Every 2022 WWE Premium Live Event Ranked From Worst To Best
2022 was a pretty good year for WWE premium live events overall.
There were standouts among the WWE's 12 main-roster events which featured some truly epic matches that will be remembered for years. Many of those epic matches featured Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns, who participated in six premium live event main events, the most of any other WWE superstar in 2022. There were also some huge non-match moments like the return of Bray Wyatt.
None of 2022's premium live events were bad, though there was one that disappointed given its high expectations. There were surely some disappointing matches scattered throughout the year. But overall the WWE delivered on its big events, especially beginning with SummerSlam which was clearly the dawn of a new direction with Triple H leading creative after the retirement of former WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
This list highlights all of these matches and moments in ranking the WWE's premium live events from worst to best. Rankings are determined by criteria like match quality, crowd and post-event response, number of memorable moments, and whether expectations were met, exceeded, or fell short.
12. Royal Rumble, January 29
While not a bad show, Royal Rumble was the most disappointing premium live event in 2022.
The best match was Roman Reigns defending his WWE Universal Championship against Seth Rollins. The use of The Shield's entrance music and gear by Rollins was genius and hyped the crowd, and the match was great. The finish was disappointing, though, ending in a disqualification on Reigns. A DQ finish felt cheap and there was ultimately no payoff with the feud.
Matches like Becky Lynch vs. Doudrop and Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. Miz and Maryse were solid filler matches but nothing special. Neither was the women's Royal Rumble match which had cool surprises like appearances by Mickie James, Lita and the Bella Twins, but Ronda Rousey was a predictable winner.
Paul Heyman re-joining Reigns and Reigns screwing over Brock Lesnar was a nice twist, but Lesnar losing to Bobby Lashley led to the main event being the most disappointing match of the night.
Once Lesnar lost the WWE Championship to Lashley, everyone knew Lesnar would enter and win the Royal Rumble. The buildup to a WrestleMania title match between Reigns and Lesnar was obvious. The predictability took the fun out of the match, and it didn't even make sense that Lesnar was in it to begin with since he was a champion heading into the event. That, combined with a lack of surprises and dull or botched spots, made the men's Royal Rumble match one of the worst in years.
11. Day 1, January 1
Despite being low in these rankings, Day 1 turned out to be a solid event overall. The concept was simple: a New Year's-themed premium live event on New Year's Day.
This event ended up having a pair of good tag team matches, with the best match of the night going to The Usos successfully defending their WWE "SmackDown" Tag Team Championships against The New Day. The Usos and New Day have faced off countless times and they steal the show every time. This one was no different, and the ending was great because it was the first time The Usos used the 1D, their variation of the 3D famously used by The Dudley Boyz.
RK-Bro vs. The Street Profits, Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss and Edge vs. Miz were all solid matches, and the best part of the latter was actually Edge bringing back The Brood theme music and entrance to a nice pop from the crowd. Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan had a good back-and-forth match for the Raw Women's Championship, and the main event fatal five-way for the WWE Championship between Brock Lesnar, Big E, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins was solid as well, although it was way too short. Lesnar winning a title yet again was somewhat disappointing, considering fans were enjoying Big E having a run with it.
10. Elimination Chamber, February 19
Elimination Chamber 2022 was the first time WWE ran a previously-established premium live event in Saudi Arabia.
Up and down the card was solid, but almost all of the matches were average. The only below-average match was Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg, which was a quick match as expected. Naomi and Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville was more filler than anything but it wasn't bad by any means.
The two elimination chamber matches were solid overall but not as good as its prior iterations. It was great to see Bianca Belair win her chamber match to earn a shot at the WWE "Raw" Women's Championship — she was the clear favorite in the match and put on a great performance. The men's chamber match was slightly disappointing due to Brock Lesnar absolutely destroying everyone, but the match was salvaged by an amazing moment when Lesnar hit Austin Theory with the F-5 off of one of the chambers.
The match that puts this event above others was Becky Lynch vs. Lita, which was Lita's first singles match against a female wrestler since 2006. If there was any doubt that Lita could still go toe-to-toe with some of today's best, Lita put those doubts to rest and earned "you still got it" chants from the crowd as she put on a dream match with Lynch.
9. Extreme Rules, October 8
Extreme Rules was a hit not only for its matches, but also for its memorable return of a beloved wrestler.
The event kicked off with a "good old fashioned donnybrook match," a no disqualification match with wooden barrels and canes placed outside the ring. The match between The Brawling Brutes and Imperium was a "banger" as Sheamus loves to put it, and a great choice to kick off the show to get the crowd hyped.
There were two good Women's Championship matches — one featuring Ronda Rousey and Liv Morgan in an extreme rules match, and the other with Bianca Belair and Bayley in a ladder match. The latter had some missed spots but the ending with Belair hitting Bayley with a KOD onto half a ladder was wicked.
