10 Wild Outside Bets To Win Wrestler Of The Year 2022

10. Serena Deeb

Recurring knee issues restricted Serena Deeb to just 11 matches in 2021 (at the time of writing), hindering her ability to put together a body of work sizeable enough for a credible Wrestler of the Year case.

Despite this, Deeb was one of the NWA and AEW's most consistently excellent in-ring performers when called upon. Matches with developing talents like Tay Conti, Kamille and Red Velvet, whose best years are well ahead of them, over-delivered to an almost shocking degree. Even better were Deeb's two-match series with Riho and Hikaru Shida, both of which told sharp in-ring stories built across multiple chapters, proving, once again, that Serena is one of the cleanest wrestlers in the company.

Taking her salt 'Professor of Professional Wrestling' character to television on a more regular basis will position Deeb as one of her division's vanguards, if she isn't already there. Reminiscent of Bret Hart in how she maximises every minor technical detail for optimum results, she elevates everybody she steps through the ropes with, regardless of their experience level, and there's no reason she should be working 8-12 minute television matches every single week.