I say the same thing every year, but this was a crazy year for pro wrestling. We saw the first significant defection from AEW to WWE, arguably the biggest wrestling promoter of all time retire, and a major star self-destruct before our very eyes. Here are the moments that stood out to me.
Credit: WWE
It was hot potato with the WWE Championship. Brock Lesnar was advertised to face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WWE Day 1 on January 1st, but was inserted into and won the multi-man WWE Championship match when Reigns tested positive for COVID-19 hours before the event.
At Royal Rumble that same month, Bobby Lashley defeated Lesnar to recapture the title. Later that night, Lesnar won the men’s Royal Rumble match, earning the right to challenge for the championship of his choosing at WrestleMania. Despite this, Lesnar was given a chance to win back the WWE Championship less than a month later, at Elimination Chamber, which he did.
At the next event, WrestleMania 38, Roman Reigns defeated Lesnar in a bout dubbed “the Biggest WrestleMania Match of All-Time” to unify their titles. Their seven-year feud continued.
Katsuyori Shibata wrestled his first and second real matches since nearly dying in 2017 from delivering headbutts.
WWE caught some flak for trademarking “Gunther Stark”, a name that apparently also belonged to a Nazi U-boat captain. They eventually dropped the “Stark” part and gave “Gunther” to Walter.
Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James had to appear in the women’s Royal Rumble match because WWE fired too many of its female competitors.
Ronda Rousey returned in and won the match.
Shane McMahon quietly exited WWE amid reports that he had a meltdown backstage when his pitches involving himself were not well received.
All Elite Wrestling EVP Cody Rhodes and his wife Brandi left the company in the middle of filming season 2 of the TNT reality show Rhodes to the Top. Rhodes returned to WWE as Seth Rollins’ mystery opponent at WrestleMania 38 and won in the longest match of Night 1. The wildest thing about the jump was that he kept his attire, elaborate entrance, and music. He defeated Rollins again at WrestleMania Backlash. Rhodes tore a pec off the bone preparing for the final match in their trilogy, set to take place inside Hell in a Cell. He chose to fight through the pain, and put on a legendary, twenty-five-minute, star-making performance with a giant-ass bruise on the right side of his body.
Knox County mayor Glenn “Kane” Jacobs used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to insult the left, downplayed the level of gun violence in America following the Uvalde elementary school shooting where nineteen children lost their lives, and applauded the overturning of Roe v. Wade, revealing himself to be an even bigger monster than the one he played on TV for twenty-five years.
Two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion/occasional wrestler Cain Velasquez was charged with attempted first-degree murder for pursuing and shooting at a car containing a daycare worker who he alleges molested his son. His bullets hit the man’s father. While being held, Velasquez requested and was granted permission to wrestle twice for AAA.
Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor for less than $4 million.
Pete Dunne was called up to SmackDown as “Butch”, one of Sheamus’ lackeys.
Big E was sidelined for most of the year with a fractured neck.
WWE Hall of Famer Tammy “Sunny” Sytch crashed into the back of a car at a stop light, causing it to crash into another car, resulting in the death of a seventy-five-year-old man.
Edge turned heel and formed the Judgment Day faction. He was quickly kicked out and replaced by Finn Balor.
Triple H returned from his cardiac episode at WrestleMania, announcing what many assumed, his retirement from the ring.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin, on the other hand, came out of retirement, opening up his first can of whoop-ass in nineteen years against Kevin Owens. The crazy SOB took a suplex on concrete.
Johnny Knoxville beat Sami Zayn in a Jackass-themed “anything goes” match.
After months of nonstop coming, Veer Mahaan finally re-debuted on Raw.
Reigning NXT Tag Team Champion Nash Carter was fired following accusations of abuse by his wife and the dissemination of a picture of him with a Hitler mustache.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of a SmackDown taping due to creative frustration. The company shamed them on air and with a statement reading:
When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw. During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis’ office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk, and walked out. They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents – even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence. Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.
The last part is especially funny considering WWE has a long history of bait-and-switching main events they have no intention of delivering on. For example, just last year, they advertised Sasha Banks for Summerslam up until it went on the air, knowing full well that she wasn’t cleared to compete.
MJF no-showed an AEW fan fest and reportedly booked a flight home for the day before Double or Nothing. Despite the drama, he wrestled his scheduled match against Wardlow and lost. On the following Dynamite, MJF cut a “worked shoot”-style promo calling boss Tony Khan a “fucking mark”. The angle was overshadowed by the Vince McMahon scandal (below). MJF made his return at the end of All Out and was again overshadowed (below).
