Top Matches I Watched in November 2022
By Alex Kalil
25 MATCHES THIS MONTH! What a month! WWE doing some great stuff with WarGames and Logan Paul (Yes, really) having one of the best matches of the year. NJPW and Ospreay killing it in Japan and AEW putting on a fantastic PPV with Full Gear. A lot to be thankful this month in wrestling!
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: GUNTHER (c) vs. Rey Mysterio at WWE Smackdown 11/4/22: A perfect example of big man vs. small man. GUNTHER is able to grab ahold of Rey and just manhandle and throw him around like a ragdoll. Rey is finally able to use his quickness and speed to land a series of moves on GUNTHER and keep him on his toes. Nice back and forth as both men play to their strengths and get close near-falls. Rey is able to counter a powerbomb and goes for a 619 but runs into a huge boot from GUNTHER and a Lariat ends it. ****
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul at WWE Crown Jewel 2022: A great story driven match. Reigns underestimates Logan at the bell and seems to be able to easily handle him but Logan surprises him with his skills. Logan is able to out-wrestle Reigns a few times before Reigns' power shuts him down. Logan fires up and fights back time and time again before finally rocking Reigns with a lucky punch and a follow-up Superman Punch for a huge near-fall! Reigns is out of it and Logan is all over him. Logan puts Reigns through a table with a big splash to the outside and one on the inside for another near-fall. Usos and Solo get into it with Logan's crew and his brother for a distraction but a dive by Logan takes them out. Back in the ring, Logan runs into a Superman Punch and a Spear to be put away. Reigns survives after almost getting upset. ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yota Tsuji at NJPW Royal Quest II Night 2: A big old Hoss fight! Tsuji tries to prove he is no longer a Young Lion by taking the fight to Ishii head to head but is quickly out-matched by the veteran. Tsuji switches up his style and strategy and starts to catch Ishii off guard. Nice back and forth battle as Tsuji keeps throwing everything he has at the wall that is Ishii but in the end, Ishii is too much to handle and Tsuji gets put away. ****
5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Block A Match: Giulia vs. Suzu Suzuki Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Day 20: A heated and physical match between these two foes. Both women unleashed everything they had on each other. Giulia tried to work for submissions and targeted the neck and shoulder area of Suzu. Meanwhile, Suzu laid in her strikes and made each of them count. As time ticked away, Suzu tried any pinning combination she could to finish off Giulia but it wasn't enough. In the final few seconds, Giulia lets Suzu get a few shots in because she knows it is over as time expires and we get a draw. ****
5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Final Match: Tam Nakano vs. Giulia at Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Day 20: The finals sees these two rivals meet again. Both are tired from their previous matches but they go right at it. Nakano gives everything she can to Giulia, who is able to keep suckering Nakano in and going after her limbs with submissions. The match breaks down into these two women just throwing bomb after bomb at each other to try and keep them down. All strategy and psychology is gone and it's just about winning this match. Giulia is able to withstand the all out assault long enough to hit the Northern Lights Suplex and get the win. ****
Kazuchika Okada vs. JONAH at NJPW Declaration of Power 2022: A good rematch to their G1 battle. Okada looks to use his speed early on but is quickly shut down by the power and size of JONAH, who starts working on Okada's mid-section. Okada goes after the legs of the big man to take away some of his power and use the Money Clip to wear him down. Okada goes for the Rainmaker but misses and JONAH batters him some more. JONAH goes for the Torpedo but his leg slows him down enough for Okada to roll out of the way. Okada unloads every big shot he has on JONAH and is barely able to take him off his feet before a Rainmaker puts him away for good. ****
Best Two Out of Three Falls Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara at AEW Dynamite 11/9/22: A good battle between these two. Danielson starts off right away battering Sammy with strikes and cuts off Sammy when he tries to use his speed to take over. Sammy responded by smacking Danielson with a steel chair for the DQ in the first fall. Sammy takes advantage and goes after Danielson's eyes and works him over before a knee strike and a GTH ties it up a one fall apiece. The match becomes a good back and forth match as Danielson has to fight from underneath with his strikes and submission technique while Sammy goes after the head and eyes of Danielson whenever momentum starts to shift. Sammy keeps going for a follow-up GTH to put Danielson away again but Danielson keeps countering and eventually is able to ground the high flyer and locks in the LeBell Lock. Sammy fights for the ropes so Danielson grabs his free arm as well and Sammy has no choice but to tap. A really good match that told a good story of Danielson having to fight back to get the win. ****
