Hot on the heels of an eventful summer season, WWE and All Elite Wrestling will need as much top talent on deck as possible to keep the momentum going through the rest of 2022. Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Becky Lynch will all provide big boosts to WWE programming once they return from injury and their absences have been felt as of late. CM Punk and The Elite also being gone from AEW TV has hurt the shows significantly.
Despite that, the remaining rosters have done an excellent job of maintaining interest in each product. Plenty of established stars have continued to carry the load and do terrific work that deserves to be recognized. Without those core players, WWE and AEW’s flagship shows would be much worse off.
5. Seth Rollins
Next to Owens, Seth Rollins is another important figure on the red brand who doesn’t need a championship to prove it. He leads the list of possible contenders for MVP of 2022, not only in WWE but in wrestling on the whole. His in-ring work has been simply spectacular, and his feuds have been fun to follow as well.
Whether it’s been Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes or Matt Riddle, Rollins has brought the best out of everyone he’s been up against this year. He’s currently in the process of cementing Riddle as a singles star and having above-average matches on Raw week after week.
4. Sami Zayn
While not a world championship-caliber competitor in the same way others on this list are, Sami Zayn is invaluable to the WWE product all the same.
The Bloodline have been a constant in WWE for almost two years and started to grow stagnant coming out of WrestleMania 38 before Zayn became an official ally of theirs. He’s breathed new life into the group and is always captivating the audience one way or another.
The best part about the act is that he has no ulterior motive other than wanting to befriend Reigns. He’s a terrific wrestler to boot and will deliver a great match when necessary regardless of the opponent.
3. Jon Moxley
From the moment he debuted in AEW at Double or Nothing in May 2019, Jon Moxley has been an essential piece of the promotion’s puzzle and a crucial part of its success.
The 36-year-old has been as much of a workhorse in AEW as he was in WWE; always in action and making magic with a mic in his hand every night. That’s in addition to the organic connection he has with the crowd.
It would have been easy for him to peak once his first run as AEW world champion wrapped up in 2020, but he remained relevant and kept killing it. Of the many matches he’s had in 2022, he’s suffered one loss and won the title another two times.
2. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
There was a worry that MJF’s highly anticipated return would be overshadowed by the drama surrounding CM Punk and The Elite post-All Out, but the hype for the heel didn’t die down in the slightest.
The Salt of the Earth showed up that Wednesday on Dynamite, declared he was waiting in the wings for a shot at the AEW World Championship at an opportune time of his choosing and the show hadn’t been the same without him around. The thing is, he wasn’t wrong.
1. Roman Reigns
In WWE, everything that happens hinges on Roman Reigns, and if he were to be out for an extended period of time, the company would be in some serious trouble.
As this list illustrates, there are many incredible competitors who could slide into that spot, but no one has been booked as unstoppable as The Tribal Chief in the modern era. He’s been on the run of a lifetime as undisputed WWE universal champion, all with the intention of earning legend status.