#TheChris100 2022: #60-41
Sorry for the long delay between posts. Things have been hectic for me lately, but the final two posts should be coming shortly after this. Thanks for the patience.
Last
year’s rank: 52
High
vote: Mike (5)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
CM Punk (AEW, 2/2)
-
vs.
CM Punk (AEW, 3/6)
-
vs.
Shawn Dean (AEW, 4/13)
-
vs.
Wardlow (AEW, 5/29)
-
vs.
Wheeler Yuta (AEW, 10/5)
-
vs.
Jon Moxley (AEW, 11/19)
-
vs.
Ricky Starks (AEW, 12/14)
Last
year’s rank: 61
High
vote: Doxxy (4)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Becky Lynch (WWE, 4/2)
-
vs.
Asuka (WWE, 5/30)
-
vs.
Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (WWE, 6/5)
-
vs.
Becky Lynch (WWE, 7/30)
-
w/
Alexa Bliss & Asuka vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky (WWE, 9/3)
-
vs.
Iyo Sky (WWE, 9/26)
-
vs.
Bayley (WWE, 10/8)
-
vs.
Bayley (WWE, 10/24)
-
vs.
Bayley (WWE, 11/5)
-
War
Games (WWE, 11/26)
“I can’t remember the last WWE-system
wrestler that seemed so suited to the bright lights of Big Stadium Wrestling
the way that Bianca Belair is. She shines brightest on the biggest stages
possible, having excellent matches against Becky Lynch at the WWE’s two biggest
shows of the year. Incredibly charismatic, likeable, and athletic, she’s
everything one might want from the top star of the WWE. In a perfect world, she
gets to unseat Roman Reigns.” ~ Joseph Montecillo
Last
year’s rank: NR
High
vote: Parker Smith (10)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Jamie Hayter (AEW, 5/11)
-
vs.
Britt Baker (AEW, 6/15)
-
vs.
Marina Shafir (AEW, 6/22)
-
vs.
Thunder Rosa (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
-
vs.
Emi Sakura (AEW, 7/20)
-
w/
Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter (AEW, 8/3)
-
w/
Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter (AEW, 8/31)
-
vs.
Athena vs. Britt Baker vs. Serena Deeb (AEW, 9/21)
-
vs.
Hikaru Shida (AEW, 10/18)
-
vs.
Jamie Hayter (AEW, 11/19)
"She did a lot of good work in some tough spots, especially given how volatile some of her opponents/partners were." ~ TH
Last
year’s rank: NR
High
vote: cake (5)
Recommended
matches
-
w/
Takashi Sugiura vs. Daiki Inaba & Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 3/13)
-
vs.
Manabu Soya (NOAH, 4/4)
-
w/
Hartley Jackson vs. Hikaru Sato & Keita Yano (Tenryu Project, 4/19)
-
w/
Takashi Sugiura vs. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. & Rene Dupree (NOAH, 5/4)
-
vs.
Masayuki Kono (Tenryu Project, 5/20)
-
vs.
Keita Yano (Tenryu Project, 6/15)
-
vs.
Masaaki Mochizuki (NOAH, 8/11)
-
vs.
Kazuyuki Fuijta (NOAH, 8/17)
-
vs.
Go Shiozaki (NOAH, 8/28)
-
vs.
Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH, 9/3)
“After
not wrestling a single match in 2021 while coaching in NXT, Hideki came back strong
after his release from the company. The only wrestler in NOAH who had a
better year was Kaito. Hideki was always a high point in Sugiura-gun tags and
his singles run was phenomenal. The N1 Final with Kaito and the Keita match in
Tenryu Project are top 15 matches of the year.” ~ Chris
Last
year’s rank: 237
High
vote: Flae (8)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 1/4)
-
vs.
Josh Barnett (NJPW, 1/15)
-
vs.
Jay Lethal (NJPW, 3/20)
-
vs.
Rocky Romero (NJPW, 4/1)
-
vs.
Chris Dickinson (NJPW, 4/10)
-
w/
Alex Coughlin, Chris Dickinson, Fred Rosser & Josh Alexander vs. Black
Tiger, Danny Limelight, Jorel Nelson, JR Kratos & Royce Isaacs (NJPW, 4/16)
-
vs.