Back in December, 2021, Jeff Hardy left a WWE live event through the crowd before his six-man tag match was over. WWE assumed he was high and fired him for not accepting rehab. Hardy took a drug test at the time of the firing and it came out later he passed. WWE offered Hardy a Hall of Fame induction to keep him from signing with AEW, but the Charismatic Enigma™ declined. He danced his way to the ring on the March 9th edition of Dynamite with his classic “Hardy Boyz” theme playing to save his brother Matt from a beatdown. After that, he competed in numerous physical gimmick matches that soon left him visibly hurting. He was arrested in June for his third DUI in four years. He reportedly blew a .294 — over three times the legal limit. Police dashcam footage then surfaced of officers surrounding his car with guns drawn.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon took an “extended leave of absence from the company”. Business Insider reported that Vince, her own father, forced her out for not hitting revenue goals. However, she quickly returned…
On June 15th, The Wall Street Journal published a story reporting that WWE’s Board of Directors was investigating a $3 million settlement paid by Chairman/CEO Vince McMahon to an ex-employee with whom he and Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis had sex. The payments were said to have come from McMahon’s personal funds. The controversy was over a raise the woman received that doubled her annual salary from $100,000 to $200,000. It was also asserted that payments made to protect the image of the company should have been recorded as company expenses. Amidst the media coverage, McMahon stepped down as Chairman/CEO, but remained involved in creative. He began making pointless TV appearances to pop the ratings, as if to say “Fuck you, I’m not going anywhere”. Stephanie McMahon was appointed interim Chairwoman & CEO, whereas Bruce Prichard assumed Laurinaitis’ duties.
WSJ published a followup story on July 8th stating McMahon paid more than $12 million to four different women over a period of sixteen years. $7.5 million of that went to a former wrestler who was demoted then let go in 2005 when she refused further advances.
On July 22nd, McMahon Tweeted: “At 77, time for me to retire. Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together.”
Stephanie and President/Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan were named co-CEOs. Triple H was named Head of Creative and Talent Relations. At some point, Laurinaitis was terminated.
Credit: WWE, Reddit
Triple H’s first acts as Head of Creative were revitalizing the women’s division, pushing Ciampa, and rehiring everyone his father-in-law fired to pay for assaults, including Karrion Kross, Dexter Lumis, and Hit Row minus Swerve Strickland.
Raw and SmackDown improved overnight. Stories conclude now and most matches go fifteen-twenty minutes. Triple H even created and filled a position called “Director of Longterm Creative”.
In August, two more payments equaling $5 million were uncovered. A special committee determined that the total amount of unreported expenses equaled $19.6 million. Ironically, the investigation into where the $19.6 million went cost $19.4 million.
Actor Freddy Prinze Jr. Tweeted his intentions to start a wrestling promotion within eighteen months where the wrestlers are represented by SAG-AFTRA.
CM Punk defeated “Hangman” Adam Page at Double or Nothing for the AEW World Championship, only to announce six days later that he was injured. Jon Moxley was crowned interim champion. The two were slated to face off at All Out.
Christian betrayed his protégé Jungle Boy and became AEW’s most savage, entertaining heel.
Legendary referees Dave Hebner and Tim White passed away within a few days of each other.
Contracted WWE superstar AJ Styles sent a video message for Impact Slammiversary.
AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling held an interpromotional PPV titled Forbidden Door that was cursed with injuries and a bit of politics.
Claudio Castagnoli (FKA Cesaro) subbed for Bryan Danielson in his match against Zack Sabre Jr.
Adam Cole suffered a nasty concussion and sat out the rest of the year.
Contracted AEW stars Bryan Danielson, Paul White (FKA the Big Show), and Chris Jericho provided video messages for the “20 Years of Cena Celebration” on the June 27th episode of Raw.
YouTuber Logan Paul signed a multi-year deal with WWE. He turned out to be really good at wrestling. A comment I saw in a live thread summed it up well: “Douchebag can hang, y’all.”
It came out that Rocky Johnson, the Rock’s dad, fathered five illegitimate children.
Natalya no-sold the finish of a match against Liv Morgan at a live event in July. She sat up immediately after the three count and angrily pointed at Morgan. She did it again in September.
It was reported that Raw‘s rating would switch to TV-14 starting July 18th, bringing an end to the PG Era.
Brock Lesnar lifted the ring with a tractor at Summerslam, sending Roman Reigns tumbling from one side out the other.
Ric Flair returned to the ring at seventy-three years of age, teaming with son-in-law Andrade el Idolo to defeat WWE’s Senior Vice President of Live Events Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. The event, titled Ric Flair’s Last Match, was promoted by Starrcast and David Crockett and featured an array of talent from different promotions. It was reportedly the second highest grossing North American indie event ever, after All In. Flair later admitted to passing out twice during the match from dehydration.
Jarrett was soon released from WWE and replaced by his former roadie, Road Dogg.
WWE released 20+ wrestlers from NXT UK ahead of a rumored relaunch as “NXT Europe”.
Patrick Clark, the former Velveteen Dream, was arrested twice in the month of August and again in December. EC3 said Clark once tried to record people urinating at his apartment, suggesting Clark was also behind a 2021 incident where a hidden camera was found in a bathroom at the WWE Performance Center.
WWE held a stadium show in Cardiff, Wales called Clash at the Castle. It went off the air with pugilist Tyson Fury singing “American Pie”.
Jon Moxley ran over CM Punk in a title unification match on a random Dynamite eleven days before All Out. The next week, Punk’s former trainer Ace Steel, apparently employed by AEW as a producer, gave an impassioned speech convincing Punk to sign the contract for a rematch. At the pay-per-view, Punk reclaimed the title, but suffered another big injury, this time a torn right triceps.