The most disappointing match of the night was probably the strap match between Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross, which demonstrated how strap matches can be rather boring. The event made up for that, though, with quality matches between Finn Bálor and Edge (an I quit match) and Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins (a fight pit match). The fight pit could have gone longer but it was a satisfying conclusion to the feud and was understandably shorter so the WWE could roll with the main event.
The main event wasn't a match — it was the return of Bray Wyatt, who had a creative and creepy entrance and was welcomed by the crowd with a massive pop.
8. Money in the Bank, July 2
Money in the Bank events are almost guaranteed to entertain, and 2022's was no different.
The event kicked off with the women's Money in the Bank ladder match, and like always it delivered. There were a few missed spots but it was entertaining overall, and Liv Morgan winning the briefcase was an awesome feel-good moment. That moment was made even better when she cashed in her briefcase later that night on WWE "SmackDown" Women's champion Ronda Rousey, winning her first championship in front of a happy crowd.
The men's Money in the Bank ladder match delivered as well, with some cool spots including a crazy six-man powerbomb of Omos through the announcer's table. Theory entering the match last minute after losing to Bobby Lashley earlier that night was a huge swerve that received a mixed response, but his appearance and eventual briefcase win helped earn him more heat from the crowd as a heel.
While the ladder matches are usually the best parts of these events, the best match of the night was actually The Usos defending their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits. That near-fall-filled clash received a ton of praise from the crowd and fans at home. The Usos won, adding yet another great match to their ever-growing library of classics.
7. WrestleMania Backlash, May 8
WrestleMania Backlash ended up being a great event despite running back four matches from WrestleMania 38.
The only two real "meh" matches on the card were Bobby Lashley vs. Omos, which was as good as you'd expect from an Omos match, and Madcap Moss vs. Baron Corbin, which was difficult to invest in as a fan.
The rest of the card's matches were great. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins put on another clinic after their epic clash the month prior. It was a back-and-forth match with a lot of near falls and Rollins played the heel perfectly as he taunted Rhodes with his father Dusty's moves. Ronda Rousey defeating Charlotte Flair for the WWE "SmackDown" Women's Championship in an I Quit match was a nice touch to cap off their feud. And, as expected, Edge and AJ Styles put on another awesome performance, while Edge notably rounded out The Judgment Day with Rhea Ripley.
The best match of the night was surprisingly a six-man tag team match which featured no real stakes other than a bunch of guys who don't like each other going face-to-face. The Bloodline (Roman Reigns and The Usos) went up against Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro, and the match descended into chaos as Reigns put McIntyre through the announcer's table. The match had a great ending, too, as Matt Riddle hit Jey Uso with an RKO from the top rope before Reigns hit Riddle with a spear for the victory.
6. Crown Jewel, November 5
Saudi Arabia shows carry plenty of baggage because of the controversy surrounding the company holding shows there in the first place. Plus, most of the shows there have been severely underwhelming. But Crown Jewel 2022 was a solid show in-ring.
There were several matches that were just solid, like The Judgment Day vs. The O.C., The Usos vs. The Brawling Brutes and Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross in a steel cage. Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar worked a decent one too but it should've gone longer and seemed more like it was part two of a three-part series. And Braun Strowman vs. Omos was a slow "big meaty men" match that likely bored some viewers.
However, there were two matches that were a cut above the rest. Bianca Belair faced Bayley in a last woman standing match for the WWE "Raw" Women's Championship, and it was full of chaotic and sometimes hilarious shenanigans, like when Belair drove a golf cart down the entrance ramp with Bayley on top of the cart. The ending with Belair trapping Bayley inside of a ladder for the win was a creative end to a great match.
The other great match was, surprisingly, Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Reigns and Paul stole the show, having a banger (if not a slightly overbooked banger) of a match which included an awesome announcer's table spot by Paul that exploded on social media.
5. Hell in a Cell, June 5
Hell in a Cell was one of WWE's most top-heavy events of the year because it featured some solid matches but also two of the best matches of 2022.
Bobby Lashley vs. Omos and MVP and Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin were forgettable but they did put over their winners (Lashley and Moss) in good ways. Kevin Owens had a decent match with Ezekiel and Austin Theory had a good performance against Mustafa Ali as well, plus The Judgment Day had an entertaining battle against AJ Styles, Finn Bálor, and Liv Morgan before Bálor joined the group the next day. However, none of these matches were the true standouts of the night.
The first standout was one of the best women's matches of 2022: Bianca Belair successfully defending her WWE "Raw" Women's Championship against Becky Lynch and Asuka in a triple threat match. There's not much better than a good triple threat between awesome in-ring workers, and they showed exactly why they're some of the best in the business by keeping the audience guessing with plenty of near falls and creative two-on-one moves.
