#TheChris100 2022: #100-81
We've made it to the main event. The Chris 100 is finally here. After counting down over 600 honorable mentions, we are at the tip-top, best-of-the-best workers in wrestling from 2022 as chosen by our esteem panel. This year featured probably the tightest races I've seen since I started running this list. Sure, there were definitely tiers of workers that established themselves as I collected ballots, but it seemed like every submission I received featured some crazy swings in placement, especially in the bottom half. There are workers in the 60s of this list who I wasn't even sure would make it at all until the last few days of voting.
Apologies for any formatting errors with this list. I am shocked every year how Blogger's "composer view" seems to actively hate anyone who is trying to compose something. I really should have looked into moving to WordPress this year. No matter how many hours I put into trying to space everything, it seems to change the font type or size or add a random indent.
If you missed the honorable mentions, you can find them all tagged here. Let's get to the meat and potatoes of this project.
100. Atlantis Jr. (6 ballots, 411 points) - HIGHEST RANKED 6 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last year's rank: 376
High vote: Sam DiMascio (2)
Recommended matches
- vs. El Terrible (CMLL, 1/21)
- w/ Stuka Jr. vs. Averno & Mistico (CMLL, 2/25)
- vs. Mistico (CMLL, 5/27)
- w/ Atlantis & Blue Panther vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Stuka Jr. & Templario (CMLL, 7/15)
- vs. Leon Dorado (Lucha Memes, 7/16)
- Torneo Cibernetico (CMLL, 8/19)
- w/ Stuka Jr. vs. Dragon Rojo & Soberano Jr. (CMLL, 9/16)
- w/ Stuka Jr. vs. Averno & Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL, 9/16)
- vs. Stuka Jr. (CMLL, 9/16)
- vs. Volador Jr. (CMLL, 11/11)
- w/ Virus vs. Adrian Quest & Rocky Romero (NJPW, 11/20)
99. "The Stone Pitbull" Tomohiro Ishii (11 ballots, 412 points)
Last year's rank: 161
High vote: Doxxy (15)
Recommended matches
- vs. EVIL (NJPW, 1/4)
- w/ YOH vs. EVIL & SHO (NJPW, 2/7)
- vs. EVIL (NJPW, 2/13)
- vs. Eddie Kingston (NJPW, 5/14)
- vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NJPW, 6/20)
- w/ Alex Zayne & Kazuchika Okada vs. Clark Connors, The DKC & Yuji Nagat (NJPW, 7/5)
- vs. Great-O-Khan (NJPW, 8/2)
- vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 10/2)
- vs. Ren Narita (NJPW, 10/26)
- vs. Chris Jericho (AEW, 11/23)
98. Adam Priest (7 ballots, 413 points)
Last year's rank: NR
High vote: Sam DiMascio (1)
Recommended matches
- vs. Anthony Henry (ACTION, 1/21)
- vs. John Wayne Murdoch (IWTV, 5/30)
- vs. Robert Martyr (IWTV, 6/13)
- vs. Travis Huckabee (SUP, 6/19)
- vs. Kevin Ku (IWTV, 8/1)
- vs. Billie Starkz vs. Jaden Newman vs. Kevin Ku (SCI, 8/6)
- vs. Kevin Ku (ACTION, 8/12)
- vs. Dominic Garrini (AIW, 8/19)
- vs. Eric Ryan (ICW NHB, 11/18)
- vs. Anthony Henry (ACTION, 12/2)
Last year's rank: NR
Recommended matches
- vs. Adam Priest (ACTION, 1/21)
- w/ JD Drake vs. Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley (AEW, 3/9)
- vs. Alex Shelley (ACTION, 5/6)
- vs. Daniel Makabe (ACTION, 6/10)
- vs. Travis Huckabee (GRIND, 7/1)
- vs. Tank (IWTV, 7/25)
- vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW, 8/5)
- w/ JD Drake vs. Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku (DPW, 9/17)
- vs. Adam Priest (ACTION, 12/2)
- vs. Robert Martyr (Prestige, 12/30)
96. Pagano (8 ballots, 421 points)
Last year's rank: 372
High vote: Ty (25)
Recommended matches
- w/ Psycho Clown vs. Abismo Negro Jr. & La Parka Negra (AAA/Reino, 1/1)
- w/ Drago Kid & Jack Cartwheel vs. Gringo Loco, Puma King & Sam Adonis (AAA, 3/31)
- w/ Gangrel vs. LA Park & LA Park Jr. (MLW, 3/31)
- vs. Sadika (GCW, 4/1)
- vs. DMT Azul vs. LA Park vs. Psycho Clown (AAA/Sanchez, 4/16)
- vs. Cibernetico (AAA, 10/15)
- vs. Joey Janela (Zona 23/GCW, 10/16)
- vs. Dirty Ron McDonald (XPW, 10/22)
- vs. Joey Janela (GCW, 12/16)
- w/ Villano IV vs. Cibernetico & Penta El 0M (AAA/Sanchez, 12/25)
