2022 in professional wrestling

2022 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

Beginning in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the professional wrestling industry worldwide, with many promotions presenting shows behind closed doors. Some events were canceled while others were rescheduled to occur in 2021 and then some in 2022. Larger companies such as All Elite Wrestling and WWE resumed live touring with full-capacity crowds in July 2021—further companies also began readmitting fans to events in 2022.

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable events throughout 2022.

Calendar of notable shows

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Notable events

January 5 – AEW Dynamite premiered on TBS
January 8 – All Elite Wrestling's quarterly Battle of the Belts premiered on TNT
January 8 – NWA USA premiered on YouTube
January 26 – Ring of Honor announced the creation of the ROH Hall of Fame
February 15 – WWE's 205 Live brand ceased operations
February 18 – WWE NXT Level Up premiered on Peacock and the WWE Network, replacing WWE 205 Live
March 2 – All Elite Wrestling President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Khan acquired Ring of Honor separately from AEW
March 3 – WWE Network and all WWE programming terminated in Russia due to worldwide sanctions in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
April 1 – Ring of Honor returned after a hiatus with Supercard of Honor XV
May 16 – Jim Crockett Promotions, which was purchased by Turner Broadcasting System in 1988, was revived and held Ric Flair's Last Match on July 31.
July 22 – Vince McMahon retired as chairman and chief executive officer of WWE; McMahon had served in these positions since 1982.
July 29 – New Japan Pro-Wrestling and World Wonder Ring Stardom, both owned by entertainment company Bushiroad, announced the creation of the IWGP Women's Championship. The inaugural champion was crowned at the Historic X-Over joint event on November 20.
September 4 – Worlds Collide was the final event for WWE's NXT UK brand, which was planned to relaunch as NXT Europe in 2023, but these plans were delayed with WWE aiming to relaunch it in 2024.

Accomplishments and tournaments

2AW

AAA

AJPW

AEW

^ Won the match under a mask as "The Joker"; revealed his identity at the end of the show.

BJW

The Crash

CMLL

DDT

TJPW

GanPro

DG

Gleat

GCW

IWRG

Impact

NJPW

Noah

M-Pro

Zero1

Stardom

MLW

NWA

WWE

Title changes

AJPW

2AW

AAA

AEW

BJW

The Crash

CMLL

DG

Gleat

GanPro

TJPW

GCW

DDT

Impact

IWRG

MLW

M-Pro

Zero1

Noah

Stardom

NJPW

NWA

ROH

WWE

– Raw

– SmackDown

– NXT

– NXT UK

– Unbranded

Raw and SmackDown

Raw and SmackDown each have a world championship, a secondary championship, a women's championship, and a male tag team championship.

NXT

NXT UK

Unbranded

These titles are not brand exclusive. The colors indicate the home brand of the champions (names without a color are former WWE wrestlers, Hall of Famers, or non-wrestlers).

Awards and honors

AAA

AAA Hall of Fame

AEW

AEW Awards

ESPN

ESPN Wrestling Awards

GCW

Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame

Deathmatch Hall of Fame

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Hardcore Hall of Fame

Impact

Impact Hall of Fame

Impact Year End Awards

International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

NJPW

NJPW Concurso (Best Body)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Yearly Rankings

Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards

ROH

ROH Hall of Fame

St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

WWE

WWE Hall of Fame

NXT Superstar of the Year

Debuts

January 11 – Bodhi Hayward (NXT)^[7]
February 13 – Kouki (Actwres girl'Z)
March 11 – Miyu Amasaki (STARDOM)^[8]
March 13 – Marino Saihara (ActWresGirl'Z)^[9]
March 19 – Juria Nagano (TJPW)
April 19 – Damaris Griffin (NXT)^[10]
May 11 – Mochizuki Jr. (Dragon Gate)
May 17 – Bryson Montana (NXT)^[11]
June 7 – Myles Borne (NXT)
June 11 – Hank Walker (NXT)^[12]
June 24 – Sol Ruca (NXT)
June 26 – Arisa Shinose (Ice Ribbon)
August 5 – Jakara Jackson (NXT)^[13]
August 9 – Bronco Nima (NXT)^[14] and Lucien Price (NXT)^[15]
August 12 – Chika Goto (Actwres girl'Z)
August 14 – Takeshi Masada (DDT)
August 21 – Kaito Nagano (Dragon Gate)^[16]
September 8 – TN Revolucion (Dragon Gate)^[17]
September 18 – Yuma Anzai
October 11 – Tank Ledger (NXT)^[18]
October 23 – Fuwa-chan
October 28 – Dani Palmer (NXT)^[19] and Sarah Baer (NXT)^[20]
November 12 – Kale Dixon (NXT)^[21]
November 15 – Oba Femi (NXT)^[22]
December 6 – Yoshiki Kato (Dragon Gate)^[23]
December 17 – Lola Vice (NXT)^[24]

