Ranking the 7 Best WWE Women's Matches of 2022 So Far

Departures, returns, monumental moments and title changes have contributed to 2022 being an extremely eventful year for WWE's women's division thus far, and there's no telling what else the next six months may have in store.

Ronda Rousey's Royal Rumble win was quite the way to start off 2022, but the best was yet to come. Bianca Belair was responsible for ending Becky Lynch's historic reign as Raw women's champion at WrestleMania 38, but only after Lita came out of retirement first to challenge for the championship at Elimination Chamber.

In addition to Raquel Rodriguez being called up after WrestleMania, Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss and Asuka all resurfaced in the spring and immediately injected new life into Raw and SmackDown. That was also around the time Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out on the company and haven't been seen on any of the shows since, which has been a big blow to the depth of the divisions.

Each and every one of these Superstars has played a part in making 2022 such a strong year for women's wrestling in WWE. The company's work is far from over as far as featuring the ladies more prominently, but the amazing array of female talent the company still has under contract makes improvements in that area easy.

Many matches can be pointed to as proof of the women's excellence, and the following seven are only the cream of the crop.

7. Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan (Day 1)

Prior to 2021, Liv Morgan had largely been booked at as a tag team wrestler in WWE.

She spent a majority of her main roster run alongside The Riott Squad, and on the few occasions she was pushed on her own, it was always short-lived. Granted, her time in the title picture late last year was also brief, but she broke out in her feud with Becky Lynch and showed she had what it took to be a champion in WWE.

Morgan impressed any time she shared the ring with Lynch, but it was at the Day 1 pay-per-view on New Year's Day that she had her greatest performance to date. She took Big Time Becks to the limit that night and had the crowd behind her every step of the way.

Although the outcome was never really in doubt, Morgan was made to look credible in defeat, and that was all that mattered. She and Lynch had a super fun outing to boot, and as WWE's first women's match of 2022, it delivered.

6. Belair vs. Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. Doudrop vs. Morgan vs. Bliss (Raw, Feb. 14)

It's pretty much set in stone at this point that any Gauntlet match WWE holds on Raw or SmackDown the week of Elimination Chamber is guaranteed to be great. The Elimination Chamber combatants are always involved, and with the option to enter last in the structure on the line, viewers have a reason to invest in who wins.

This year's installment of the event saw Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., Doudrop, Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss do battle inside the structure to determine who would face Becky Lynch for her title at WrestleMania 38, and the preceding Gauntlet match on Raw was superb.

Everyone involved put forth a commendable effort, but at the end of the day, this was all about Belair. She ran through each and every one of those women and defeated them decisively.

The only opponent who truly tested her mettle was Ripley. The two had an excellent, evenly matched contest (shades of their terrific TakeOver match from 2020), but the unbeatable Belair was simply the superior Superstar that night.

Belair not only entered last inside the Elimination Chamber that weekend but wound up winning the whole thing to earn the next shot at the coveted championship.

5. Becky Lynch vs. Lita (Elimination Chamber)

There was zero indication coming into 2022 that Lita ever intended on stepping into the ring again.

But on the January 7 edition of SmackDown, she was announced as an entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match, where her impressive performance earned her the opportunity to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship at Elimination Chamber three weeks later.

Lynch vs. Lita was a match fans had fantasized about for years given their many similarities inside and outside of the ring, but no one ever thought it would become a reality. Lita went into the match more motivated than ever before, which was needed if she had any chance of dethroning Lynch as champ so close to WrestleMania.

Having Saudi Arabia host this dream clash initially seemed like a strange call, but to the crowd's credit, they gave it a big fight feel and wanted nothing more than to see Lita walk away with the gold one final time. It was an awesome atmosphere, to say the least.

Lita was over 15 years removed from being in the prime of her career, and yet she had a standout showing. Lynch had her working boots on that night and was such a phenomenal foil for the WWE Hall of Famer, ultimately crushing the hopes of fans when she put Lita away with an emphatic Manhandle Slam.

