Quick side note before this article begins. I was going to do a column on who I believed to be the best tag team of 2022, and try as I might to make a case for any other team, The Usos were the clear winner. Just in case you guys for wondering.

In 2022, rivalries were rampant on one show or the other. There is seldom anything better than two superstars who consistently bring out the best in each other, regardless of how many times they fight. Certain superstars just have certain chemistry with each other, and others have a special spark between them that never goes out. Here are the nominees for Rivalry of the Year in 2022.

Gunther vs. Sheamus

All you really need to do is look at the color of each man’s chest here to know why this was a nominee. If there was one thing WWE aspired to do in 2022, it was to bring back prominence to the mid-card championship scene. And there was no better indication of WWE’s efforts to do so than how hard these two fought over the championship.

Gunther had already established himself as a major force on the main roster upon his call-up. Then, you have the seasoned veteran Sheamus, who is always at his best when he faces someone that has the capacity to meet his physicality. Not only was Gunther that superstar, but he pushed him to the edge and brought out arguably Sheamus’ best individual work.

This rivalry also had the added element of Sheamus’ pursuit of the only championship that has eluded him in his legendary WWE career. I have no doubt in my mind that one day, Sheamus will have the coveted championship. But the war between Sheamus and Gunther in the fall of 2022 is something I believe fans will remember for quite a while.

Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch

This is a rivalry that actually started in the summer of the previous year, when Becky Lynch made his first appearance in the post-pandemic WWE, and made her return at Summerslam 2021. One baiting of Bianca Belair, and she won the SmackDown Women’s Championship as if it was nothing.

Since then, no matter what Bianca was able to accomplish, that loss at Summerslam had always hung like an albatross over her head that she couldn’t get over, and for months, she had failed to defeat Becky. Then, upon winning the Elimination Chamber match, she would challenge Becky once again at WrestleMania. The match itself even started out the way Summerslam the previous year had ended.

It was such an incredible build-up. Bianca’s failure haunted her for months and finally getting her redemption on WWE’s biggest stage in one of the best matches of the year. Then, this madness transferred over to Becky, as she would descend into madness herself, and would try to get her retribution at Hell In a Cell and then Summerslam, but proceeded to fail. I have a funny feeling this won’t be the final time we will be seeing these two.

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins

It feels rather funny calling this a rivalry, since a rivalry implies that both men had defeated each other. However, Cody would sweep Seth Rollins in shocking fashion 3-0, before his untimely pectoral muscle pull.

Seth Rollins had been one of WWE’s most valuable performers, and immediately saw Cody Rhodes as a threat to that status. And it’s clear from their WrestleMania match that every time they would fight each other, it would proceed to be a war. And war it was.

Cody and Seth’s trilogy was fantastic sports entertainment all the way around, from Cody’s triumphant return, to Seth taunting Cody’s late, great father’s attire, the feud incorporated both personal elements and elements in the ring that produced some of the best work either man has ever engaged in. And we were all better for it.

Edge vs. Judgement Day

Edge’s heel turn on the Road to WrestleMania produced a new attitude, a new haircut, and a new theme song. After disposing of AJ Styles, he would go on to create his own faction known as Judgement Day. Judgement Day would prove to be a cult that would enact Edge’s schemes and vision for WWE from his “mountain of omnipotence”.

However, as with many factions featuring potentially young rebels, the inmates started to run the asylum. And there would also be a new sheriff in town. Finn Balor would supposedly be introduced as a new member of Judgement Day after a mixed tag team match at Hell In a Cell. However, it would so turn out that Finn was actually coming to Judgement Day to take it over for himself.

Upon doing that, Judgement Day would continue to get more full of himself, take out Edge, and even add a new member in Dominik Mysterio. Edge would return, and would foil Judgement Day at Summerslam and at Clash at the Castle. However, at Extreme Rules, Judgement Day would lay Edge’s wife to waste in an I Quit match against Finn Balor, and that was the last we’ve seen of Edge since then. I have a funny feeling that will be changing soon.

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

It’s not Stone Cold vs. The Rock, but Reigns and Lesnar have grown a familiarity with each other for nearly the last decade that culminated in a big way in 2022. Roman Reigns went from the young neophyte aspiring to knock Brock Lesnar down from his perch to the longest world champion in the modern era with Brock as the challenger.

The way these two have changed over the years of fighting each other was remarkable to see in real time. And while their matches may often be repetitive, formulaic and mundane, they almost always have a big fight feel.

Roman Reigns would become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania, but the story would end at Summerslam in a gruesome Last Man Standing match, featuring spots we had never seen before and thereby putting what appears to be the unofficial end of their story. Brock and Roman were practically born to kick each other’s asses, and they showed why this year, before moving onto different opponents.

 

AND THE WINNER IS……..

 

Cody Rhodes and Seth tore it up in 2022, and regardless of where both men go for this year, I believe they will only grow and get better.