"There are few hardcore wrestlers on the consistency level of Pagano. The AAA veteran was all over Mexico and the United States in 2022, and seeing him almost always pays off. Pair him with another hardcore luchador legend or some rando from the U.S. indies, and he will deliver buckets of blood. It will likely be ugly. Some of the recommended matches above are more universally praised than others (I will continue defending the Cibernetico Triplemania match). But even those low on the matches themselves have to recognize Pagano's dedication and the trust companies have in him to deliver in spots where he's matched up against workers who are older, more physically limited, or maybe just straight up bad. His 2022 didn't match the heights of his 2020 Chessman feud, but he'll have a spot on this list as long as he keeps doing what he does" ~ Chris
95. Sami Zayn (12 ballots, 422 points)
Last year's rank: 372
High vote: Tanner (24)
Recommended matches
- vs. Ricochet (WWE, 3/4)
- vs. Johnny Knoxville (WWE, 4/3)
- vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE, 4/22)
- vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE, 5/20)
- vs. Riddle (WWE, 6/10)
- vs. Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss vs. Ricochet vs. Sheamus (WWE, 8/19)
- vs. AJ Styles (WWE, 9/26)
- vs. Butch (WWE, 11/18)
- War Games (WWE, 11/26)
- vs. Sheamus (WWE, 12/2)
"Anyone who has one of the greatest celebrity matches of all time should always feature in a Top 100 list." ~ Joseph Montecillo
94. Kevin Owens (11 ballots, 423 points)
Last year's rank: 356
High vote: Gratliff (10)
Recommended matches
- vs. Big E vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins (WWE, 1/1)
- vs. Big E vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins (WWE, 1/3)
- w/ Seth Rollins vs. Chad Gable & Otis vs. Randy Orton & Riddle (WWE, 3/7)
- vs. Steve Austin (WWE, 4/2)
- vs. Cody Rhodes (WWE, 4/18)
- w/ Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso & Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes, Ezekiel, Randy Orton & Riddle (WWE, 4/25)
- vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE, 8/15)
- vs. Chad Gable (WWE, 8/22)
- War Games (WWE, 11/26)
- vs. Jey Uso (WWE, 11/28)
"I'm as jaded as it comes with WWE at this point, but any time I do check in with the company Owens continues to be a highlight. Seeing him get to live one of his dreams having a great Mania match against Stone Cold was one of the true special moments in 2022 wrestling." ~ Chris
93. "The Murder Grandpa" Minoru Suzuki (13 ballots, 439 points)
Last year's rank: 49
High vote: Mr. Notebook (18)
Recommended matches
- w/ Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KANON & Ren Ayabe (JTO, 1/10)
- vs. Toru Yano (NJPW, 2/20)
- w/ Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW, 3/1)
- vs. Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW, 3/13)
- vs. Biff Busick (WrestleCon, 3/31)
- vs. Ren Ayabe (JTO, 5/6)
- w/ Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino & Wheeler Yuta (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
- vs. Tom Lawlor (DEFY, 10/29)
- w/ DOUKI vs. Jun Kasai & Tomoaki Honma (JTO, 12/19)
- w/ El Desperado, Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku vs. DOUKI, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 12/23)
"Minoru Suzuki is 54 years old, and his body clearly isn't getting younger. He's working fewer singles matches in New Japan, even as his own stable has disbanded. He's been taking more trips to other companies (including long voyages to the U.S.) to have matches with a new generation of workers he inspired. He knows after so many years of wear as both a wrestler and a fighter that he can rely on the formula he's perfected. But god, does he deliver still when needed. If there is anyone in this world who can make a "dog cage match" with Toru Yano into a spectacle, it's him. A full year later, I'm not sure if his match with Hiromu is a masterpiece or a trainwreck, but it's undeniably Suzuki and must-see wherever the truth lies. I don't know how much longer Suzuki has as a full-time worker, but I know wrestling will be less special when he finally does decide to call it quits." ~ Chris