4. Charlotte Flair vs. Naomi (SmackDown, Feb. 11)

Naomi may be persona non grata on WWE TV at the moment, but the fantastic first few months of 2022 she was having prior to her suspension must be acknowledged.

In between the culmination of her long-running rivalry with Sonya Deville and her reuniting with Sasha Banks in time for WrestleMania 38, Naomi briefly pursued the SmackDown Women's Championship. She and Charlotte Flair had two televised matches at the beginning of the year, but both underwhelmed due to outside shenanigans from Deville.

On the Feb. 11 edition of SmackDown, however, the two finally had a chance to have the match they were capable of and knocked it out of the park. They had wonderful chemistry together and did an exceptional job of keeping the crowd engaged throughout.

It didn't make much sense for Naomi to take the title on a random SmackDown before Ronda Rousey could challenge for it at WrestleMania, but the audience in attendance didn't seem to think it was too predictable based on how they reacted to some of the near-falls.

Of course, Flair is no stranger to the main event spotlight, but Naomi thrived under the pressure and came across like an absolute star. This was a worthy attraction for SmackDown, but it also could have passed as a pay-per-view encounter with how enjoyable it was.

3. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey (WrestleMania Backlash)

To put it bluntly, the long-awaited rematch between Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 38 fell well below fans' expectations.

The magic and intensity from their original encounter nearly four years earlier was gone, and the lackluster buildup leading into the pay-per-view didn't help matters. Worse yet, Flair retained the SmackDown Women's Championship in fluky fashion that night and left the audience feeling apathetic.

There was minimal interest heading into their "I Quit" match at WrestleMania Backlash the following month. Despite that, they exceeded all expectations and put together an incredibly entertaining, hard-hitting affair.

The longtime rivals used the lack of disqualifications to their advantage, battering each other all over the arena and refusing to succumb to defeat so easily.

Rousey's title win meant more because of what she had to go through to get it. The reign that followed for her wasn't anywhere near as special as it should have been, but this was easily the best bout she's had since returning in January.

2. Bianca Belair vs. Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (Hell in a Cell)

Following the barn burner Bianca Belair had with Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 38 (more on that momentarily) and the stellar series of matches Lynch and Asuka have had over the years, it was hardly shocking that these three killed it in their Triple Threat match for the Raw Women's Championship at June's Hell in a Cell event.

More amazingly, this match was never meant to be, at least not at that point in Belair's reign.

Fightful Select reported at the time that Belair vs. Naomi was originally scheduled to be the Raw Women's Championship match at the pay-per-view, but Naomi walking out caused plans to change. Asuka became the No. 1 contender instead, and Lynch was added to the mix when she beat Asuka the following week.

WWE thankfully resisted the urge to take the title off Belair here without her being pinned. This was a tremendous Triple Threat with non-stop action, an electric crowd and delightful drama and suspense surrounding several of the near-falls.

Lynch seemed to have the match won before Belair tossed her out of the ring and pinned Asuka to successfully retain her title. This was every bit as outstanding as it had the potential to be and gave The EST of WWE one of her biggest wins to date.

1. Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair (WrestleMania 38)

That aforementioned Triple Threat from Hell in a Cell would likely top this list almost any other year, but this WrestleMania match between Belair and Lynch is in a league of its own.

Belair was hot on the heels of Lynch for months after being dethroned by The Man in record time at SummerSlam to end her title reign prematurely. Belair spent the next several months building herself up again and proving her place atop the Raw women's division while Lynch dominated everyone who stepped up to face her.

The entrances alone were epic, but everything that followed made for a storytelling masterpiece. Belair had to fight back valiantly as she had for many months, and Lynch grew increasingly more frustrated with not being able to put her rival away.

They captured the crowd, dished out everything in their arsenals and kept teasing a title change until the time was just right. When Belair reversed one of Lynch's signature spots into her own finishing maneuver, the building came unglued and reacted just as loudly as they did the year before when she won the WrestleMania main event.

Belair was already a top-tier talent, but this match reminded every fan of how she is indeed the future. She and Lynch stole the show at WrestleMania and capped off their eight-month storyline in exhilarating fashion.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.