Retirements

February 13 – Tank Nagai^[25] (2012–2022)
March 20 – LiLiCo^[26] (2014–2022)
March 25 – Triple H^[27] (1992–2022)
March 26
- Reika Saiki^[28] (2016–2022)
- Nodoka Tenma (2015–2022)
April 7 – K-ness^[29] (1996–2022)
May 4 – Tsukushi Haruka^[30] (2010–2022)
May 15 – Devon Nicholson^[31] (2001–2022)
May 31 - Kim Duk (August 30, 1968 – May 31, 2022)
July 22 – Vince McMahon^[32] (1969–2022)
July 31 – Ric Flair (1972–2008, 2009–2012, 2022)
August 5 – Aiden English (2011–2022)
August 8 – Kaoru (1986–2022)
August 14 – Gamma (1996–2022)
September 24 – Akira Hyodo (2018–2022)
November 9 – Taryn Terrell (2007–2022)
November 27 – Ricky Steamboat (1976-1994, 2009-2010, 2022)
December 11 – Jamie Noble (1995–2015, 2022)
December 31 – Yuki Mashiro (2019–2022)

Deaths

January 7 – Dee Booher^[33] (born 1948)
January 18 – Angel (Andrea Michelli) (born 1963)
February 1 - Don Brinton (born 1928)
February 8 – Ricky Hunter^[34] (born 1936)
February 9
- Candi Divine^[35] (born 1959)
- Super Muñeco^[36] (born 1962)
- Arturo "Rudo" Rivera^[37] (born 1954)
February 14 – Mickie Henson^[38] (born 1963)
February 28 – Black Man^[39] (born 1949)
March 7 – Dan Mirade^[40] (born 1979)
March 9
- Joe D'Orazio^[41] (born 1922)
- Caveman Broda (born 1953)
March 14 – Scott Hall^[42] (born 1958)
March 17 – Black Warrior Jr.^[43] (born 1997)
March 18 – Pepper Martin^[44] (born 1936)
March 27 – Rocky King^[45] (born 1958)
April 4 – Raziel^[46] (born 1973)
April 21 – Adam Windsor^[47] (born 1981)
April 25 – Toro Bill Jr. (born 1986)
May 21 – Nikolai Zouev (born 1958)
May 28 - Denis "Boundless Gringo" Khristenko (1987 – 2022)^[48] (born 1987)
May 29 – Tarzan Goto^[49] (born 1963)
June 17 – Dave Hebner (born 1949)
June 19 – Tim White (born 1954)
July 6 – Masashi Aoyagi^[50] (born 1956)
July 28 – Gil Hayes^[51] (born 1939)
August 8 - Mike Masters (wrestler) (born 1954)
August 9 – Gene LeBell^[52] (born 1932)
August 24 – Howard Brody (born 1960)
August 26 – Goro Tsurumi^[53] (born 1948)
August 29 – Bill Ash (born 1946)
September 10 – Bubba Monroe (born 1960)
September 23 – Starman (born 1974)
October 1 – Antonio Inoki^[54] (born 1943)
October 6 – Sara Lee (born 1992)
October 12 – Katsuya Kitamura^[55] (born 1985)
November 8 – Karl Von Steiger (born 1934)
November 19 – Farmer Brooks (born 1957)
December 3 – Ursula Hayden (born 1966)
December 20 – Tommy Lane (born 1949)
December 22 – Stephan Bonnar (born 1977)
December 29 – Jaysin Strife (born 1985)
December 30:
- Don West (born 1963)
- Johnny Powers (born 1943)
December 31 – Mike Pappas (born 1941)

