11. Chelsea Green
What would this list be without everyone’s favorite Hot Mess, Chelsea Green? Traveling all over the world, Green set out to take over this year with nothing stopping her. From her presence in and out of the ring, Green becomes the one you love to hate. GCW got a taste of that hate more than others. Alongside her husband, Matt Cardona, Chelsea Green becomes every fan’s worst nightmare in GCW.
On the other side of things, Green dominates in other promotions such as XPW, NWA, and as a Knockout yet again in IMPACT! Wrestling. Her feud with Mickie James set a different tone for her while changing the landscape of her character moving forward. Closing out the year, she is a former IMPACT! Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. Gaining the gold with her best friend Deonna Purrazzo, this win gives her the chance to call herself a champion again after four long years. In addition, this Hot Mess ends this year with rumors speculating a possible WWE return. Keeping her name relevant, it is quite evident that this year proves that is just the beginning for Chelsea Green.
12. Jamie Hayter
Number 12 on our list goes to current AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter. Hayter went from Britt Baker’s backup to AEW Women’s Champion in a year. On March 30th, Hayter defeated Skye Blue to qualify for the women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. In May, she was defeated by Toni Storm in the quarterfinals. Jamie wrestled on Dynamite, Rampage, and Dark, earning a title shot against Thunder Rosa in August. She lost the match, but the AEW fanbase started showing their appreciation and love for Hayter.
Jamie faced Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, and eventual champion Toni Storm for the interim AEW Women’s Championship at All Out. Although she lost, the crowd was completely behind Hayter and begging for her to pick up a victory. Hayter got her chance to face Toni Storm one-on-one for the interim AEW Women’s Championship at Full Gear. Much to the crowd’s enjoyment, Jamie picked up the victory to win her first ever AEW Women’s Championship. Jamie Hayter became the undisputed AEW Women’s Champion after Thunder Rosa relinquished the title the following week. Jamie will dominate the women’s division in 2023.
13. Toni Storm
New Zealand professional wrestler Toni Storm was born on October 19, 1995. She was the NXT UK Women’s Champion during her time with WWE. Additionally, she competed in and won the 2018 Mae Young Classic. WWE’s inaugural all-female PPV, Evolution, was held in 2018 and featured a tournament. Before requesting her release, she appeared on NXT, NXT UK, and SmackDown. On March 30, 2022, Toni will make her AEW debut as a participant in the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament, where she will defeat The Bunny and sign an official contract with the promotion.
She reached the semifinals of All Out, where she was defeated by Britt Baker. Toni will defeat Britt, Jamie Hayter, and Hikaru Shida to win the AEW Women’s Interim World Championship. She would defend this title at Grand Slam, but eventually lose it at Full Gear. Toni has had a fantastic year in AEW for the year 2022.
14. Deonna Purrazzo
Starting off the year, Deonna Purrazzo becomes a double champion. After her successful win to gain the ROH World Women’s Championship, The Virtuosa goes on to hold one of the greatest challenges of all time. Including the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship, Purrazzo begins her journey of proving herself to be one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. During her champ champ challenge, Purrazzo faces off with and picks up victories against the likes of Gisele Shaw, Lady Frost, Willow Nightingale, and Faby Apache.
For the rest of the year, Purrazzo teams up with her best friend, Chelsea Green. In due time, they successfully become the new IMPACT! Knockouts World Tag Team Champions. After suffering an unsuccessful retain, Purrazzo sets her sights back on the IMPACT! Knockouts World Championship. With the new year approaching, these past two years for Purrazzo have kept her on the top of the mountain. We are excited to see what is next for The Virtuosa as we are on the road to Hard To Kill. Be sure to check out our recent interview with Deonna Purrazzo available now.
15. Jordynne Grace
This year, many anticipated Jordynne Grace’s return to the summit of the mountain. She actually did that. Grace, having taken a break from tag team wrestling, enters 2022 as the inaugural Digital Media Champion. In addition, at Slammiversary, Grace becomes the first-ever Queen of the Mountain. Unsurprisingly, she goes on to have one of the most dominant reigns in the history of Knockouts. She continues to be the IMPACT! To maintain her reign as Knockouts World Champion, she defeated Masha Slamovich, Mia Yim, and Tasha Steelz.
Since her first reign occurred during the peak of the pandemic, it is encouraging to see Grace receive a reign in front of fans. Despite a somewhat tardy start, she finished the year as the division champion.
