Sports Illustrated Releases Top 10 Wrestlers of 2022

On Thursday, trending sports outlet Sports Illustrated released its Top 10 Wrestlers for 2022.

The majority of the mentioned superstars belong to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In addition, the list had only three women. 

Here is the list:

10- Masha Slamovich (Impact Wrestling)

In the final place came Impact Wrestling Knockout Masha Slamovich. Slamovich presented a number of unique in-ring performances in Impact Wrestling, including her match against Knockouts World Champion Jordan Grace at Impact Wrestling OverDrive.

9/8-FTR's Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler (AEW)

There is no doubt that FTR came at the top of the most successful and active pro wrestling tag teams in 2022. They captured three world tag team titles in three different promotions: the Mexican AAA, the Japanese IWGP, and the American ROH. 

Sports Illustrated listed Harwood as 8 and Cash Wheeler as 9. The reason for that is Harwood had more chances to compete as a singular wrestler. He faced Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Will Osprey. 

7- El Hijo Del Vikingo (AAA)

The 7th place was captured by AAA star El Hijo Del Vikingo. The 25-year-old superstar succeeded in delivering unique and aggressive matches, especially through his breathtaking high-flying techniques. 

6- Jamie Hayter (AEW)

The current AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter came number 6 on the list. She was one of the most dominant women wrestlers. She had several impressive matches such as her participation at the 4-Way Match for the AEW Interim Women's World title against Toni Storm, Hikaru Shida, and Britt Baker, her match against Riho, Hikaru Shida, and Toni Storm at Full Gear where she successfully captured her first world title. 

5- Will Ospreay (NJPW)

NJPW star Will Ospreay captured the 5th place on the list. Ospreay had different impressive appearances in different promotions, mainly NJPW where he achieved the IWGP US Heavyweight title, and he managed to advance to the final of NJPW G1 Climax 32. 

Moreover, he did a great job in group and tag team matches, and one of his best 2022 trio appearances is with the Aussie Open against the Elite and Death Tringle as part of the AEW World Trios titles tournament. 

4- Roman Reigns (WWE)

The 4th place was for the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns who is now the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. 2022 was one of the most successful years for Reigns despite his few appearances compared to the previous years. 

Reigns became the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion, and he captured the WWE's world titles at Wrestle Mania 38. 

He headlined the second night of Wrestle Mania 38, SummerSlam, Crown Jewel, WrestleMania Backlash, and Survivor Series WarGames. 

The storyline of the tribal chief and the bloodline is now one of the box-office storylines in the history of pro wrestling. 

3- Bianca Belair (WWE)

Number 3 on the list was the current WWE Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair. Blair is known for her outstanding in-ring performance and she had wide activity this year. Belair captured the red-colored brand women's title on the first night of Wrestle Mania 38. She had a fine number of successful title defenses. She also was part of the first Women's WarGames match in the WWE main roaster and the first women's Ladder match in the main roaster.

2- Jon Moxley (AEW)

AEW's top star Jon Moxley came in second place. Moxley's devotion to the ring and his passionate and excellent in-ring performance saved the AEW brand in the dark times of CM Punk's injury and the escalations of Punk and the Elite. 

He also was part of one of the biggest 2022 AEW storylines which is BCC vs. JAS. He had different 5-star matches, including Anarchy in the Arena. 

 Moreover, he had different impressive appearances in NJPW and GCW.

1- Seth Rollins (WWE)

When it comes to the first place, the name of Seth Freakin' Rollins should be mentioned. Rollins had one of his greatest years in WWE despite the successive defeats. He had a great match against Reigns in Royal Rumble, and against Matt Riddle in Extreme Rules and Clash at the Castle. 

He had a very trending and outstanding feud with Cody Rhodes and his Hell in a Cell match against Rhodes was the first WWE match to earn a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer in more than 18 years. 

Rollins captured the US title for the second time in his career and by capturing this title for the second time, he became the second WWE double Grandslam superstar after The Miz.