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As 2022 draws to a close, many WWE Superstars will look back upon the last 12 months with great pride and awe in all they accomplished.
Roman Reigns had another fantastic year and Sami Zayn revived his career through his Honorary Uce gimmick. Meanwhile, Austin Theory's year has been a rollercoaster ride but ends the year on a good note.
However, a plethora of talent would want to forget 2022. This list also includes some injured Superstars and victims of poor booking.
#5. Former WWE Champion Big E had a terrible year
2021 was very kind to Big E. The PowerHouse of Positivity started the year as Intercontinental Champion, won the Money in the Bank contract in July, and successfully cashed in later to become WWE Champion. E held the top prize heading into 2022.
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However, he lost the WWE Championship at Day 1, the first day of the new year. Not only that, Brock Lesnar pinned him in a Fatal-Five Way to win the title. The former IC Champion quickly fell down the pecking order. E had an unimpressive showing in the Rumble match and didn't wrestle in the Elimination Chamber match.
Soon after, he re-entered the tag-team division, reuniting with Kofi Kingston. His downward spiral continued as he suffered a career-threatening neck injury during a tag match. This occurred off a botched overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex from Ridge Holland that caused E to land on his head.
E has not returned to in-ring action and is still in recovery. Although not much could be done following his injury, the three months he was active were deplorable. Within sixty days, The Powerhouse of The New Day fell from WWE Champion, the face of the RAW brand, to just another guy on the roster.
#4. Kevin Owens
Like 2021, Kevin Owens' last twelve months were quite mediocre. He has very few memorable moments to look back upon. On The Road to WrestleMania, KO, as a heel, began a feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, repeatedly hurling insults at The Texas Rattlesnake and his hometown.
At 'Mania, Owens lost to Austin in an impromptu encounter. This was the main event of Night One, but it was short-sighted to pin and humiliate KO in front of the live crowd. The decision to have The Texas Rattlesnake was understandable, and may have been a dream for The Prizefighter, but it won't do WWE any favors in the long run.
The former Universal Champion then began an intriguing narrative with Ezekiel. Owens was convinced that Ezekiel wasn't Elias' younger brother but The Drifter himself. While their program was an entertaining change from usual storylines, KO belonged in the main event scene.
Towards the end of 2022, The Prizefighter resumed his never-ending feud with The Bloodline, presumably turning face for the program. However, Sami Zayn, his real-life best friend, sided with Roman Reigns and company. At Survivor Series, Zayn betrayed Owens to prove his loyalty to the Samoan faction.
For many months, KO was directionless. He lost many big matches and won no major championships. As such, 2022 will go down as one of the least memorable twelve months of his career.
#3. Future WWE Hall of Famer Brock Lesnar had an underwhelming year
It is hard to see how someone who won the Royal Rumble, WWE Championship, and main-evented WrestleMania could have an underwhelming. But that was precisely the case for Brock Lesnar, who is held to sky-high expectations by the entire wrestling world.
The Beast Incarnate won the WWE Title at Day 1, dropped it to Bobby Lashley at the Rumble, and outlasted twenty-nine other men to win the thirty-man melee. He regained the WWE Title at Elimination Chamber, which marked the beginning of his downward spiral.
In "The Biggest WrestleMania Match of All Time," Lesnar lost to Roman Reigns in the main event of The Show of Shows. Reigns walked out as the Undisputed Unified WWE Universal Champion. The Conqueror later re-emerged to challenge his arch-nemesis in a Last Man Standing Match at SummerSlam.
At SummerSlam, Lesnar seemed mortal and human as The Tribal Chief put The Beast Incarnate down for a ten-count. The ten-time World Champion returned to resume his feud with Bobby Lashley. They fought at WWE Crown Jewel, where Lesnar survived Lashley by pinning him in the most unconvincing way possible.
The All Mighty executed a post-match assault, leaving his opponent reeling on the ropes. Lesnar hasn't been seen since. For a man who ended The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak and dominated John Cena in a squash match, to many, Brock Lesnar looked weak this year.
The Beast Incarnate was the clear loser in his program with The Head of The Table, a feud he was almost destined to lose. Bobby Lashley has been the aggressor in his rivalry with Lesnar. Given the reputation The Conqeruor has built, he looked like a shell of his former self.
#2. The Phenomenal AJ Styles didn't have a phenomenal year
In 2021, AJ Styles became a mainstay in the tag-team division. Alongside Omos, Styles was tasked with elevating the scene, and the tandem held the RAW Tag Titles. This year, The Phenomenal One was poised to break out again as a singles star, perhaps challenging for the World Championship again.
However, that wasn't the case. His first significant feud of the year was against Edge, who had turned heel and attempted to unleash the pitbull inside his rival. However, Styles' program with The Rated-R Superstar underwhelmed partially due to the burden of sky-high expectations. Overbooking their matches didn't help, either.
Unfortunately, The Phenomenal One couldn't pin The Hall of Famer even once. He lost at Mania due to an odd distraction from Damian Priest. Styles suffered the same fate at WrestleMania Backlash when Rhea Ripley interfered to allow Edge to submit his arch-nemesis. Following the abrupt culmination of his program with The Ultimate Opportunist, he faded out of the spotlight.
Styles became a secondary player in Logan Paul vs. The Miz, supporting the latter and running interference on his behalf. The former WWE Champion then embarked on an unsuccessful U.S. Title pursuit. He finally gained some direction when he started a program with Finn Balor.
Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and later Mia Yim returned to level the playing field against The Judgement Day. At Survivor Series, The Phenomenal One defeated Balor to end his three-year-long losing streak at premium live events. One would think this would herald a change in fortunes, but The O.C. has been completely directionless lately.
He won no championships this year, lost a significant rivalry to Edge, and failed to put up a memorable classic. Not to say his matches were terrible, but they weren't near his masterpieces with John Cena in 2016-17.
#1. 2022 may have been the worst year of Rey Mysterio's life
2021 may have been a fantastic year for Rey Mysterio, at least on a personal level, because he achieved his vision of teaming up with his son, Dominik Mysterio. However, 2022 could be the worst of his career, and no one would want to be in his current position.
The primary focus here would be the latter half of 2022. In the first six months, Rey and Dominik did nothing significant apart from a feud with The Miz and Logan Paul that culminated in a loss at WrestleMania 38. However, in June, the father-son duo began a storyline with The Judgment Day.
Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and especially Rhea Ripley tormented Rey and his entire family, primarily his son. Ripley attempted to pry Dominik away from The Master of the 619. However, things turned sour when Edge returned to exact revenge on the same faction that ousted him. Unfortunately, he inadvertently drove a wedge between the father-son duo.
Rey was put in a difficult position to choose between his son and friend in Edge. Opting for the latter cost him because the 25-year-old turned on his father at WWE Clash at the Castle. Dominik left no stone unturned when torturing his "deadbeat dad," going as far as to invade their home at Thanksgiving to assault the former IC Champion in front of his family.
The Judgment Day and Dominik's despicable actions forced the masked luchador to consider retirement, but Triple H sent him to SmackDown. He became Number One Contender to the IC Title on the blue brand, but couldn't win the workhorse championship. To cap off a forgettable year, Rey Mysterio suffered a short-term leg injury.
Vince Russo answers who killed WCW HERE