92. Dante Martin (18 ballots, 443 points) - LOWEST RANKED 18 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last year's rank: 69
High vote: TH (29)
Recommended matches
- vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW, 1/12)
- vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW, 2/16)
- vs. Adam Page (AEW, 3/9)
- w/ Darius Martin vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 3/30)
- vs. Rey Fenix (AEW, 5/4)
- vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 6/15)
- w/ Darius Martin vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW, 11/23)
- w/ Darius Martin vs. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (ROH, 12/10)
- w/ Darius Martin vs. Anthony Henry & JD Drake (AEW, 12/17)
- w/ Darius Martin vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley (AEW, 12/28)
"Dante Martin's momentum keeps getting stalled, and it's very rarely his fault. He's had some bad luck and stalled storylines because of injuries to himself or his tag partners, or backstage issues.The voters clearly agree. 18 different people listed him on their ballots, but it was often on the back end. A few voters go a different way and he could have missed the top 100 entirely despite making a majority of ballots. There's clearly a lot of potential for the high-flyer. Now it's just a matter of getting consistent opportunities to shine. ~ Chris
"Few highspot guys have as much peak as him. He didn’t get as much a platform in 2022 as he did in 2021, but he was still a stone cold killer." ~ TH
91. Yoshinari Ogawa (8 ballots, 445 points)
Last year's rank: 16
High vote: Nate (5)
Recommended matches
- vs. HAYATA (NOAH, 1/1)
- w/ HAYATA vs. Kotaro Suzuki & YO-HEY (NOAH, 1/4)
- w/ HAYATA vs. Hao & Nio (NOAH, 1/6)
- w/ Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW/NOAH, 1/8)
- vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 2/12)
- w/ Chris Ridgeway vs. Atsushi Kotoge & YO-HEY (NOAH, 4/29)
- w/ HAYATA & Rob Van Dam vs. Daisuke Harada, Kaito Kiyomiya & YO-HEY (CyberFight, 6/12)
- w/ Chris Ridgeway vs. Eita & Kotaro Suzuki (NOAH, 9/3)
- w/ Chris Ridgeway vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Seiki Yoshioka (NOAH, 9/25)
- vs. NOSAWA Rongai (NOAH, 12/14)
"I feel like a broken record talking about Ogawa every year. He's in his mid-50's and remains one of the best technical workers in NOAH. He's a known commodity. He can carry just about anyone to at least a solid match, and I was thrilled to see him tagging with the vastly underrated Chris Ridgeway again. He's one of the greatest of all time, an absolutely essential wrestler to watch whenever he wants to cook, which is just as likely to be in an undercard tag match on a house show as it is in a championship match on a Korakuen show." ~ Chris
90. Brody King (9 ballots, 449 points)
Last year's rank: 529
High vote: Fin Bergin (19)
Recommended matches
- vs. Yuya Uemura (NJPW, 1/15)
- w/ Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black vs. Erick Redbeard, PAC & Penta El 0M (AEW, 3/6)
- vs. Biff Busick (Circle 6, 3/19)
- vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 5/14)
- vs. Jake Something (NJPW, 5/15)
- vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 7/6)
- vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 7/20)
- vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 8/10)
- w/ Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black vs. Darby Allin, Miro & Sting (AEW, 9/4)
- w/ Buddy Matthews vs. Darby Allin & Sting (AEW, 9/21)
Last year's rank: 162
High vote: Mike (23)
Recommended matches
- vs. Trent Beretta (AEW, 1/12)
- w/ Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 1/19)
- vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW, 1/26)
- vs. Adam Page (AEW, 3/6)
- w/ Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Page, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (AEW, 3/16)
- vs. Jay Lethal (AEW, 3/23)
- vs. Christian Cage (AEW, 4/6)
- vs. Adam Page (AEW, 4/15)
- vs. Samoa Joe (AEW, 5/29)
- vs. Adam Page vs. Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
88. DOUKI
Last year's rank: 385
