Another month has come and gone, and you know what that means?! It's time to go over my picks for the best in wrestling. August was yet another tough month as there was a dizzying amount of great wrestling from all around the world, but I think I was able to pick some strong winners this time. In this post, I'll award my favorite male wrestler, female wrestler, tag team, stable, men's match, women's match, event, and company. In addition, I'll also include several honorable mentions for each category.
Just remember that this is all my opinion and you are entitled to your own. If you want to tell me your winners, or just want to say hi, head on over to my Twitter, @SoSBaseball. With all that out of the way, let's get down to business.
FAVORITE MALE WRESTLER
Will Ospreay (NJPW)
I'm not sure if I even need to explain why Will Ospreay won this month. This man has been on a run of matches that I'm not sure I've ever seen. Sure, it's one thing to be on a roll while competing in a tournament, like some have done in recent years, but it's a whole other thing to have done so while competing on three different continents.
Ospreay's immaculate month began in the G1 Climax, New Japan's premier heavyweight round robin tournament, where he took part in stand out clashes with David Finlay (8/10 match rating), Shingo Takagi (10/10), YOSHI-HASHI (8/10), and Tetsuya Naito (9/10), before then competing in my Match of the Year as of writing with Kazuchika Okada (∞/10) in the G1 Climax Final on August 18th. We will get to that match a little later.
The mad man followed that insane run of matches just a couple days later when he went back to his native UK and competed in a pair of tremendous clashes, first with Speedball Mike Bailey (9/10), and then Ricky Knight Jr. (9/10), for his RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Title, the latter match of which he lost. And then while most sane individuals would take some time and maybe rest a little bit, he then flew to the United States where he had two of the best trios matches AEW's ever had, first with Death Triangle (9/10), and then with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks (x/10).
It seems appropriate that the first man to be named my favorite wrestler of the month for the second time is the man who is also my favorite wrestler of the year, male or female. Ospreay has been through a lot in 2022, but he's still come out and had a dizzying number of amazing matches against wrestlers of all styles and nationalities. It's been a genuine pleasure to watch him in the ring, and I hope he continues what he's doing.
Honorable Mentions:
Kazuchika Okada (NJPW)
Kazusada Higuchi (DDT)
Kenoh (NOAH)
Kevin Owens (WWE)
Konosuke Takeshita (DDT/AEW)
Sami Zayn (WWE)
Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW)
FAVORITE FEMALE WRESTLER
Hazuki (Stardom)
10 months after she returned to full-time action after retiring from wrestling in 2019, Hazuki has started to flourish once again as one of the best upper mid-card wrestlers on Stardom's roster. The 24-year-old has been on a terrific string of matches in the 5STAR Grand Prix, and until the 28th, she had been undefeated in the competition.
She began her marathon back in July with a certified classic against Giulia on the 30th, and followed that up with strong wins against Starlight Kid, Natsupoi, Mina Shirakawa, MIRAI, and Suzu Suzuki. Not only has she been dominant in all these clashes, she's been believably dominant as well. While she is a cornerstone of the top babyface faction, STARS, she's unafraid to dip into more heelish tendencies, which is itself believable as she was a heel for most of her career prior to 2020.
Not only has Hazuki been putting in great work as a single, but she also took part in one of the promotion's most important tag team matches of the year in August as well. She and Koguma, who make up the only tag team to have won the Goddesses of Stardom tag belts more than once together, competed against Natsupoi and Tam Nakano for said belts at the "Stardom X Stardom" event on August 21st. And while "FWC" was unable to defend their belts once again, the match itself was really strong and well worth the watch.
I'm not sure if Hazuki is going to win the 5STAR this year, or even win her group, but this resurgence she's been experiencing has been genuinely fun to watch. I can't wait to see her continue to shake up the ring rust, whatever is left, and continue to climb up the ranks in the next several months. Long live the "Wild Heart"!
Honorable Mentions:
Bayley (WWE)
MIRAI (Stardom)
Momo Watanabe (Stardom)
Natsupoi (Stardom)
Rina Yamashita (Freelance)
Saya Kamitani (Stardom)
Suzu Suzuki (Freelance)
FAVORITE TAG TEAM
Cosmic Angels (Natsupoi and Tam Nakano)
It's amazing what a little bit of time can do. Two months ago, Natsupoi and Tam Nakano were at each other's throats. Natsupoi wanted to tear Nakano piece by piece, and Tam Nakano surely wanted to do the same thing. But after two incredible singles matches, including a brilliant cage match, and a dramatic betrayal that would make Shakespeare blush, Natsupoi and Tam Nakano became closer than best friends, and subsequently tag team partners. And surprise, they've become a dominant duo in Stardom.
My naming these two as my favorite tag team from August stems from two things; their incredible tandem offense and chemistry, and their meteoric rise up Stardom's tag team pyramid ending in them beating Hazuki and Koguma for the Goddesses of Stardom tag team titles. Not only is it exciting to see a fresh tag team at the top of the mountain, as Hazuki and Koguma had seemingly beat everyone over the past year, but it's also a fun new wrinkle to add to this ever developing story between the two partners.