Karl Fredericks (NJPW, 5/14)
-
vs.
Juice Robinson (NJPW, 9/11)
-
vs.
Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 10/26)
-
vs.
SANADA (NJPW, 11/5)
“NJPW’s current wunderkind. A wrestler who early in his
career has built quite a resume demonstrating immense technical ability as well
as endearing straight-laced babyface charisma. On the surface, he may resemble
a Shibata clone but despite picking up some of Shibata’s greatest trademarks
after spending time training at the LA Dojo, he works a bit differently. He is
a more calculated mat-focused wrestler with probably the coolest repertoire of
the suplexes in wrestling. He has also shown a capacity to work different
styles with strong work in pure pro-style or more shooty grappling, back and
forth style strikefests, as well showing off some of that intangible Inoki
spirit in a beast mode melee brawl with Juice Robinson. This is a guy who
should end up being a force to be reckoned with in best wrestler discussions
for years to come.” ~ Flae
Last
year’s rank: 540
High
vote: Tanner (14)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Slade (Beyond, 2/4)
-
vs.
Low Ki (HOG, 3/11)
-
vs.
Wheeler Yuta (Beyond, 3/13)
-
vs.
Brody King (Circle 6, 3/19)
-
vs.
Jon Moxley (GCW, 3/31)
-
vs.
Minoru Suzuki (WrestleCon, 3/31)
-
vs.
Tony Deppen (GCW, 4/1)
-
vs.
Bojack (DPW, 4/16)
-
vs.
Vinnie Massaro (WCPW, 5/13)
-
vs.
Alec Price (Beyond. 6/12)
“Had two great matches and
dipped but almost everyone who's seen those matches has them in the vicinity of
their Top 20 for the year so what can ya do. Run, coward, run.” ~ alistair
from twitter
“Biff’s indie run was brief –
13 matches across 4 months – but it was one of the most memorable runs of the
year. He was always great as a tag guy and occasional singles worker in NXT,
but Biff being unleashed on the indies for a short time was a reminder of what
a unique and visceral performer he can be.” ~ Chris
Last
year’s rank: 411
High
vote: João (1)
Recommended
matches
-
w/
Hideki Okatani vs. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (DDT, 3/20)
-
w/
Chihiro Hashimoto vs. MAO & Shunma Katsumata (DDT, 3/28)
-
w/
Daichi Hashimoto & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Shuji Ishikawa &
Yuji Hino (Fortune Dream, 6/15)
-
vs.
Jun Akiyama (DDT, 7/3)
-
vs.
Naomi Yoshimura (DDT, 7/3)
-
w/
Naomi Yoshimura vs. Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo (DDT, 8/14)
-
vs.
Tetsuya Endo (DDT, 8/20)
-
vs.
Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 9/25)
-
vs.
Shinya Aoki (DDT, 10/12)
-
vs.
Yukio Sakaguchi (DDT, 11/5)
“The
focus of one of my favorite stories of the whole year. Yes, the exciting and
long overdue championship win and the reign that followed. But also, the fact
that from the Takeshita title defense onwards, it was decided that Higuchi’s
skull was the most indestructible object in the world. Not since Misawa’s elbow
or Rikishi’s ass has someone’s body part become such a powerful stopping force.”
~ Joseph Montecillo
Last
year’s rank: 10
High
vote: Mike (4)
Recommended
matches
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee & Rush
(AEW, 8/17)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis & Will
Ospreay (AEW, 8/31)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Adam Page, Alex Reynolds & John Silver
(AEW, 9/4)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW,
11/19)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW,
11/23)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW,
11/30)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW,
12/14)
-
vs.
Hagane Shinno (AEW, 12/17)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW,
12/21)
-
w/
Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. PAC, Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix (AEW,
12/28)
Last
year’s rank: 79
High
vote: alistair from twitter (13)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Dralistico (AAA, 2/19)
-
w/
Erick Redbeard & PAC vs. Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black
(AEW, 3/6)
-
w/
Arez vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe (HOG, 3/11)
-
vs.