References

^ a b c d e f g h i j WWE.com Staff (October 25, 2021). "WWE unveils 2022 pay-per-view schedule". WWE. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
^ Currier, Joseph (February 1, 2022). "NJPW Announces Return Of Hyper Battle Tour". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
^ "MUSIC CITY MAYHEM | New Japan Pro-Wrestling". NJPW.
^ WWE.com Staff (April 29, 2022). "Tickets for WWE Clash at the Castle at Principality Stadium on sale Friday May 20". WWE. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
^ Carey, Ian (August 31, 2022). "Jon Moxley & Nick Gage title vs. career match set for GCW Fight Club". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
^ "NJPW and Stardom reveal name for first-ever joint show Historic X-Over will take place on November 20". F4wonline.com. July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
^ Bodhi Hayward, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Richards, Alex (March 11, 2022). "Miyu Amasaki Joins Queen's Quest". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
^ Marino Saihara, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Damaris Griffin, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Bryson Montana, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Hank Walker, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Jakara Jackson, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Bronco Nima, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Lucien Price, Cagematch, 2023, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Kaito Nagano, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ TN Revolucion, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Tank Ledger, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Dani Palmer, Cagematch, 2023, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Sarah Baer, Cagematch, 2023, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Kale Dixon, Cagematch, 2022, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Oba Femi, Cagematch, 2023, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Yoshiki Kato, Cagematch, 2023, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Lola Vice, Cagematch, 2023, retrieved 12 April 2023
^ Dark angel (February 23, 2022). "2AW: "Tank Nagai Kanzen Nenshō"". superluchas.com. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
^ DDT Pro Wrestling (March 20, 2022). "DDT ProWrestling" Judgement2022～DDT旗揚げ25周年記念大会～. ddtpro.com (in Japanese). Retrieved March 20, 2022.
^ "WWE Legend Triple H Announces His Retirement". IGN. 25 March 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
^ "Reika Saiki anuncia su retiro como luchadora profesional". 26 March 2022.
^ Daly, Wayne (April 7, 2022). "Dragon Gate Results: The Gate Of Passion 2022 Day 4 – Tokyo, Japan (4/7)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
^ Peterson, Karen (May 7, 2022). "Dream Slam Weekly Vol 2: Tsukushi Haruka Retires from Pro-Wrestling". postwrestling.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ "Hannibal anuncia su retiro como luchador". 16 May 2022.
^ "Vince McMahon Retires". WWE. July 22, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
^ Dee Booher Dead: Matilda the Hun, Queen Kong Wrestler Dies
^ 'GLADIATOR' RICKY HUNTER DIES
^ @CACReunion (9 February 2022). "Another sad day in the world of wrestling as we learn Candi Divine has passed away. We send our sincerest condolenc..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ Muere Súper Muñeco, leyenda de la lucha libre a los 59 años de edad
^ Iconic lucha libre announcer Arturo 'El Rudo' Rivera has died
^ Former WWE referee Mickie Jay Henson passes away
^ Lucha legend Black Man passes away at age 73
^ Dan Mirade Death: New England wrestling promoter, Dan Mirade dies unexpectedly
^ BRITISH WRESTLER JOE D'ORAZIO DIES AT 99
^ Wrestling legend, WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall dies at 63
^ Black Warrior Jr. died at the age of 24, the famous fighter son-in-law of "Negro" Casas
^ Superman II Actor and Pro Wrestler Pepper Martin Has Died at 85
^ ROCKY KING, WRESTLER TURNED HOMELESS ADVOCATE, PASSES
^ CMLL's Raziel passes away at 49 years old
^ "'Royal Stud' Adam Windsor dead at 41".
^ "Denis "Boundless Gringo" Khristenko dead at 35".
^ @CACReunion (30 May 2022). "We send out our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and fans the world over of Japanese hardcore pro wrest…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ @noahglobal (July 6, 2022). "We are very sorry to hear that Masashi Aoyagi, 65, has passed away. We send our condolences to his family & friends…" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
^ "Stampede legend Gil Hayes dies".
^ "Grappling icon Gene LeBell passes away".
^ "Goro Tsurumi". Wrestlingdata.com.
^ アントニオ猪木さん自宅で死去 79歳燃える闘魂プロレス黄金期けん引. Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese). 2022-10-01. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
^ "元新日本プロレスの北村克哉さんが３６歳で急死退団後はＲＩＺＩＮでボビー・オロゴンとも対戦". 東スポWEB (in Japanese). 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-14.