By August, the summer was coming to an end and I didn't really want to do anything any more. The baseball season was coming to a close and so I felt somewhat lost. Jess had been working different hours and so when Blitzkrieg! Pro had another show at the Brewery on a Sunday, Jess was able to go and so we went.
This show somehow featured a main event of VSK vs Tony Deppen and if you're looking for a real technical type of match where two opponents seem fairly similar in styles then this is one you should see. But I'm not sure it is out there anywhere on the playback, so perhaps it just needs to be booked again!
September :::
Somehow we did not make it to as many wrestling shows in September as we did in other months, but we did get to a Paradise Alley Pro show- our first one- at the Cadillac Ranch in Southington, CT. The main event of this show saw a 16 Woman Battle Royal to crown a new Women's Champion and I'm not sure when all this talent will be in the same room again.
Isana, Jessie Nolan, Nakoma Tala, Elle Valentine, Big Juicy, Sazzy Boatright and others made this a real who's who in the wrestling scene around here. I think it's funny certain wrestling promotions (especially in CT) only seem to like to book the same two or three women and this match was just proof that these women can come to CT and thus they should be here more as well.
October :::
In October we went to four different shows. I really enjoyed the RISE show in Rhode Island and it was our first time visiting that state for professional wrestling. Blitzkrieg! Pro had their second show vs Limitless Wrestling and it was definitely interesting throughout all of the time that it was.
The first night, we saw Anthony Greene vs Andy Brown and Channing Thomas vs Travis Huckabee. Both matches delivered on so many different levels and it's likely because these are simply four of the best out there. It really doesn't feel like any of these wrestlers had bad matches in 2022 and when you put them together, special things happen.
On Night 2, we also got to see Dr. Redacted vs Mike Anthony which is still living fresh in my mind. I feel like the fans weren't ready for that match- which is weird because Dr. Redacted has been in B!P before and Limitless has violent matches. So I didn't fully understand why it felt like so many people were caught off guard by the blood, but it was definitely one of those matches to seek out and watch.
Pro Wrestling GRIND also had "Celebration Day" in October, which brought us two Match of the Year contenders. Trish Adora and Delmi Exo had one of my favorite matches of the year that really brought out the best in each other. Seeing as how they are obviously in my top three of wrestlers for this year, Anthony Henry and Alec Price also had a great match which could also be argued as the MOTY.
November :::
In November, I feel like we shifted a little bit because we went to my first ICWNHB show in quite some time and Jess' first ICWNHB show ever. This would bring about the historic, main event match of Mickie Knuckles vs Kasey Kirk. This whole show was just so solid and this was one of my favorite matches of the entire year.
Oddly enough, an equally historic match would also take place at Blitzkrieg! Pro "Mercy Me" as MSP defended the Blitzkrieg! Pro Tag Team Championships against BUSSY. This was another easy Match-Of-The-Year contender and not just for what it represents, but the match itself was just that damn good.
At the same show for Blitzkrieg! Pro- "Mercy Me"- we also saw Andy Brown vs Travis Huckabee for the number one contendership and that was just a fantastic match as well. Andy Brown has been on a real tear in 2022, but at the same time, a lot of my favorite matches have also involved Travis Huckabee on one side of them as well.
December :::
December was The Wrestival and that pretty much took everything else we had known about the best matches of the year and thrown it out the window. Pizza Party Pro "Pop! Pop!" featured Austin Luke vs Karen Bam Bam as well as LuFisto vs Kennedi Copeland. The next day, we saw Blitzkrieg! Pro "Always The Hard Way" where Andy Brown won the Bedlam Championship from VSK and also BUSSY vs Ava Everett/Anthony Greene was a standout match as well.
Going into Saturday for Pro Wrestling GRIND's "All We Are", I knew it was going to be special. Not only did Anthony Henry and Ryan Mooney have one of the best matches of the year, I should say the same about Emi Sakura and Delmi Exo. It was definitely a great way to close out our year of wrestling in 2022 because it just felt like the best year ever.
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