CM Punk (AEW, 4/13)
-
w/
Rey Fenix vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 6/3)
-
vs.
Blue Demon Jr. (AAA, 6/18)
-
vs.
Rush (AEW, 7/6)
-
w/
Rey Fenix vs. Andrade El Idolo & Rush (AEW, 8/10)
-
w/
Rey Fenix vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland (AEW, 9/14)
-
vs.
Villano IV (AAA, 10/15)
“Penta
can often feel overshadowed by his flashier brother, and he can definitely
coast in the ring on his charisma. Then every so often he puts on a performance
that reminds you that he can be one of the absolute best in the world on a
given day if he wants to. His performance in the apuestas match with Villano IV
is one of those. That match could be bookended by 50 matches where Penta only
does the cero miedo taunt for 20 minutes and he’d still be one of the best
wrestlers of 2022. He was an absolutely perfect opponent for Villano IV’s unmasking.
Any issues one could have from endless trios matches with the Elite don’t
matter when you put your body through that much in an instant classic.” ~ Chris
Last
year’s rank: 40
High
vote: Henry (11)
Recommended
matches
-
w/
Matt Jackson vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta (AEW, 2/9)
-
w/
Matt Jackson vs. Dante Martin & Darius Martin (AEW, 3/30)
-
w/
Matt Jackson vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW, 4/6)
-
w/
Matt Jackson vs. El Hijo del Vikingo & Fenix (AAA, 4/30)
-
w/
Matt Jackson vs. Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy (AEW, 5/29)
-
w/
El Phantasmo & Matt Jackson vs. Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi & Sting
(AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
-
w/
Matt Jackson vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (AEW, 6/29)
-
w/
Matt Jackson vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs. Powerhouse Hobbs &
Ricky Starks (AEW, 7/13)
-
w/
Kenny Omega & Matt Jackson vs. Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee & Rush
(AEW, 8/17)
-
w/
Kenny Omega & Matt Jackson vs. Alex Reynolds, Hangman Page & John Silver
(AEW, 9/4)
Last
year’s rank: 300
High
vote: Sol (13)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Ren Narita (NJPW, 1/4)
-
vs.
Orange Cassidy (AEW, 11/4)
-
vs.
Tom Lawlor (Inoki Genki Factory, 12/28)
“After
his exhibition match with ZSJ in 2021, Shibata returned for three more matches
in 2022 to remind us that he is still one of the most gifted wrestlers in
history. It may be an extremely small resume, but it’s a spectacular one even
if his opponents don’t necessarily pop out at first as contemporary guys you need
to see face Shibata. His grappling and striking ability is just as lethal
as ever. Selfishly I hope his body keeps allowing him to at least do these
occasional exhibitions going forward. Even though his influence is clearly seen
in those he’s trained the past few years, he was severely missed in the ring.”
~ Chris
Last
year’s rank: 42
High
vote: Henry (10
Recommended
matches
-
w/
Nick Jackson vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta (AEW, 2/9)
-
w/
Nick Jackson vs. Dante Martin & Darius Martin (AEW, 3/30)
-
w/
Nick Jackson vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW, 4/6)
-
w/
Nick Jackson vs. El Hijo del Vikingo & Fenix (AAA, 4/30)
-
w/
Nick Jackson vs. Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy (AEW, 5/29)
-
w/
El Phantasmo & Nick Jackson vs. Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi & Sting
(AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
-
w/
Nick Jackson vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (AEW, 6/29)
-
w/
Nick Jackson vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs. Powerhouse Hobbs &
Ricky Starks (AEW, 7/13)
-
w/
Kenny Omega & Nick Jackson vs. Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee & Rush
(AEW, 8/17)
-
w/
Kenny Omega & Nick Jackson vs. Alex Reynolds, Hangman Page & John
Silver (AEW, 9/4)
“A lot of their shtick feels like greatest hits to me so it
doesn’t pop like it did in 2009, but it’s still effective at putting across
exactly what they want to put across.” ~ TH
Last
year’s rank: 75
High
vote: pedro (5)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Hook (AEW, 3/6)
-
vs.
Keith Lee (AEW, 3/9)
-
vs.
Swerve Strickland (AEW, 4/6)
-
vs.
