Whatever your opinion of the weekly WWE product, SmackDown and Raw Superstars have provided enough of thrilling in-ring action thus far in 2022.
This year’s wrestling, in particular the pay-per-views, has been excellent. On both nights of WrestleMania 38, many matches were exciting, and every event since then has had at least one or two barn burners.
It’s noteworthy that because to Roman Reigns’ dwindling schedule, the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship haven’t been commonly defended lately. His absence has been more than made up for by the other players on the roster, who consistently deliver.
The outstanding Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins trilogy was a recurrent high point of the spring. In addition, tag team wrestling has recently picked back up steam, especially due to RK-Bro and The Bloodline.
Let’s take a look back at the top 10 male matchups in WWE history as we cross the midpoint of 2022 and discuss what made each of these contests so great.
Between Kevin Owens and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (WrestleMania 38)
Stone Cold’s comeback was everything it needed to be and then some, even though it wasn’t a five-star mat classic. The Texas Rattlesnake put on a spectacular performance at the age of 57, and Owens was the ideal opponent for him. Few fans believed they would ever see The Texas Rattlesnake lacing up his boots again.
RK-Bro vs. The Street Profits (Raw, May 9)
The Raw Tag Team Championship was at stake, and Street Profits were playing tweens at the time of this confrontation. They had great chemistry and created a wonderfully entertaining production, so that in no way diminished the audience’s enjoyment of this outing.
Edge, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley vs. AJ Styles, Finn Balor and Liv Morgan (Hell in a Cell)
Sadly, the Edge vs. Styles narrative fell short of the high expectations, but it did include some excellent battles, with this one being the best of the group. Every one of the six stars had their moment to shine, and it was expertly paced. This served as Judgement Day’s final performance before Edge was expelled from the group on the following night’s episode of Raw.
Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens vs. the Usos (SmackDown, January 21)
As long as their alliance persisted, Rollins and Owens were a fantastic pair. Rollins and Owens initially competed against The Usos in a potent SmackDown main event, and they had the audience very much behind them even as heels. This was before Rollins’ incredible match with Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble.
Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory (WrestleMania 38)
After McAfee’s two highly regarded NXT battles, it was always more a question of when than if WWE would allow him to demonstrate his abilities on the main stage. The greatest setting for it to happen turned out to be WrestleMania, and Theory did an amazing job of selling his offence. From beginning to end, this was a delight, and McAfee was the biggest babyface in the room that evening.