He went on an unprovoked, unprofessional rant at the post-match press conference, which he started by fishing for a mention of former friend Colt Cabana. He needlessly pointed out that Cabana shares a bank account with his mother, said the company’s EVPs (the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega) “couldn’t manage a Target”, and called Adam Page an “empty-headed fucking dumb fuck”. He also cut off boss Tony Khan at least twice, strangely saying “I’m trying to run a business.” Khan just sat there with a worried look on his face and allowed this to happen. Afterward, there was a physical altercation between Punk/Ace Steel and the Elite. Punk reportedly punched Matt Jackson while Steel threw a chair at Nick Jackson’s eye and bit Kenny Omega.
“We have irresponsible people who call themselves EVPs and couldn’t fucking manage a Target and spread lies and bullshit and put into the media that I got somebody fired when I have fuck-all to do with him.”Credit: AEW/YouTube
“What did I ever do in this world to deserve an empty-headed fucking dumb fuck like ‘Hangman’ Adam Page to got out on national television and go into business for himself?”Credit: AEW/YouTube
Suspensions were handed down for The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, and Brandon Cutler while a third-party investigation was launched. It was reported that CM Punk would likely not be returning to the company.
On the following Dynamite, Tony Khan vacated the titles held by CM Punk and the Elite, those being the AEW World Championship and AEW World Trios Championships, respectively. No explanation was given. The men were not mentioned for nearly two months, until the October 26th edition of Dynamite when an eerie video aired showing Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, & the letter E vanishing from historic AEW clips. The same day, Punk leaked to the media that his locker room door was kicked in during the brawl, injuring his dog. Dave Meltzer refuted this sudden addition to the story.
Ace Steel was quietly released on October 17th.
Malakai Black was rumored to have requested and been granted a conditional release from his AEW contract. He was said to be suffering from severe back pain and mental health issues. Stablemate Buddy Matthews also requested his release, citing a need to “recalibrate”. Neither release was actually granted. It was speculated that they had been contacted by Triple H and wished to return to WWE.
WWE launched a “White Rabbit” ARG that lead to Bray Wyatt’s much anticipated return at Extreme Rules. Going forward, his promos were often interrupted by a figure named “Uncle Howdy”, in reference to The Exorcist.
Braun Strowman also returned.
Roman Reigns was named Pro Wrestling Illustrated‘s wrestler of the year. The publication’s rankings are always deceptive because its evaluation period runs from July through June instead of January through December. A case could also be made for Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley.
Chris Jericho got into tremendous shape and had one of the best years of his career at 51 years of age. He was involved in a great storyline where he won and dishonored the ROH World Championship by attacking ROH alumni and defeating numerous former champions in underhanded ways.
Paige signed with AEW as a wrestler under her real name, Saraya. She hadn’t wrestled since reinjuring her neck in December of 2017 and was likely never going to be cleared by WWE.
Taz’s son Hook teamed with his entrance music artist, Action Bronson, to beat Matt Menard and Angelo Parker.
NJPW founder Antonio Inoki passed away.
Andrade el Idolo and Sammy Guevara engaged in a war of words on Twitter over a statement Andrade made about Guevara during an interview. It was reported by TMZ the following Wednesday that prior to Dynamite, the two were involved in a physical altercation and both were sent home. However, Guevara came out for the main event and scored the fall for his team, leaving a sour taste in fans’ mouths. It was later reported by Dave Meltzer that Andrade instigated the fight and was the only one who threw punches. Meltzer speculated that Andrade did so hoping to be released.
Only a few months earlier, Eddie Kingston was suspended for “pie-facing” Guevara over the fact that Guevara called him fat during a promo that never aired.
WWE switched up its commentary teams and reduced them to two people each. Nigel McGuinness and Jimmy Smith were let go.
The Acclaimed and their manager “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn got super over by screaming “Scissor me, Daddy Ass!” and doing a scissoring hand gesture.
Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, and X-Pac appeared together for a brief “25 Years of DX” segment on Raw. It’s funny because Billy Gunn was the most over member at the time, and still is, and he was the only one missing. The others acknowledged him by having the fans yell his name. Corey Graves said he thinks Gunn is “doing something with office equipment”.
Jeff Jarrett debuted in AEW as “The Last Outlaw”. Some fans rolled their eyes, but I’ve always liked him and he looks really good for 55.
Matt Riddle was sent to rehab for failing his second drug test in a year. WWE no longer tests for marijuana.
Mandy Rose was released for posting nudes to FanTime, a subscription service similar to OnlyFans.
William Regal debuted in AEW as a manager. He formed the Blackpool Combat Club, consisting of Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta. He mentored them in their long-running feud against the Jericho Appreciation Society until turning on Moxley, costing him the AEW World Championship. Regal then asked for and was granted his release.
Overall, the tide seemed to turn in favor of WWE. AEW lost a lot of momentum and goodwill from the fans, whereas WWE gained it.
Edited to add: Samoa Joe closed out the year as a double champion. You love to see it.
Edited to add: Don West, the voice of TNA Wrestling, lost his battle with brain cancer.
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