NJPW World Television Championship Tournament First Round Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Ren Narita at NJPW Battle Autumn 2022 Night 9: What a fight! Both men come out swinging and dishing out huge strikes. Ishii is able to use his power early on to work over the younger Narita but Narita refuses to stay down. Narita is a student of Shibata, he knows how to take down Ishii. He unleashes strikes of his own and submissions to wear down the beast as time starts to run out. Both men start to throw caution to the wind and go for broke. The younger Narita has more left in the tank and is able to cut Ishii off and finish him off with a Narita Special to get the big win. Huge breakout performance from Narita! ****1/4
Zero Hour Match: Eddie Kingston vs. Jun Akiyama at AEW Full Gear 2022: A dream match for Kingston. The two start off even before the veteran Akiyama is able to go after the neck of Kingston to work him over. Kingston keeps firing up and fighting back through all the punishment and starts to throw bombs against Akiyama. A nice back and forth finishing stretch before Kingston is able to land the killing blow to finish off his hero. Awesome match for what it meant to Kingston. ****
Steel Cage Match: Luchasaurus vs. "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry at AEW Full Gear 2022: A fantastic feud ending match between these two former friends. Jack starts off hot before the monster is able to shut him down with his size and power. Luchasaurus tosses Jack around the cage and busts him open before looking to end things quickly but Jack won't stay down. Jack keeps getting back up and taking shots at the big man and starts to get some momentum. Great back and forth as both men play to their strengths and try to use that to win. Jack is able to use a sleeper and a chair shot to knock out Luchasaurus for a huge elbow drop off the cage through a table! Snare Trap locked in and Luchasaurus tapped out. What a match! ****1/2
AEW World Trios Championship Match: Death Triangle (c) vs. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks at AEW Full Gear 2022: This was a fast paced, action filled match! Both trios go full speed to try and gain the advantage on the other. The Elite seem to have the edge in terms of speed and quick tags but Death Triangle are able to keep isolating one member to work them over to gain the advantage. An insane highlight reel of action all match with both teams going for their biggest shot to get the win. PAC tries to get Fenix to use the ring hammer but Fenix refuses. The Elite take advantage of the opening and clear the ring of all except Omega and Fenix. Omega goes for One-Winged Angel but PAC hands Fenix the hammer again. Fenix uses it! Roll-up gets the 3! Fenix gives in to his PAC's way to survive and get the win. An incredible match with a hot crowd! This was fantastic! ****3/4
Four Way Match for the ROH World Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Sammy Guevara at AEW Full Gear 2022: A well done story-telling four way. The four all go at it at the bell and we get some good action from everyone. Danielson and Claudio are willing to fight each other when it is just the two of them while Jericho and Sammy work together to use the numbers advanage. At one point, Jericho hits Sammy while trying to go for the win and Sammy breaks up the pin. Sammy and Jericho start going at it! A lot of good action and near-falls for all four before Claudio gets the Big Swing on Sammy but leaves himself open for two Judas Effects from Jericho who is able to retain. ****
Interim AEW Women's World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Jamie Hayter at AEW Full Gear 2022: A nice hard hitting and physical match. Toni looks to use her quickness while Hayter looks to just use her power to shut her down. Great back and forth match with lots of fire and instancity from both women with every move. The two know each other so well that they counter and even use each other's finishers for big near-falls. Baker and Rebel do run-ins to help give Hayter an opening to lay out Toni and get the win. Great showing from both women. ****1/4