Karl Fredericks (NJPW, 5/15)
-
w/
Aaron Solo vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
-
vs.
Ricky Starks (AEW, 9/2)
-
vs.
Shota Umino (NJPW, 9/11)
-
w/
Nick Comoroto vs. Samoa Joe & Wardlow (AEW, 10/12)
-
vs.
Claudio Castagnoli (AEW, 10/18)
-
vs.
Orange Cassidy (AEW, 11/30)
“I
said Matt Menard might be the best shithead goon in wrestling right now, and
that’s only true because QT Marshall is not a goon. He is a kingpin. While
everyone has fawned over MJF for being the ‘classic heel’ in AEW for the past
several years, QT Marshall is the one that really feels that way to me. While
QT can cut a promo, he doesn’t need 25 minutes on the mic shit talking the
local sports team to get his heat. He just shows up, maybe says a couple words,
gets the crowd to hate him, then makes his opponent look like a million dollars
getting his ass kicked, does the job and leaves until it’s time to do it again.
He’s a true warrior of AEW Dark but it’s truly a treat whenever he gets to
shine on actual TV, even if he’s just getting squashed in two minutes.” ~ Chris
"QT Marshall continued to grow in 2022 as the Swiss army knife of wrestling, ranging from 1999 WCW Thunder-esque brawls (vs. Ricky Starks, AEW Rampage 9/2) or as a great opposing force tearing down babyfaces to set up their eventual triumph (vs. Shota Umino, NJPW Strong 9/11). While excelling at all of these different styles, his matches still have a real heart and character to them. Whether it is in Atlanta nightclubs in front of 30 fans or on the powder blue mat, at this point QT Marshall can get a good match out of anyone in the world." ~ brendan durant
Last
year’s rank: 108
High
vote: Sun Tzu (1)
Recommended
matches
-
w/
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa (NJPW/NOAH, 1/8)
-
vs.
CIMA (NJPW, 3/9)
-
w/
DOUKI vs. Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW, 5/1)
-
w/
TAKA Michinoku vs. Dick Togo & Gedo (JTO, 5/6)
-
vs.
Ace Austin (NJPW, 5/18)
-
vs.
Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW, 5/24)
-
vs.
Taiji Ishimori (NJPW, 5/25)
-
vs.
Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 6/20)
-
w/
El Desperado vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
-
w/
DOUKI, Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. El Desperado, Lance Archer, Minoru
Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku (NJPW, 12/23)
“A
haiku about Yoshinobu Kanemaru:
Torturer
of leg,
Your
whiskey tastes so divine
The
match has ended.” ~ brendan Durant
"Maybe the most one-track minded,
uncompromising worker in the business right now and it has been a joy to see
him get his flowers from many this past year. Win or lose, he is always going
to cheat, he is always going to work them headlocks, and he is always going to
assault your leg and put you in a figure four for minutes on end while you
scream in pain and he screams back at you. His match vs. Hiromu Takahashi from
Best of Super Juniors when you consider the context of their respective booking
is one of the most galling matches I have seen in a minute. " ~ Flae
Last
year’s rank: 8
High
vote: Nate (2)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Taiji Ishimori (NJPW, 3/12)
-
vs.
Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 3/17)
-
w/
Jeff Cobb vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW, 4/9)
-
w/
Jeff Cobb vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Rocky Romero & Trent
Beretta (AEW/NJPW, 6/26)
-
w/
Aaron Henare, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay vs. Dick Togo, EVIL, SHO &
Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW, 7/17)
-
vs.
Chase Owens (NJPW, 7/26)
-
vs.
Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 8/2)
-
vs.
Jay White (NJPW, 8/6)
-
vs.
Tama Tonga (NJPW, 8/10)
-
w/
Great Muta & NOSAWA Rongai vs. Kenoh, Manabu Soya & Tadasuke (NOAH,
9/3)
Last
year’s rank: 25
High
vote: Parker Smith (11)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Mizuki (TJPW, 1/4)
-
w/
Maki Itoh vs. ASUKA & Yuki Kamifuku (TJPW, 1/20)
-
vs.