High vote: Nadine Smith (8)
Recommended matches
- w/ El Desperado vs. NOSAWA Rongai & YO-HEY (NJPW/NOAH, 1/8)
- vs. Taichi (JTO, 1/10)
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 3/12)
- w/ Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW, 5/1)
- w/ El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai & Tomoaki Honma (JTO, 5/6)
- vs. El Phantasmo (NJPW, 5/24)
- vs. El Desperado (NJPW, 5/28)
- vs. Titan (NJPW, 5/29)
- w/ Minoru Suzuki vs. Jun Kasai & Tomoaki Honma (JTO, 12/19)
- w/ Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. El Desperado, Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku (NJPW, 12/23)
"There are better wrestlers in New Japan than DOUKI. There are more impressive athletes, bigger presences, guys who can wrestle a 4+ star match on any night. But it's just as important for a company to have reliable hands as it is to have big stars, and by God is DOUKI one of the most reliable hands around. DOUKI. Few in NJPW or JTO are able to make opponents look as good as him. He rarely has a bad match in BOSJ tournaments no matter the quality of opponents. He's always a highlight in tags. DOUKI was maybe the most crucial 'glue guy' in any company in 2022, and that's why he cracked this year's list." ~ Chris
Last year's rank: 119
High vote: Waleed (11)
Recommended matches
- vs. Matt Makowski (BLP, 2/19)
- vs. Alex Shelley vs. Dalton Castle (Prestige, 2/20)
- vs. Jon Moxley (DEFY, 4/30)
- vs. Alex Shelley (Prestige, 5/28)
- vs. Fred Rosser (NJPW, 6/25)
- vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/10)
- vs. Jeff Cobb (NJPW, 8/14)
- vs. Homicide (NJPW, 10/16)
- w/ Syuri vs. Giulia & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW/Stardom, 11/20)
- vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Inoki Genki Factory, 12/28)
"Are people finally catching on to Filthy Tom? He's been one of the best workers on the indies for a few years, and was one of the few reasons I would tell anyone to watch MLW while he was signed there. In 2022, he worked the most matches he's had in his career despite approaching 40. New Japan has pushed him not only on their American programming, but as a G1 participant. He had a bloody mess of a match with Jon Moxley in DEFY that was one of those rare indie matches that seemed to get people outside of the indie bubble talking. He's deserved these flowers for years, and he's finally getting them. Watch that Fred Rosser NJPW Strong title match right now if you haven't. You can read the rist of this list later." ~ Chris
Last year's rank: NR
High vote: Sun Tzu (14)
Recommended matches
- w/ Matt Hardy vs. Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen (AEW, 3/16)
- w/ Darby Allin, Matt Hardy & Sting vs. Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, The Blade & The Butcher (AEW, 3/23)
- w/ Matt Hardy vs. The Blade & The Butcher (AEW, 4/6)
- w/ Dante Martin, Darius Martin & Matt Hardy vs. Angelico, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen & The Blade (AEW, 4/13)
- w/ Dante Martin, Darius Martin, Frankie Kazarian & Matt Hardy vs. Angelico, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen
- vs. Bobby Fish (AEW, 5/4)
- vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 5/11)
- w/ Matt Hardy vs. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (MCW, 5/15)
- vs. Adam Cole (AEW, 5/18)
- w/ Matt Hardy vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 5/29)
Last year's rank: 238
High vote: Waleed (22)
Recommended matches
- vs. Cody Rhodes (AEW, 1/26)
- vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 2/16)
- vs. Andrade El Idolo (AEW, 2/23)
- vs. Andrade El Idolo vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 3/4)
- w/ Darby Allin & Sting vs. Andrade El Idolo, Isiah Kassidy & Matt Hardy (AEW, 3/6)
- vs. Scorpio Sky (AEW, 4/27)
- w/ Chris Jericho & Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino & Wheeler Yuta (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
- Blood and Guts (AEW, 6/29)
- w/ Tay Melo vs. Ortiz & Ruby Soho (AEW, 9/4)
- vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW, 9/23)