AEW World Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. MJF at AEW Full Gear 2022: A great heated match between the two. MJF mocks Moxley early on before Moxley starts to unload on MJF and make the match a fight. MJF tries to keep it in his wheelhouse but Moxley is all over him. MJF gets frustrated and plays into Moxley's style and hurts his knee, which gives Moxley a target to go after. Nice back and forth as both men try to stick to their game plan before MJF causes a ref bump. MJF looks to use the Diamond ring but Regal tells him not to and MJF does and tries to beat Moxley on his own. Only for Regal to hand MJF brass knuckles! Power of the Punch! MJF gets the pin! New champion! A really good match with a hot crowd and an interesting finish. ****
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito at NJPW Battle Autumn 2022: An incredible match! Both men start off hot and fast before Naito sees that Ospreay is much quicker than him and tries to slow the pace down. Naito goes right after the neck of Ospreay and creates an opening for him to take advantage of. All match Naito keeps going back to the neck of Ospreay, who sells it amazingly. Ospreay, knowing he is hurt, has to be reckless and vicious in his attacks and keeps going back to his quickness and strikes to try to keep Naito off his neck. The last few minutes are an insane display of counters and back and forth action. Naito drops Ospreay on his head multiple times and looks for Destino but Ospreay keeps countering it before finally nailing a pair of Hidden Blades. Stormbreaker is finally enough to put Naito down and allow Ospreay to retain. Fantastic match! ****3/4
Biff Busick vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at PWG Delivering The Goods: A fun hard hitting match. Busick takes the fight to Bailey right away and looks to overwhelm him with hard strikes and tossing him around. Bailey starts to use his speed to land strikes and high risk offence to try and match Busick's intencity. Busick is able to sucker Bailey into fighting him and not wrestling, and while Bailey is able to get some big near-falls, Busick won't let up. Eventually, Busick levels Bailey with a chairshot before a Super Dragon Curb Stomp and Psycho Driver ends it and gives Busick the win. ****
PWG World Championship Match: Bandido (c) vs. Daniel Garcia at PWG Delivering The Goods: A good back and forth match. Bandido is able to use his speed to out-wrestle Garcia early on. Garcia has to ground Bandido to start working him over and slow the pace down. Both men are able to keep the match even as they both look to keep the match at their pace and style. Bandido is able to string together a series of moves and looks to end it with the 21-Plex but Garcia kicks him low. A pair of Judas Effects by Garcia and he locks in the Sharpshooter for the tap out win. ****
Best of Seven Series Match #2 for the AEW World Trios Championship: Death Triangle (c) vs. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks at AEW Dynamite 11/23/22: A fun follow-up to the first match. The Elite go after PAC and his injured nose and try to isolate him. Lots of frequent tags and shots to PAC's nose even at one point Omega removing the protective mask. Lucha Brothers are quick to rush to PAC's aid time and time again and try to keep the match fast paced. Matt Jackson is able to get PAC alone and looks to use the ring hammer, only for Penta to strike him with a second one from behind! The ring hammer yet again is the ace in the hole to give Death Triangle the win. ****
ROH World Championship Match: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii at AEW Dynamite 11/23/22: A hard hitting fight. Jericho plays right into Ishii's style and looks to brawl and fight with hard chops and strikes. They do an epic chop battle for minutes that ends with Jericho's chest bloody! Ishii starts to overwhelm Jericho with his power so Jericho starts to target the neck of Ishii. A DDT on the apron gives Jericho an opening who tries to chip away at Ishii's armor before finally going for the Walls of Jericho. Ishii keeps fighting out of it with his power before a Judas Effect rocks Ishii and Jericho gets him down on the ground. Walls of Jericho locked in but it isn't enough so Jericho switches to the Liontamer with his knee right on Ishii's neck. Ishii flips Jericho off before he has no choice but to tap. ****
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Shota Umino at NJPW/Stardom Historic X-over: A great back and forth match from these two. Ospreay starts off quick but Umino is able to slow the match down and control it for the most part. Ospreay keeps going back to his trademark quick offense but Umino has him well scounted and Ospreay is forced to use his experience to keep taking back control. Ospreay starts to get vicious with his strikes and looks like he will get a stoppage but Umino tells the referee, his father, to let him keep going. Ospreay goes for Hidden Blade but Umino ducks it. Umino strings together a series of big moves for some nice near-falls but when he goes for Death Rider, Ospreay counters him with a Hidden Blade to the face. A second one follows along with a Stormbreaker to give Ospreay the win. Umino looked better this time but is still not at Ospreay's level. ****1/4
