10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2022 (So Far)

6. The Young Bucks Vs. FTR - AEW Dynamite, April 6

Wheeler Yuta Blood
AEW

Sometimes, you can tell a match is trending towards something special in the opening minutes.

There's actually no better feeling as a wrestling fan than watching a match with enormous expectations thrusted upon it deliver very early, luxuriating in the knowledge that you're in for something that is guaranteed to be as great as you desperately wanted it to be.

The finishing sequence was astonishing. In terms of generating drama, there is no better team on the planet, even history, than the Young Bucks. They have a signature device when structuring their matches; deep into the action, when the crowd is pulsing with excitement, they will arrange a sequence in which they come acutely close to losing mere seconds after closing in on the win. It's a remarkable trick, one that elicits palpitations like little else, and they arguably perfected it on April 6. The idea and execution of it alike were incredible; as Nick Jackson flew to complete the Meltzer Driver, Dax Harwood caught him mid-rotation and blasted him with the springboard Liger bomb. There are few better complementary arsenals to explore than that, and the timing and placement of the spot were electrifying.

Elsewhere, this was a phenomenal subversion of the southern style tag match, in which the crowd were desperate for the hard-nosed bruisers to make the obnoxious showboating gymnasts eat sh*t.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!