2022 was a memorable year for WWE in a lot of ways. Whether it was the slew of returns of familiar faces, the resignation of longtime chairman Vince McMahon, or the various different storylines that had transpired, there was a lot to remember, whether good or bad. Throughout this week, I am going to list some of the best WWE had to offer through different categories. Today, we are starting with which PPV premium live event had been the best of 2022. Compared to recent years, I believe WWE had a lot of excellent showings on WWE, so picking the nominees and a winner was tough.

With that said, here are the nominees for WWE PPV of 2022.

WrestleMania 38

Notable Matches: Kevin Owens vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Becky Lynch (C) vs. Bianca Belair – RAW Women’s Championship, RK-Bro (C) vs. The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy – RAW Tag Team Championships, Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins

WWE has adopted the two-night format for WrestleMania for three years in a row, and I believe it has yielded great results thus far. I believe this year was the best of the last three years as it featured a variety of matches for any kind of wrestling fan to enjoy. WrestleMania Saturday featured Bianca Belair finally get her redemption from her gaffe at Summerslam 2021 by defeating Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship. It also featured the long-rumored and anticipated return of Cody Rhodes and would battle Seth Rollins in an incredible battle of attrition. Logan Paul would make his WWE debut and show that he was built to be in sports entertainment. And of course, your main event featured Steve Austin having his first “match” since WrestleMania 19 in a brawl that worked to his strengths and hid his physical limitations.

WrestleMania Sunday was less eventful, but you still had a great triple threat tag team match that had incredible spots, Johnny Knoxville defeating Sami Zayn in a match full of…..interesting hijinks, the debut of Judgement Day after Edge defeated AJ Styles, and of course, Roman Reigns beginning his reign as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. This was the first WrestleMania that felt like WrestleMania in quite a while. Full of returns, big title changes and big moments.

Clash at the Castle

Notable Matches: Gunther (C) vs. Sheamus – Intercontinental Champisonship, Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle, Roman Reigns (C) vs. Drew McIntyre – WWE Undisputed Unviersal Championship

WWE’s first major PPV in the UK since Summerslam 30 years ago was one that will be remembered for quite a while. It started with a six-woman tag match that established Damage CNTRL as a threat to Bianca Belair and the RAW women’s division. Then, we had what many consider to be the match of the year, and one of the greatest matches in WWE history, if we are being honest, and that is Gunther defending his Intercontinental Championship against Sheamus, a battle of two international workhorses battling for a prize worthy of the legendary battle they had.

Rollins and Riddle put on a very well-worked match in lieu of their Summerslam bout that was supposed to happen but was called off. And finally, of course, we had a massive main event between two gladiators in Reigns and McIntyre that I believe nearly resulted in the moment that someone would dethrone Roman Reigns. Other memorable moments included Dominik finally turning on his dad, Rey and the debut of the final member of The Bloodline, Solo Si’koa. The WWE crowd in Cardiff got treated to a PPV that was an absolute banger from start to finish.

Hell In a Cell

Notable Matches: Bianca Belair (C) vs. Asuka vs. Becky Lynch – RAW Women’s Championship, Judgement Day vs. AJ Styles, Finn Balor and Liv Morgan, Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins – Hell In a Cell

I consider Hell In a Cell 2022 to be more or less a story of three matches. The RAW Women’s triple threat match was a great match filled with the class of the RAW Women’s division in Belair, Asuka and Lynch. The finish, being Belair chucking Lynch out of the ring and pinning a vulnerable Asuka, was a great segway into their rematch at Summerslam 2022. I think one of the more overlooked matches of the year was the intergender six person tag match. In my opinion, it was non-stop action with great transitions all around. And  most importantly, we had no idea that this would transition into Judgement Day turning on Edge and having Finn as the new ringleader just the night after.

And finally, we had another match of the year candidate on this card, featuring Cody Dhoes defeating Seth Rollins in one of the gutsiest performances you will ever see from a WWE superstar. Donning the deep bruising from a torn pectoral muscle, these two engaged in a physical, brutal match that brought out the best in each two, and while Rhodes would have to take some time off after this match, he went out with a bang. And I have a funny feeling 2023 will have even bigger things in store for him.

WrestleMania: Backlash

Notable Matches: Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Ronda Rousey – SmackDown Women’s Championship (“I Quit” Match), The Bloodline vs. RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre, Edge vs. AJ Styles

WrestleMania: Backlash was more or less a re-hash of WrestleMania, but some versions of the matches were better. Rhodes and Rollins’ re-match was maybe a tick below their WrestleMania match, but was still high quality. Flair and Rousey’s match at WrestleMania disappointed. So instead of having a traditional match, they just beat the crap out of each other, and that looked much better.

Edge and AJ Styles had a better paced match here, and we got the introduction of Rhea Ripley into the Judgement Day that would effectively complete their trio. And finally, you had the main event of the six man tag team match between The Bloodline and RK-Bro/McIntyre which was incredible action from start to finish featuring great spots and great near-falls towards the end. These matches would slowly set the stage for The Usos to become the Undisputed Tag Team Champions as well as Drew McIntyre eventually challenging Roman Reigns in the fall for their long-awaited clash.

Summerslam

Notable Matches: Bianca Belair (C) vs. Becky Lynch – RAW Women’s Championship, Logan Paul vs. The Miz, Roman Reigns (C) vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Undisputed Universal Championship (Last Man Standing)

Summerslam had an environment worthy of the PPV, and it was filled with memorable moments and very good matches. First, we had a rematch of arguably WrestleMania’s best match in Belair against Lynch for the title. I didn’t think it measured up to their WrestleMania bout, but it was still filled with boldness and ingenuity and it resulted in another classic between the two. However, the match may be remembered more for what took place after, which was the long-awaited return of Bayley, who made her first appearance in front of live crowd in over two years. Bigger surprises came with Dakota Kai and IYO SKY following her in tow.

Logan Paul also faced a challenge of having his first singles match in WWE against a seasoned veteran in The Miz. And Logan had proven that he can absolutely hang in a WWE ring, while The Miz proved once again why he is the consummate professional for anyone to work with in WWE.

We also had the main event of Last Man Standing between Lesnar and Roman, which was a fitting way to end a rivalry that had spanned over 7 years. Every possible thing you could have conceived that they did to each other, they probably did in this match. I mean, they flipped the damn ring over each other. It was just an awesome fight, and while it got very gimmicky, isn’t it more fun that way sometimes?

AND THE WINNER IS……….

CLASH AT THE CASTLE

This was a very difficult one to choose, but between the main event, Gunther vs. Sheamus, the UK atmosphere and the litany of things that happened on this show, it was just hard for me to deny it. This was an absolute classic PPV and I recommend it for anyone who needs 2-3 hours to burn.

Let me know what you guys think.