Top Matches I Watched in April 2022
By Alex Kalil
I keep track of every **** star and above match I see and so here are my top matches of April 2022 including all of Mania weekend. Enjoy!
Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick at GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8: This was a fight! Moxley is able to control Biff early on and gets him on the mat multiple times and lands some big blows. Moxley busts open Biff badly, who gets right in Moxley's face and lights him up with strikes of his own and here we go! Back and forth strikes, big moves and submission attempts as Biff pours blood. Moxley nails a Paradigm Shift and elbows but Biff gives him the double fingers. Knee strike to Biff's face finally puts the man down. Biff goes down fighting! ****
"Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Bandido at WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial Super Show: This was an all out, action-filled match. Both men were equal in terms of speed but Bandido had the strength advantage while Bailey had the advantage with strikes. Tons of crazy back and forth action and counters. Both men gave their best shots to end it but it wasn't enough. Finally Bandido hits every big move in his arenal at once to put down his opponent. Fun match. ****
Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty at ROH Supercard of Honor XV: A great story-telling match. Moriarty has Lethal and his offense scouted and is able to keep countering him early on, which frustrates the veteran. Lethal picks up his strikes and goes to the knee of Moriarty to slow him down. Nice back and forth wrestling as Moriarty still has the advantage in terms of straight up wrestling. Some great, quick near-falls before a referee distraction allows Lethal to low blow Moriarty. Lethal Injection ends it as Lethal has to cheat to beat the up and comer. ****
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: The Briscoes (c) vs. FTR at ROH Supercard of Honor XV: A dream tag match in every way. Big fight feel and energy from the crowd as we get a classic slow but deliberate pace to start as both teams test the water. Eventually FTR is able to isolate, bloody and work over Jay before he gets the hot tag to Mark. Back and forth action as the pace quickens and both teams get big near-falls. FTR is able to counter the Doomsday Device, get Mark alone and hit The Big Rig for the win! An amazing match that still leaves so much more room for a rematch. It was perfect tag team wrestling! *****
Unification Match for the ROH World Championship: Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido at ROH Supercard of Honor XV: A good match between the two champions. Gresham is able to out-wrestle and work over Bandido who tries to use his speed and power to keep the match even. Nice back and forth match with a nice even pace. Chavo tries to cheat and help Bandido win but he refuses. Both men fire up and start throwing their best moves at the other. Gresham is able to survive everything Bandido throws at him and out wrestles and pin him to get the win. ****
Ladder Match for the NXT North American Championship: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Santos Escobar vs. Grayson Waller vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Cameron Grimes at NXT Stand & Deliver 2022: A crazy and wild ladder match. Everyone including the people at ringside got a chance to shine and get a spot in. Lots of little storyline moments like Waller wanting to have the "big moment" and Sikoa being the monster all match. Lots of unique uses of the ladder before Grimes is able to get the belt and the win. Very fun highlight reel match. ****
WWE Raw Women's Championship Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair at WWE Wrestlemania 38 Night 1:A really great grudge match. Becky nails Bianca with her finisher at the start for a big near-fall, playing off their Summerslam match. Becky is able to control most of the match by brawling Bianca, targeting her limbs and pulling her hair. Bianca is able to cut off Becky a few times with her power and agility. Great back and forth action and near-falls as Becky starts getting desperate to try and finish off Bianca. Bianca is able to counter Becky's finisher to hit the KOD and put her away! Amazing match! ****1/4
Anything Goes Match: Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville at WWE Wrestlemania 38 Night 2: An amazing comedy match! Zayn boots Knoxville in the face at the bell and beats him down with some weapons. Knoxville is able to turn the tables with weapons of his own. Party Boy, Wee Man slamming Zayn, tasers, bowling balls, the High Five Machine, a table with mousetraps on it! So much fun to watch! Knoxville pins Zayn with a giant mouse trap that pins Zayn's arms down. I laughed so hard at this match! Best Comedy Match Ever! ****
ROH World Tag Team Championship and AAA World Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (c) vs. The Young Bucks at AEW Dynamite 4/6/22: An excellent tag team match! Both teams start off and try to get the advantage but both teams are evenly matched in their teamwork. Bucks are able to go for the eyes of Cash to get him isolated and work him over for the heat. Dax gets the hot tag to a huge pop and runs wild. Bucks are able to counter the Big Rig into one of their own. 2 count! More Bang For Your Buck! 2 count! The Bucks get frustrated now and hit Cash with one of the belts, roll-up with the tights! But Dax makes the save! Bucks get Cash alone again and hit the BTE Trigger. 3 count! BUT the foot was on the rope! Huge pop again! Bucks go for the Meltzer Driver but Dax catches Nick and hits a powerbomb while Cash tombstones Matt. FTR with a BTE Trigger to Matt. Big Rig ends it! FTR retains in an amazing match! ****1/2
"Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Jay White at NJPW STRONG Lone Star Shootout: A classic babyface vs. heel match. Bailey starts off hot with his speed and strikes before White cuts him off and works him over. Bailey starts a comeback but lands on his knees, making them a target for White. Bailey fights through the pain to try and put White away but goes high risk for the killing blow and misses. White is able to easily finish him off with a Blade Runner for the win. ****
Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta at AEW Rampage 4/8/22: What a match! Yuta takes the fight to Moxley before the bell but is quickly cut off by the veteran. Moxley works Yuta over before busting him up BAD! Yuta is a bloody mess but keeps fighting back! Back and forth shots as Moxley clearly has the advantage but Yuta won't back down! Danielson stomps to Moxley's face! Yuta is covered in blood as he tries to put Moxley away. Paradigm Shift! BUT ONLY 2! Holy shit! Yuta continues to fight back and even locks in Moxley's own bulldog choke! Moxley escapes and hits a series of elbows, a knee strike and another Paradigm Shift! STILL ONLY 2! Moxley grabs a choke and Yuta passes out! What a battle! What a war! A star-making match for Yuta! ****1/2
KO-D Openweight Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Tetsuya Endo at DDT Judgement 2022: An even fought match between these two. Some back and forth wrestling to start as both men work for the advantage. Endo is able to get the edge and works over the neck of Takeshita. The champion fires back with his fast offense and strikes to take over. Match goes back and forth with both men hitting big moves and trying to finish the other. Endo is able to fire up and land a series of big bombs before finally putting the champ away. A little too long for me and became just a series of moves by the end but still an enjoyable match. ****
World of Stardom Championship Match: Syuri (c) vs. Giulia at Stardom World Climax: Day 1-The Best: A good back and forth, hard hitting match. The two start off wrestling for holds before Giulia starts to go after Syuri's leg and breaks the rules to get the advantage. Syuri battles back with her strikes and the two start throwing bombs at the other. Lots of back and forth action, counters and near-falls. Giulia throws her best moves at Syuri but the champion won't stay down. Syuri rallys and rocks Giulia with strikes before putting her away with one final blow. ****
ROH World Television Championship Match: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Samoa Joe at AEW Dynamite 4/13/22: This was a fight! Brutal chops back and forth to start as the two men just tee off on each other. Both men try for submissions during the match but can't lock them in deep and they are quick to go back to trading shots. Suzuki tries to fight off Joe but Joe is able to rock him long enough to hit a Muscle Buster and get the win. Maybe not an amazing match but the atmosphere and energy of the entire match was insane! ****
Texas Deathmatch for the AEW World Championship: Adam Page (c) vs. Adam Cole at AEW Rampage 4/15/22: A fun weapons match. Both men come out swinging and go right to the plunder and try to punish each other. Lots of great usage of the weapons and gimmick. Page takes the fight to Cole allp match while Cole is more crafty and picks his spots more. Page finishes Cole with a Dead Eye through a table with barbed wire! Nasty! Very fun match. ****
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW Hyper Battle 2022: A great match of the stronger and bigger champion vs. the technical wrestler. Okada starts out trying to wrestle Sabre and use his power and size to get the advantage but Sabre is able to out-wrestle him and gets to work on the arm of Okada, to take away his best weapon. Great selling by Okada as Sabre works him over and locks in multiple submissions but Okada is able to escape and keeps fighting back. Okada is able to start working the neck of Sabre and going for the Rainmaker but Sabre has it scounted. Match goes back and forth as both go for the killing blow but finally Okada is able to hit the Landslide Tombstone and finally hits the Rainmaker to end it. ****1/4
Impact World Championship Match: Moose (c) vs. Josh Alexander at Impact Wrestling Rebellion 2022: A really great match between two big lads. Josh tries to wrestle Moose and keep the match from devolving into a fight. Moose plays the crafty heel well as he keeps suckering Josh in close and nailing him with a cheap shot. Good back and forth match that stays mostly even as Josh looks for an Ankle Lock and Mosse looks to use his power. Moose eventually nails a low blow, runs Josh into an exposed turnbuckle before nailing a Spear for a huge near-fall. Moose goes for another Spear but Josh nails him with a knee. C4 ends it and we have a new champion! Very good match! ****1/4
Impact World Championship Match: Moose (c) vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at REVOLVER Swerve's House: A really good big man vs. little man match. Bailey uses his speed to get in some quick strikes on Moose, who is quick to go after Bailey's leg to slow him down. Bailey keeps fighting back and looks for an opening as Moose works him over and uses his power to cut him off. Bailey gets a couple quick roll-ups for some good near-falls before he is able to rock Moose and nail his finisher for 3! But Moose got his fingers on the ropes. As Bailey is distracted, Moose nails him with a Spear to finish him, Very well booked match with a good story throughout. ****
Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament Qualifying Match: Cash Wheeler vs. Dax Harwood at AEW Dynamite 4/27/22: A great match between two tag partners. Nice basic wrestling match to start with lots of Bret vs. Owen references. Cash accidently gets a thumb in the eye and things get more heated. Lots of back and forth wrestling as both men know the other so well. Cash seemingly hurts his knee and Dax goes for the Sharpshooter but hesitates and Cash gets a small package on him. Dax is able to reverse it into one of his own and gets the win. Perfectly booked match between these two. ****
Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW Windy City Riot: A physical fight between these two! Moxley looks to brawl and fight all match while Ospreay, seeing he is outmatched in fighting, has to be crafty and use his speed and agility to keep the match even. Moxley is busted open early and Ospreay takes advantage and works him over. Moxley fires up and makes a comeback and busts open Ospreay in return. Match goes back and forth with both guys throwing their best shots they can at the other. Lots of great counters, exchanges and near-falls before Moxley is able to counter Stormbreaker and hit two Death Riders for the win. Awesome match! ****1/2
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