It'll take a little more time to see how these two do as a duo, as it's hard to judge off only a handful of matches, but I'm confident that their run if going to be special. Tam Nakano is one of the best in the world at telling stories as a champion, and to me, Natsupoi is one of the most underrated storytellers in the business. So while it might seem a little soon to crown these two as my pick this month, my excitement for the future of Stardom's tag team division makes them a worthy choice.
If you haven't already, definitely check out Natsupoi and Nakano's title winning match against FWC if you can. It's not the greatest tag match Stardom's had this year, but the ending is really good and worth the time spent alone.
Poi!
Honorable Mentions:
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis - NJPW)
Burning (Jun Akiyama and Tetsuya Endo - DDT)
FWC (Hazuki and Koguma - Stardom)
Harimao (Kazusada Higuchi and Naomi Yoshimura - DDT)
FAVORITE FACTION
The United Empire (NJPW)
When looking at the United Empire's case for my favorite stable of the month, you wouldn't be totally wrong to assume that most of it comes down to Will Ospreay's otherworldly run in August. However, when you look at everything the other UE members did, then I think it's fair to say that they proved to be a cut above the rest.
In New Japan, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare all had standout matches during the G1 Climax. Khan secured victories over Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi, and had a strong showing against Jay White. Cobb looked strong in his two devastating losses in the G1 against tournament debutants JONAH and Tom Lawlor. And fellow G1 rookie Henare had some of his best singles matches of his career against Tetsuya Naito and KENTA. Although they all failed to secure a spot in the semifinals, they did make up for it in a small way as they combined to go 8-1 in multi-man tag matches in August.
Elsewhere, TJP had a pretty quiet month, but he did put in some strong work on New Japan Strong, culminating in challenging Fred Rosser for the NJPW Strong Championship in a match that has yet to air. Francesco Akira had a really good match against Luke Jacobs for the RevPro Undisputed British Cruiserweight title during the first night of RevPro's 10th Anniversary event. And of course, Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis of Aussie Open nearly stole my favorite tag team of the month award from Cosmic Angels as they began their run with the NJPW Strong Tag titles with defenses against Connor Mills and Michael Oku of "Destination Everywhere" and the West Coast Wrecking Crew.
They also announced the addition of a new member, Gideon Grey from RevPro. I'm not going to pretend to know who he is, but I'm eager to find out. All of this added with Will Ospreay's unreal run make the United Empire my clear winner from this past month. Here's hoping these guys can continue their world domination.
Honorable Mentions:
Bayley, Dakota Kai, IYO SKY (WWE)
Bloodline (Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn - WWE)
Cosmic Angels (Hikari Shimizu, Mina Shirakawa, Natsupoi, Rina Amikura, SAKI, Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka, Waka Tsukiyama, Yuko Sakurai - Stardom)
Death Triangle (PAC, Penta El Cero Miedo, Rey Fenix - AEW)
The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson - AEW)
FAVORITE MATCH (MALE)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night 20, 8/18)
If you watch any bit of Japanese wrestling, then this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. This match has been lauded by countless people across the Internet. It received over five stars from Uncle Dave. The AEW commentators spoke highly of it when Ospreay appeared on Dynamite a few days following the contest. And it's become a major talking point for people who tout Ospreay as the Wrestler of the Year. So suffice to say, I'm preaching to the choir.
When Ospreay finally put Tetsuya Naito down on August 17th in the semi-finals of the G1 Climax, and I saw that the "Billy GOAT" was set to take on his Japanese nemesis, the "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada, I admit that my expectations were sky high. These two have always had spectacular chemistry, dating back to when the two of them were buddies in the CHAOS faction, yet their work together has only improved as Ospreay bulked up and became a heavyweight.
Their previous encounter at Wrestle Kingdom back in January nearly won my match of the month, only to lose out to the incredible bout between Nakajima/Shiozaki from NOAH, but nowhere in my mind did I expect that these two would be able to top that war.
Ospreay was always going to be the underdog against Okada, especially as he's only defeated him on one occasion, that being thanks to outside interference. But boy, did he pull out everything and then some to make me believe he was finally going to do it on that night. During their magnificent 34 minute bout, Ospreay pulled out finishers that have previous put Okada down, like Hiroshi Tanahashi's "High Fly Flow" and AJ Styles' "Styles Clash", and he was close to hitting the devastating "One Winged Angel", Kenny Omega's finisher, yet Okada was able to barely escape the move that put him away in the Summer of 2018.
What Ospreay was able to do, however, was successfully kick out of Okada's famed "Rainmaker" finisher, something that always makes me pop when properly done. These two did everything they could to make me doubt the result I had in my mind up until the very end when Okada finally put his adversary away with a second Rainmaker.