"Sammy Guevara is a wrestler whose case for this list is much stronger than I thought. I get it. He's gotten into his fair share of backstage drama. His booking for much of the year involved hot potato with the TNT belt, and a lot of people got tired of that. But this list isn't about how much people like you or how well you've been booked. It's about the work in the ring, and Sammy Guevara consistently delivered in that regard. Put away all thoughts on American Top Team or Jericho Appreciation Society. Put away all thoughts on how you would've personally booked the TNT Championship. Think about the ladder match with Cody, the Darby and Andrade matches, his role in the high spots of some of the craziest brawls of the year. Guevara has never been my favorite worker in AEW or on the indies, but he put in a crazy amount of work in 2022. I have to respect that." ~ Chris
Last year's rank: 55
High vote: Andy (2)
Recommended matches
- vs. Goldberg (WWE, 2/19)
- vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE, 4/3)
- w/ Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs. Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton & Riddle (WWE, 5/8)
- vs. Riddle (WWE, 6/17)
- w/ Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs. Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford & Riddle (WWE, 7/25)
- vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE, 7/30)
- vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE, 9/3)
- vs. Logan Paul (WWE, 11/5)
- War Games (WWE, 11/26)
- w/ Sami Zayn vs. John Cena & Kevin Owens (WWE, 12/30)
Last year's rank: 239
High vote: TH (27)
Recommended matches
- vs. Adam Page (AEW, 2/9)
- vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW, 3/23)
- vs. Wardlow (AEW, 4/27)
- vs. Nick Comoroto (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
- vs. Jeff Cobb (NJPW, 7/31)
- vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/16)
- vs. Ricky Starks (AEW, 11/18)
- w/ El Desperado vs. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul (JTO, 12/19)
- w/ El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku vs. DOUKI, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 12/23)
"Lance Archer is a wrestler I always seem to forget about. He'll be around AEW or NJPW for a bit and then disappear from TV just as quickly. When he is showcased, he's not always the most impressive or consistent worker in the ring. Then he'll have an absolute barn-burner of a match like the Texas deathmatch with Hangman Page or his G1 matchup with Okada. There are plenty of people who had more great matches than Archer, but his highs were unreal." ~ Chris
"Wrestling needs more big angry nasty fuckers, but few really were able to do it as well as Archer, who was still as ornery as ever in 2022." ~ TH
Last year's rank: 265
High vote: Gratliff (8)
Recommended matches
- w/ ASF & Laredo Kid vs. Arez, Demonic Flamita & Gringo Loco (GCW, 1/23)
- vs. Mike Bailey (WrestleCon, 3/31)
- w/ Dr. Wagner Jr. & Gravity vs. Emperador Azteca, Flamita & Yutani (Big Lucha, 5/27)
- vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Fenix vs. Laredo Kid vs. Taurus (AAA, 6/18)
- w/ Komander vs. El Hijo de Skayde & Skayde (COR, 8/6)
- vs. Ricky Marvin (Big Lucha, 8/26)
- w/ DMT Azul vs. Cibernetico & Taurus (Invasion Indy, 9/16)
- vs. Chris Jericho (AEW, 9/28)
- vs. Rush (AEW, 11/9)
- vs. El Hijo del Vikingo (AAA, 12/28)
Last year's rank: 126
High vote: Logan Kenny (8)
Recommended matches
- w/ BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Aleja, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya & Tadasuke (NJPW/NOAH, 1/8)
- vs. Ryohei Oiwa (NJPW, 1/20)
- vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 3/13)
- vs. EVIL (NJPW, 3/18)
- vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW, 5/15)
- vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NJPW, 5/24)
- vs. YOH (NJPW, 5/25)
- vs. SHO (NJPW, 5/26)
- vs. Alex Zayne (NJPW, 5/28)
- vs. El Desperado (NJPW, 6/3)
- w/ Taiji Ishimori vs. El Desperado & Master Wato (NJPW, 11/5)
- vs. TAKA Michinoku (JTO, 12/19)
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