16. Gisele Shaw
The IMPACT Knockouts division had its fair share of breakout stars this year, but one woman proves to be more quintessential than the rest. “The Quintessential Diva” Gisele Shaw officially made her IMPACT Wrestling debut back in February by challenging Lady Frost to a match after weeks of teasers and vignettes. Since her debut, the Cebuano native has showcased her unparalleled athleticism in high-caliber matchups against her fellow Knockouts. She gave Mickie James a run for her money in a highly competitive bout during James’ “Last Rodeo” in an attempt to retire “Hardcore Country” from professional wrestling. Gisele also challenged for the IMPACT Knockouts World Title against the defending champion Jordynne Grace in November but unfortunately came up short despite a tough battle.
Throughout 2022, Shaw also formed alliances with The Influence and VXT to compete in high-quality tag team matches which included an All-Star Knockouts Main Event in October against the Death Dollz. She has also appeared in independent promotions such as Nation Extreme Wrestling wherein she wrestled fellow rising star, Maki Itoh. Towards the latter end of the year, Gisele Shaw found an ally in her executive stylist Jai Vidal who now works in a managerial role for Shaw. With this only being Gisele’s first year in the company, the IMPACT Zone could be witnessing the growth of a future star in the making. Shaw’s continuous rise to wrestling stardom could potentially see her capture her first taste of IMPACT championship gold in 2023.
17. Billie Starkz
Coming in at number 17 is Space Jesus herself, Billie Starkz. Although she is barely 18, Billie has already had a career that a lot of wrestlers dream about, and she is only going to improve and receive more opportunities in the coming years. As of right now she is the current 2econd Wrestling Champion, the current BLP Heavyweight Champion, and the current Girl Fight Champion. This year, Billie was wrestling everywhere including GCW, F1rst Wrestling, Revolver, Black Label Pro Wrestling, Unsanctioned Pro, and many others. She even went to Japan during November and wrestled in TJPW where she had a tag team match teaming with Millie McKenzie against Miyu Yamashita and Yuka Sakazaki as well as a singles match facing Yuka Sakazaki.
Some other memorable matches that Billie has had this year include competing at the Mall of America against Free-Range Kara with Lisa Marie Varon on special guest referee, taking on Marina Shafir at Revolver, beating Calvin Tankman for the BLP Heavyweight Championship, facing Allie Katch at GCW, and also competing for the Impact X-Division Championship in a seven-way scramble at Revolver. She also competed for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship against Deonna Purazzo back in March. The sky is truly the limit for Billie, and it’s incredible that she is still so young and has so much wrestling ahead of her. It will be fun to watch her grow and wrestle for more promotions during 2023.
18. Britt Baker
Another year in the book and another great year for Dr Britt Baker, D.M.D. Starting the year as AEW Champ, Britt’s two hellacious matches at Revolution and St Patrick’s Day Slam were an emphatic end to her year-long feud with Thunder Rosa. Despite not recapturing the title, Britt remained the benchmark of AEW’s women’s division. It didn’t matter if you were Ruby Soho, Toni Storm or Sarya; Britt wasn’t far behind.
By far Britt’s most significant contribution this year was her role in the ascent of Jamie Hayter. The seeds were sown throughout the year, but it was the All Out Fatal Four Way match where it took effect. The match demonstrates what Britt does best, big facials, character building and personality for days. She may not be the champ, but Britt is still at the top of AEW’s women’s division.
#19 Allie Katch
Allie Katch, also known as Stray Kat or Al Katch, held the GCW World Tag Team Championship for 111 days this year with EFFY, the Wrestling with Wregret YouTube Championship, and her own show, “Allie Kat’s Real Hot Girl Shit.” In AEW and Impact Wrestling, she faced Masha Slamovich, Big Swole, and NWA World Women’s Champion Kamille. In the near future, she deserves to be in the major leagues.
20. Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley, called “Mami,” had an outstanding year in 2022, earning her a spot on this list of the top 25. From her tagging with Nikki Ash, to her decent and impressive performance in the Royal Rumble, to her tagging with Liv Morgan, and now her run with the Judgement Day, she has proven that she belongs on the roster and the list. Due to her iconic pin and merchandise, her impact on the WWE universe, and even on other companies, is limitless. It is reasonable to anticipate that conditions will improve in 2023!
