WWE and AEW's Biggest Winners and Losers Thus Far in 2022
June 11, 2022
There is still plenty of time left in 2022, but so much has already happened in AEW and WWE over the course of the first six months that has shifted the wrestling landscape.
With several of the biggest names in each company finding success while other marquee performers have struggled, it’s time to examine which wrestlers have thrived to start 2022 and those who’ve had a year to forget.
Here are the wrestlers and Superstars who have struggled and triumphed so far.
Biggest Winners
AEW: MJF
Whether the contract situation between MJF and AEW head honcho Tony Khan started as a work or a shoot, it is very much a storyline now. With the entire wrestling world locked on the 26-year-old’s future, no performer is more must-see right now than MJF.
Every major wrestling website on the internet is hanging on every story about MJF and his contract, savoring each and every morsel released strategically by AEW. WWE fans want him to join Vince McMahon’s company in 2024, and AEW fans want him to stay.
MJF is the hottest commodity in all of wrestling, and the focus on his character and the direction the company takes his storyline already has enough momentum to keep his name on wrestling fans’ tongues for the rest of the year.
WWE: Cody Rhodes
There is little doubt that Cody Rhodes was still one of the most over performers in AEW when he decided to test free agency, but the booking of the former TNT champion in WWE has been nothing short of amazing.
When Rhodes left WWE, he was an afterthought with no positive momentum. After spending years honing his craft and becoming a megastar in AEW, he returned to Vince McMahon and company as a hero.
While a pectoral injury could keep him out of action for the rest of 2022, performing through the pain at Hell in a Cell created one of the most iconic moments in recent memory. From promos to matches, Rhodes has been the MVP of WWE through the first six months of the year.
Biggest Losers
AEW: TNT Championship
In a vacuum, Sammy Guevara, Tay Conti, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page are all elite performers who would be over with fans in different storylines. Unfortunately, all of them involved in a storyline for the TNT Championship has been an absolute miss this year.
AEW usually has some of the best storytelling in the business, far surpassing the stop-and-go booking in WWE, but the fans are simply tuning out on the TNT Championship scene and the wrestlers involved.
Tony Khan should allow Miro to begin a program with Scorpio Sky for the actual title and move the tandem of Guevara and Conti onto another storyline where their heel tactics can be better utilized.
AEW’s booking usually is must-see TV, but many fans tune out when the TNT title shows up.
WWE: Seth Rollins
After taking yet another loss to Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins’ character became unhinged again, which is the same development from the last several storylines he lost. At some point, all the losing will hurt Rollins’ credibility.
In 2022, Rollins has earned three singles victories on television or pay-per-view, including a DQ win over Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. His last singles victory was against Randy Orton on Raw in February.
For one of the most talented performers in the ring and on the mic, handing him 10 TV and PPV losses as a singles performer and even more in multi-man matches has been atrocious so far this year.
One of the company’s top stars is one of the year’s biggest losers, and that’s part of the problem with WWE Creative these days.
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