10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2022 (So Far)
2. Anarchy In The Arena - AEW Double Or Nothing
As mentioned, sometimes, you can tell a match is trending towards something special in the opening minutes.
The second Justin Roberts deviated from his straight-laced spiel and said "The sh*t's gonna hit the fan," you just knew that Anarchy In The Arena was going to be incredible. The Roberts introduction was the first inspired idea in a match overflowing with them laid out by 10 exceptionally creative men who understood their role perfectly. The spectacle however never felt like a collection of ideas; it felt like a wild, alive brawl fought with - as opposed to worked with - a chaotic thirst for blood.
Looping X's 'Wild Thing' was as brilliant a choice as Chris Jericho pulling the plug on it. The character work was unreal - Jericho of all people being disgusted at hearing a theme too many times was immaculate stuff - and in doing so, the risk of it growing tiresome was eradicated.
Somehow, the production captured the chaos without interfering with it. In one of many spectacular moments, the director cut from some frenzied brawling to the exact moment Jake Hager was smashed through two ringside tables with a perfectly executed Street Sweeper by Santana and Ortiz.
Piledrivers onto upturned steel steps; babyface heroes being dragged by the neck through the concessions stand; dives from ladders: this was a total blur of insanity, and when a bloodied Eddie Kingston shuffled to the ring with a gas can, it became iconic. Never in wrestling has a man looked legitimately ready to kill a fellow man, but that is the genius of the Mad King and this quintessentially 'AEW' masterpiece.