The main event between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match might have been the best match of the entire year. Rhodes worked the match with a torn pectoral muscle, bravely fighting through the injury and putting on a hell of a show while capping off a great storyline with Rollins.
4. SummerSlam, July 30
SummerSlam was the WWE's first premium live event following Vince McMahon's retirement. That means Triple H was in charge of creative, and it showed — which was a good thing.
First off, Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch put on a clinic in their WrestleMania 38 title rematch, ending with Belair hitting Lynch with a Spanish fly and KOD for the win. The post-match was great as well with Bayley returning with new friends — Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky (Io Shirai) — and it was even cooler to see Lynch turn face by standing by Belair on the stare-down.
The matches down the rest of the card were solid with Logan Paul showing off his wrestling skills against The Miz, while The Usos having yet another entertaining title match with The Street Profits. The real standout, though, was the main event — a Last Man Standing match Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Lesnar made his entrance on a tractor and jumped onto Reigns from the tractor once the bell rang. Later, Lesnar decided he wasn't done with the tractor and literally lifted half of the ring with it while Reigns was still inside the ring. This earned a huge pop from the crowd and an "I can't believe I did that" laugh from Lesnar. Reigns ended up winning after plenty more shenanigans in one of the most over-the-top matches in recent WWE memory.
3. WrestleMania 38, April 2-3
With 16 matches across two nights, there was plenty that went on during WrestleMania 38. And, thankfully, there was plenty to love.
Night One featured an epic title match between Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch, with Belair regaining the WWE "Raw" Women's Championship after losing it to Lynch in mere minutes at SummerSlam 2021. Night One also had the return of Cody Rhodes who had recently departed All Elite Wrestling. Rhodes arrived with his AEW character intact, music and all, to a warm welcome from the crowd. He worked a great return match with Seth Rollins, which kicked off a long, strong feud between them.
Night One ended with something unexpected: A return match for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a no holds barred match against Kevin Owens. Austin took way more bumps than many thought he was capable of and had a great showing overall, winning the match and celebrating with some beers and cheers.
Night Two wasn't quite as good as Night One, but still had quality matches including Edge vs. AJ Styles, Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory and Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. Even Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville in an anything goes match was hilarious, even if it was quite silly. Night Two also featured yet another appearance by Austin, who came out to help McAfee against Theory and Vince McMahon. Austin hit McMahon with (poetically) the worst-sold stunner of all time and finished with another beer-fueled celebration.
2. Survivor Series WarGames, November 26
WarGames matches were a hit in NXT, so it was a no-brainer for Triple H to bring them to the main roster.
The women's WarGames match kicked off the event and delivered, with Becky Lynch as the standout in her returning match after a short hiatus. The only dud from this event was Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi for the WWE "SmackDown" Women's Championship, which wasn't terrible but they didn't have much chemistry and Rousey was clearly going to win. Two other matches between the WarGames matches were AJ Styles vs. Finn Bálor in a great match as expected, plus Austin Theory vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins for the United States Championship in a fantastic triple threat that displayed tons of creativity by all three competitors.
The men's WarGames match had plenty of awesome in-ring spots as well, but it was the storytelling that actually made the show. The story with The Bloodline accepting Sami Zayn into their family as "Sami Uso" has been the WWE's (and maybe wrestling's) best storyline in 2022. Zayn having to decide between betraying The Bloodline or betraying his former best friend Kevin Owens was addicting television, especially since the outcome was not at all predictable.
The ending with Zayn hitting Owens with a low blow and allowing Jey Uso to capture the win for The Bloodline was shocking, and Jey embracing Zayn with a hug was even more surprising. It was a perfect pro wrestling narrative all around.
1. Clash at the Castle, September 3
The WWE's first major event in the UK since 1992 was a major hit and the best premium live event of 2022.
From start to finish the event was a classic. Damage CTRL faced off against Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka and set up a feud between Bayley and Belair, while Liv Morgan and Shayna Baszler had a good women's title match. Edge and Rey Mysterio wrestled an entertaining tag match against The Judgment Day, and afterwards Dominik Mysterio earned massive heat by hitting Edge with a low blow and Rey with a clothesline, kickstarting his heel turn.
There were three standout matches on the card that were either perfect or close to it. Seth Rollins took on Matt Riddle, which blew off an outstanding, personal-jab-filled buildup, and Roman Reigns wrestled a 30-minute clinic with Drew McIntyre that saw the debut of Solo Sikoa on the main roster. The best match of the night, however, was the second match on the card.
Sheamus vs. GUNTHER for the WWE Intercontinental Championship was a five-star match of the year candidate. Sheamus had been putting his best work as the leader of The Brawling Brutes, and his feud with GUNTHER may turn out to be the best of his successful career. Sheamus and GUNTHER wrestled an absolutely brutal, hard-hitting match that the crowd clearly loved. Gunther capturing the win was also a great way to put him over as a major threat in WWE.