#12. Jon Moxley vs Biff Busick, GCW Bloodsport 8 31/3
Pretty much what you want from this. Those elbows looked nasty, and they stuck to the heirarchy well with Mox being all over Biff, but with enough battle that it was competitive. Some of Biff's chops are thunderous. This is 2022, year of the epic bladejob (about 90% of the matches on this list will be bloody by the look of it), and Biff leaked like a faucet again. His whole dome was slick with blood by the end. Obviously loads of fire and heat and that knee finish was a finish.
#2. The Briscoes vs FTR, ROH Supercard Of Honor
On first watch I thought this was as good as the famed Briscoes vs MCMG match from 15 years ago. They successfully had a long, epic, workrate heavy tag match in 2022 that didn't feel too cutesy or overboard despite it's length and ambition, which is a real achievement. That they spent the vast majority of the match throwing hands and working exciting strike exchanges made that possible. Very physical, hard-hitting match with a lot of beef, but also thought they paced it really well, letting the small moments breathe, and it had more structure than most matches of this length these days. FTR are unabashed '80s heel fanboys, and they have plenty of dubious tactics to gain the advantage, and once again the colour red added a lot to the middle of the match. Dax had some great hard punches right to Jay's open wound, and Mark is an awesome hot tag guy with energy to spare. All the big spots down the stretch felt organic and unpredictable, and the bombs dropped on the outside (especially that suplex) were nuts. Of course Dax vs Jay was the centre of the match, but both Mark and Cash are great in secondary roles, and Mark's surprise corkscrew senton to the floor was a genuine holy shit moment. Great match that is a big notch on both team's legacies. That the Briscoes are in their 3rd decade as a team and still having matches at this level really begs the question if they are the best of all time, and if this was their swansong in ROH then they couldn't have asked for a better exit.
#6. Ilja Dragunov vs Roderick Strong, NXT UK 7/4
NXT UK is such a blindspot these days I have to wonder how many are even watching it, which is a shame because Ilja's title run has been good so far. He has really developed into a near total package, and against a reliable guy like Roddy they delivered a banger. Both guys absolutely lace each other with chops, and I am a fan of Ilja busting out his swank judo throws. This was a match with not just stiffness, but some smarts too as they both target a body part on the other, with Roddy working Ilja's shoulder and Dragonov going for Roddy's knee. I was really surprised with how good of a job Dragunov did, he has always been a guy who is best when working from below, but he made a massive effort to sell the damage he was taking even he was on the offence. The Torpedo to the knee could have looked dumb but made sense with his strategy and I thought his work on the leg was great. I am always a fan of the stretch muffler in particular. Roddy was there and had a good showing, busting out his usual bombs, but this was Dragunov's match and he reminded us all we should still be keeping an eye on this brand for now.
#7. Jon Moxley vs Wheeler Yuta, Rampage 8/4
This was not a match without it's flaws, but they still pulled it off and achieved a star making showing for Wheeler. That table spot was goofy and the last finisher kicked out was excessive, but otherwise was a great payoff and a testament to pro wrestling story-telling done right. Wheeler has progressed from comedy unit geek who got crushed in a minute, to getting more and more in as he has progressed, to taking Moxley to deep waters and earning his respect. For his part, Yuta had the type of performance needed, bringing it to Mox from the bell with a great tope and brawling with him around the floor. Just like the Biff match, the blood and the hierarchy were key to making Yuta strong in defeat, and I did really love him paying Moxley back with both the Danielson stomps and the biting and back raking. To me, that did more than the blood in showing Yuta was operating at a different level, though the visual of him covered in blood screaming for Mox to tap while in the choke was also fantastic. Whether Wheeler is That Guy remains to be seen, but they have set the stage for him now.
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