21. Mia Yim
Who’s the H.B.I.C.? Y.I.M. Mia Yim made a sensational return to Impact Wrestling’s Under Siege by challenging Deonna Purrazzo for Taya Valkyrie. She competed in the inaugural Queen of the Mountain match at Slammiversary 2022 for the Knockouts World Championship. Yim had the chance to compete for the championship at Emergence against the reigning champion, Jordynne Grace, even though she did not succeed. Yim and Grace failed in their attempt to win the Tag Team titles from VXT. At Victory Road 2022, Yim competed in an eight-way elimination match in the men’s division to earn a shot at Mike Bailey’s X-Division Championship as a top contender. Yim left the Impact Zone and returned to WWE after failing to put an end to Mickie James’ Last Rodeo at Bound for Glory. Since then, Yim has emerged victorious in this year’s War Games and joined The O.C.’s Bullet Club as an official member. The H.B.I.C. had a phenomenal year, but Michin intends to climb to the top in 2023.
22. Mandy Rose
Mandy Rose revitalized her career with her arrival in NXT, forming Toxic Attraction alongside Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. The group had dominated NXT for over a year! While Mandy had been dominant as NXT Women’s Champion, Gigi and Jacy had become an incredible, powerful team under her guidance. Mandy had a 400+ day reign, having the third longest reign in NXT history, surpassing the likes of Charlotte, Bayley and Iyo Shirai. Also, Mandy has beaten Blair Davenport, Cora Jade, Wendy Choo and recently Alba Fyre.
Rose made the right decision by going to NXT as it has helped her improve herself as a wrestler and a threat in the women’s division. Rose had been able to show that she can hang with the best in the ring while controlling the women’s division with her girls by her side. She also had a great winning record while in NXT, 22-10 overall. Mandy also defended the NXT Women’s Championship on 10 occasions, Asuka had defended it for 11, the most out of any champion. With her growth and experience now, where does Mandy go next? What does the future have in store for her in the wrestling industry?
23. Damage Control
The year 2022 was marked by significant returns, one of which will occur on July 30, 2022, at Summer Slam. Bayley, who was sidelined for a year due to an injury, will return and team up with Io Shirai, now known as Iyo Sky, and Dakota Kai, who was released earlier in the year and will also return. Bayley would confront Bianca Belair after Becky Lynch’s title defense. Under the moniker Damage CTRL, the new trio will compete in Clash at the Castle and defeat Bianca, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss. Bayley would lead the group.
Dakota and Iyo will defeat Raquel and Aliyah approximately one month later to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles. They will hold the titles for 49 days before Asuka and Alexa reclaim them. They did win the belts at Crown Jewel five days later. Damage CTRL will participate in the Survivor Series War Games and team up with Rhea Ripley and Nikki Cross to compete against the three opponents with whom they have been in a feud, as well as Mia Yim and Becky Lynch. Dakota and Iyo currently hold the titles. Iyo was a former NXT champion. Bayley is the first WWE Women’s Triple Crown Champion and the first WWE Women’s Grand Slam Champion, among many other accomplishments.
24. Liv Morgan
“Watch Me” has become Liv Morgan’s trademark throughout the years. The year 2022 would begin with Morgan competing against Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at WWE DAY 1. Unquestionably, Morgan’s PPV match that night was one of her best, but she fell short. She would then team up with Rhea Ripley for several months, until Ripley turned on her and joined The Judgement Day. On July 2, 2022, Liv Morgan’s WWE career would change as she won the Women’s Money in the Bank and went on to cash-in on Ronda Rousey and become the new Smackdown Women’s Champion. Morgan would go on to hold the title for 99 days, defeating Shayna Baszler, Sonya Deville, and becoming the first woman in WWE history to defeat Ronda Rousey twice.
25. Kamille
Closing in at over 560 days as NWA World Women’s Champion, Kamille has been one of the most dominant women’s champions of 2022. She has proven herself as the face of not only their women’s division, but of the National Wrestling Alliance overall. The “Brickhouse” has successfully defended her coveted title in over twenty championship matches. Throughout her reign, Kamille bas defeated the likes of Allysin Kay, Allie Katch, KiLynn King, and Max the Impaler. Her 2022 run also saw the fighting champion represent the NWA at Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide’s premier wrestling pay-per-view “Triplemanía XXX” in October as a challenger for Taya Valkyrie’s AAA Reina De Reinas Championship.
Though coming up short during the bout, Kamille put up a tough fight in an attempt to overcome the offense from “La Wera Loca.” Following her rise to becoming one of the most dominant women’s champions in recent history, Kamille has also contributed to the development of future generations of wrestlers. She participated in Top Rope Wrestling Academy’s seminar earlier this December as a special guest to share her insights as an established in-ring competitor to wrestlers in the UK. By starting and ending the year as NWA World Women’s Champion, there is no doubt that Kamille looks to continue her reign as a top female competitor. The addition of more talent in the NWA women’s roster in the coming year also opens new challengers and storylines for Kamille to be a part of as a defending champion.
Comments