Seth Rollins has added another accolade to his impressive wrestling career, being crowned the #1 wrestler of 2022 by Sports Illustrated.
The list, published this week, commends Rollins as having “wrestled the most compelling, convincing, and effective matches” for the past 12 months.
Rollins’ promos and character work have “brought him to a whole new level of greatness” according to the article.
In his Instagram Story, Rollins reacted to the ranking, saying “Thanks for the love. An honor to be a part of this list.”
Seth Rollins in 2022
Seth’s year started off strong as he challenged Universal Champion Roman Reigns and got a DQ win over the Tribal Chief, the only person to get a PLE victory over Reigns since his 2020 heel turn.
From there, Rollins would have an epic feud with the returning Cody Rhodes, and losing on three Premium Live Events did not damage Rollins’ stature at all.
After failing to win Money in the Bank, Rollins would engage in a deeply personal rivalry with Matt Riddle, and their postponed match for Summerslam would take place at Clash at the Castle.
Rollins defeated the Original Bro in Cardiff but would lose to Riddle by submission in the Fight Pit at WWE Extreme Rules.
In October, Rollins became a two-time U.S. Champion, defeating Bobby Lashley, a title he would hold until Survivor Series: WarGames, where he would lose to Austin Theory.
The Architect will challenge for the title on the first Raw of 2023.
The Rankings
Rollins may be number one, but Sports Illustrated had some difficult picks for the rest of the list.
The full ranking is as follows.
- Seth Rollins
- Jon Moxley
- WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair
- Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
- IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay
- AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter
- AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo
- IWGP World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood
- IWGP World Tag Team Champion Cash Wheeler
- Masha Slamovich
