13 Ups & 9 Downs For WWE In 2022
1. WrestleMania 38, Night One
Night One of WrestleMania 38 was a case of WWE still knowing how to summon "special" just 24 hours before the very same company presented a complete sh*tshow as a contrast.
Stone Cold Steve Austin's majestic and improbable return to action was a headline, but far from just the only one. Several were so good that they've had their own entries elsewhere in this list; Cody Rhodes' arrival was greeted with the type of scintillating response that justified keeping his seemingly-impossible confirmed signing a mystery until the night itself. Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair tore the house down in what was probably pound-for-pound the best match of the night despite the out-of-this-world heat for the topliner and Rhodes' clash with an on-his-game Seth Rollins. Logan Paul stood out as the joint-best performer in a match that also featured Rey Mysterio, foreshadowing the year he'd had.
And again, because it was worth repeating then and now; Stone Cold Steve Austin actually worked a bells-and-whistles brawl with Kevin Owens and it kicked just as much *ss as he did.
The card wasn't perfect - Rick Boogs unfortunate injury curtailed the opener and whoever made the call to give the first ever Baron Corbin End Of Days kickout to Drew McIntyre on an undercard exhibition match got that one bang wrong, but they served only as passing gripes on a night that otherwise truly, earnestly sparkled.
Your writer was privileged to attend both Dallas nights in person, and spent this particular card sat next to WhatCulture's own beacon of brilliance Simon Miller. Perhaps that's why this evening of entertainment resonated so positively? Or perhaps it was because for four dreamlike hours, the since-disgraced and disowned Vince McMahon still had it in him to present the best version of his one-ring circus.
He's lost his chance to ever do it again, and deservedly so. And that was 2022, and with it the reminder to never rank good times over good riddance.