Shoko Nakajima (TJPW, 3/19)
-
w/
Shoko Nakajima vs. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino (TJPW, 3/26)
-
vs.
Masha Slamovich (Prestige, 5/28)
-
vs.
Thunder Rosa (TJPW, 7/9)
-
vs.
Miu Watanabe (TJPW, 8/13)
-
w/
Mizuki & Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Shoko Nakajima
(TJPW, 8/28)
-
vs.
Arisu Endo (TJPW, 9/11)
-
vs.
Millie McKenzie (TJPW, 11/27)
Last
year’s rank: 26
High
vote: Nate (3)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 1/4)
-
w/
Dick Togo vs. Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya (NJPW/NOAH, 1/8)
-
w/
SHO vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOH (NJPW, 2/7)
-
vs.
Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 2/13)
-
vs.
Tama Tonga (NJPW, 5/1)
-
vs.
KENTA (NJPW, 7/26)
-
vs.
Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 8/10)
-
vs.
Hirooki Goto (NJPW, 8/16)
-
vs.
YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW, 10/27)
-
vs.
Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 11/5)
Last
year’s rank: NR
High
vote: TH (16)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Thunder Rosa (Warrior, 2/12)
-
vs.
Mia Yim (WrestleCon, 3/31)
-
vs.
Taya Valkyrie (Prestige, 4/15)
-
vs.
Swerve Strickland (Wrestling Revolver, 4/16)
-
w/
Willow Nightingale vs. Jade Cargill & Kiera Hogan (AEW, 7/20)
-
vs.
Jade Cargill (AEW, 9/4)
-
w/
Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker & Serena Deeb (AEW, 9/14)
-
vs.
Britt Baker vs. Serena Deeb vs. Toni Storm (AEW, 9/21)
-
w/
Toni Storm & Willow Nightingale vs. Jamie Hayter, Penelope Ford &
Serena Deeb (AEW, 10/5)
-
vs.
Mercedes Martinez (ROH, 12/10)
“The best thing they let her do in AEW was turn her heel and
allow her to starch the shit out of anyone who dared cross her path. Hoo
doggie, what a breath of fresh air.” ~ TH
Last
year’s rank: NR
High
vote: Heidi (2)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Tony Deppen (GCW, 1/15)
-
vs.
Bandido (WrestleCon, 3/31)
-
vs.
Yuya Uemura (GCW, 3/31)
-
vs.
Alex Shelley (Impact, 4/1)
-
vs.
Jay White (NJPW, 4/1)
-
vs.
Arez (VxS, 4/29)
-
vs.
Masha Slamovich (GCW, 5/21)
-
vs.
Trey Miguel (Impact, 7/1)
-
vs.
Tony Deppen (GCW, 7/29)
-
vs.
KENTA (Wrestling Revolver, 12/3)
“After
Speedball’s long ban from the United States because of visa issues, he more
than made up for lost time with his 2022 campaign. He was the MVP of
WrestleMania weekend, having great match after great match mere hours apart. But
his spectacular year didn’t end there as he continued a long stretch of matches
against every opponent he could get his hands on in over 40 different
promotions. Maybe the biggest workhorse of 2022.” ~ Chris
Last
year’s rank: NR
High vote: BarackSays (9)
High vote: BarackSays (9)
Recommended
matches
-
vs.
Minoru Suzuki (AEW, 4/13)
-
vs.
Trent Beretta (AEW, 4/27)
-
vs.
Kyle O’Reilly (AEW, 5/25)
-
vs.
Adam Cole (AEW, 5/29)
-
vs.
Jay Lethal (ROH, 7/23)
-
w/
Wardlow vs. Nick Comoroto & QT Marshall (AEW, 10/12)
-
vs.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Wardlow (AEW, 11/19)
-
vs.
AR Fox (AEW, 11/30)
-
vs.
Darby Allin (AEW, 12/7)
-
vs.
Wardlow (AEW, 12/28)
“Joe heard people call him washed and went on a rampage. Him
trading chest chops with Suzuki for like five minutes straight on a TV match
was one of the most beast things ever put on a wrestling program.” ~ TH
“A living tribute to the power
of working smarter, not harder.” ~ alistair from twitter
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