While it was not the peak year of wrestling shows taking place in and around the host city of WrestleMania, 2022 saw the closest approximation of a true “WrestleMania Week” since the pandemic began.
The weekend had many stories including a Friday night buffet that saw several competing shows that led to the busiest night of the year. This included major shows from the WWE, Ring of Honor, Game Changer Wrestling, IMPACT Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling in addition to AEW airing a taped edition of Rampage.
The ironman of the weekend was Speedball Mike Bailey, wrestling an incredible nine times over three days including four matches on Friday, and being the consensus performer of the weekend. This came with a curveball at Spring Break Part 2 when Bailey’s original opponent PCO was unable to wrestle and led to Jordan Oliver wrestling Bailey where the two had minutes to prepare, according to reporter Pat Laprade.
Quebec was well represented throughout the weekend with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn leading the charge on the largest stage along with Bailey, LuFisto, and PCO representing the province.
I conducted an informal poll on Twitter asking for people’s choices for the best match, best show, and best performer from the WrestleMania Week events and have compiled the results.
Of all the #WrestleMania Week shows:
1. Best match?
2. Best show?
3. Best performer?— John Pollock (@iamjohnpollock) April 4, 2022
This is a small sample size of those responding to my questions but the results are in line with the general sentiment I have seen and also give focus to some of the “under the radar” matches and performances that didn’t get as much attention during such a packed couple of days.
In the golden age of streaming, every one of these matches and performances is available through FITE TV and the WWE Network and we have included links for the best shows.
The honorable mentions are ones that receive two or fewer votes from the respondents.
BEST MATCH
The Briscoes vs. FTR (ROH Supercard of Honor) – 63 votes
Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair (WrestleMania Saturday) – 14 votes
Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick (Bloodsport) – 11 votes
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins (WrestleMania Saturday) – 8 votes
The animosity is REAL and evident in their first violent lock-up! It's #FTR vs. #BRISCOES! Watch #ROH #SupercardofHonor LIVE on @FiteTV, #HonorClub & @ppv_com! pic.twitter.com/9wz9Aj8u7C
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 2, 2022
Honorable mentions: Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Bandido (Mark Hitchcock Supershow), Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville (WrestleMania Sunday), Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens (WrestleMania Saturday), Eddie Edwards vs. Tomohiro Ishii (IMPACT Multiverse of Matches), Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Cole Radrick (Unsanctioned Pro), Jon Moxley vs. AJ Gray (Spring Break – Part 1), Cole Radrick vs. AKIRA (GCW Planet Death)
BEST EVENT
ROH Supercard of Honor – 42 votes
WrestleMania Saturday – 39 votes
Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 8 – 10 votes
Gringo Loco’s WRLD on Lucha – 6 votes
Joey Janela’s Spring Break – Part 1 – 3 votes
Honorable mentions: Effy’s Big Gay Brunch, WrestleMania Sunday, Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow
BEST PERFORMER
Speedball Mike Bailey – 54 votes
Kevin Owens – 10 votes
Bianca Belair – 9 votes
Seth Rollins – 7 votes
Steve Austin – 6 votes
Sami Zayn – 6 votes
Pat McAfee – 5 votes
FTR – 4 votes
Biff Busick – 3 votes
Cody Rhodes -3 votes
Vs Yuya Uemura
Vs Bandido
Vs Effy
Vs Jay White
Vs Alex Shelley
Vs Jordan Oliver
Vs Davey Richards
Vs Cole Radrick
Vs The Workhorsemen3 days. 9 matches.
1 million blessings.
Infinite gratitude. pic.twitter.com/3k7Ez55F9R— Speedball Mike Bailey (マイク•ベイリー) (@SpeedballBailey) April 4, 2022
Honorable mentions: Minoru Suzuki, Jon Moxley, Joey Janela, Bandido, Nick Wayne, Veda Scott, Wee Man, Jonathan Gresham, Blake Christian, Johnny Knoxville