Super Junior Tag League 2022 Match: Catch 22 vs. Lio Rush and YOH at NJPW World Tag League 2022 & Super Junior Tag League 2022 Night 1: A good fast paced tag match. The babyfaces are able to control early with their speed but their tag team work is off due to their inexperience. Catch 22 is able to isolate YOH and work him over for a while with quick tags and by out-wrestling him. YOH finally makes the hot tag to Lio who runs wild with his quick offense. Lots of back and forth action and near-falls for both teams. YOH and Lio look for the 3K to end things but Akira takes out Lio and allows TJP to roll up YOH and get the win. YOH and Lio may have been faster but Catch 22 had the better teamwork. ****
WarGames Match: Damage CTRL, Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch at WWE Survivor Series 2022 - WarGames: A good WarGames match. Bianca and Kai start off for their teams with IYO and Asuka entering next for their teams. Nikki enters and brings in some weapons to add to the fun. Alexa is next and we see a nice story going as the rivals all pair off. Bayley enters and Damage CTRL works to pin down Bianca. Mia enters hot and all the babyfaces hit superplexes to take out everyone before Rhea enters to turn the tide. Becky enters last and the match begins! Asuka mists Rhea to take her out for a few. IYO hits a moonsault off the cage! Nikki tries to handcuff Alexa to the cage, only for Alexa to handcuff the two together and take both out. Rhea comes back with a vengeance and ends up taking out herself and Mia. Bianca and Becky team up to take out Damage CTRL before Becky hits a leg drop off the cage on Kai and IYO through a table and wins it. What a chaotic match! ****
WarGames Match: The Bloodline vs. Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens and The Brawling Brutes at WWE Survivor Series 2022 - WarGames: Butch starts off for his team due to his experience and wild style while Jey, Roman's right hand man, starts off for his side. Nice limb work by both as Butch goes after Jey's hurt hand while Jey goes after Butch's shoulder. Ridge comes in first and the teammates work over Jey. Jimmy looks to enter next but Roman stops him and sends in Sami instead. Jey and Sami are reluctant to work together but are able to stay on the same page before Drew enters to out-power both. Jimmy enters and brings in some tables while Jey and Sami start to argue. Jimmy plays peacemaker when Owens enters and runs wild with some chair shots. Solo enters as the heavy to beat down everyone. Sheamus enters, even with Sami trying to keep him from entering the cage, and the Brutes take control of the match. Roman enters last and the two teams clash. Jey superkicks Sami by mistake! One by one people are taken out until Roman and Owens are left. Stunner on Roman but Sami stops the count! The two friends stare each other down and Sami low blows Owens! Helluza Kick by Sami and Owens is left laying for a top rope splash by Jey, who gets the win. Sami has fully joined the Bloodline as both Roman and Jey hug him after the match. What a great story-telling match. ****1/4
Bryan Danielson vs. Dax Harwood at AEW Dynamite 11/30/22: A super fun wrestling match. Both men start off mat wrestling with Danielson having the advantage so Dax starts to unleash stiff strikes and power moves to even the match up. Excellent back and forth match as both men know each other so well and are able to keep countering each other. The two wrestle to a stalemate and go for small packages back and forth before Danielson rolls into a LeBell Lock and forces Dax to tap out. Great stuff. ****
Best of Seven Series Match #3 for the AEW World Trios Championship: Death Triangle (c) vs. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks at AEW Dynamite 11/30/22: Another banger from these six men! The Elite jump Death Triangle on the ramp and take the fight to them. The Elite go full speed right from the jump and look to end it quickly but Death Triangle are able to get the action in the ring and slow it down. Penta goes to use the hammer again but Fenix prevents it. Instead, Death Triangle isolates Omega and works him over before the Bucks get a hot tag and run wild. Bucks try to get Omega back in the match but he is too hurt and Death Triangle takes back over. PAC goes for the Black Arrow but Matt gets his knees up right into the hurt nose of Pac! Roll-up by Matt as Omega holds Fenix down to prevent the breakup. The Elite are on the board! Great chapter in this series. ****
Comments