With the win, Okada has a one-way ticket to the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4th, 2023, and a date with destiny for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, currently held by Jay White. Now with 4, he's now one G1 Climax victory away from tying Masahiro Chono for the most G1 victories in history, something that will almost certainly happen as Okada is the man in New Japan, and he's only 34 years old. And as a major Okada fan, I hope he can do it.
For Ospreay's part, he was able to weave a tremendous story in this match, fighting as a hard-working underdog. And you can tell that the local NJPW fanbase has been taking notice. The moment he finally defeats Okada clean in the ring will be massive, and his subsequent babyface run will almost certainly take him to heights even I never thought were possible.
Suffice to say, watch this match if you haven't done already!
Honorable Mentions:
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW Battle of the Belts III, 8/6)
Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night 12, 8/6)
Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night 19, 8/19)
Kazusada Higuchi vs. Tetsuya Endo (DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2022, 8/20)
Kyle Fletcher, & Mark Davis, Will Ospreay vs. PAC, Penta El Cero Miedo, & Rey Fenix (AEW Dynamite, 8/24)
FAVORITE MATCH (FEMALE)
MIRAI vs. Suzu Suzuki (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 5, 8/11)
Stardom's 5STAR this year has once again been one of the best things I've watched in wrestling all year. The tournament began in July with a pair of excellent main event clashes between Hazuki vs. Giulia on July 30th and Utami Hayashishita vs. Syuri on July 31st, and the hits have kept on rolling in August. The show on August 11th featured a plethora of great matches like Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid, AZM vs. Tam Nakano, and Utami Hayashishita vs. Risa Sera. The August 13th card had Hazuki vs. Mina Shirakawa and Saya Kamitani vs. Natsupoi. And the 8/14 and 8/20 shows carried the torch forward as well.
But going back to that August 11th event, you'll find the shiniest diamond of them all, the best match from this magnificent marathon as of the first eight events. That match in question, and my favorite female match of the month, is the hellaciously physical contest between MIRAI and Suzu Suzuki.
MIRAI came into this night five clash looking for a bounce back win after she broke her two-match win streak, during which she beat Mayu Iwatani and Giulia. The obstacle in her way stood on the opposite side of the ring was the deathmatch prodigy, Suzu Suzuki, who had yet to compete in the 5STAR as she had gone down with COVID at the end of July.
The key word for this match was "physical". These two went to war for 13 minutes and 49 seconds, and it felt like every move and every attack meant something. MIRAI's main strategy to win revolved Suzuki's arm. She was going to do everything she could to break Suzuki's arm. On the other hand, Suzu's whole strategy to secure her victory revolved around surviving MIRAI's onslaught and land ferocious strikes and suplexes to find an opening. Unfortunately for Suzuki, however, she was not strong enough to survive was untamed ferocity MIRAI showcased toward the end of the bout.
MIRAI successfully got back on track in the 5STAR, and Suzuki, while she did lose, came out looking like the defiant warrior everyone knows that she is. This was a fantastic match, an easy match of the tournament favorite so far, and a potential finalist for my favorite female match of the year. It'll have take something pretty special to reach the heights this one did.
Honorable Mentions:
Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 5, 8/11)
ASUKA vs. Saki Akai (DDT Road to Peter Pan 2022 in Korakuen, 8/14)
Natsupoi and Tam Nakano vs. Hazuki and Koguma (Stardom X Stardom 2022, 8/21)
Saya Kamitani vs. Himeka (Stardom X Stardom 2022, 8/21)
Natsupoi vs. Suzu Suzuki (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 9, 8/27)
FAVORITE SHOW
DDT Wrestle Peter Pan (8/20)
I think it's safe to say that there were quite a few really entertaining events from around the world that couldn't staked it's claim as my favorite from this past month. New Japan had a few standout cards, as did Stardom, AEW, WWE, NOAH, and RevPro. But one event from the often misunderstood DDT promotion in Japan finally won in the end. DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2022 gave me the perfect encapsulation as to what makes Dramatic Dream Team one of the most interesting and unique promotions on the planet, and therefore is my winner for the month.
It could be argued that the show suffered from "Marquee Japanese Wrestling Show Syndrome", which is to say that it was one of those shows that featured far too many multi-man matches as to get everyone and their cat on the card, but the resulting matches still mostly worked for me. Peter Pan started out with a really strong opening match featuring some truly promising rookies and then rolled on with comedy sleaze, solid in-ring technical work, and odd matchups only DDT can make work, before finally reaching the more important matches.
The unofficial fifth pillar of heaven, Jun Akiayama, teamed up with Saki Akai to take on Chris Brookes and ASUKA (Veny in the states), in what was a fun mixed tag team clash. Then, the often maligned Joey Janela had an admittedly pretty solid comedy deathmatch of sorts with Shunma Katsumata for the DDT Extreme Championship, a belt Janela had previously won a week prior in a really fun match with Akito. They were swiftly followed by another good bout between the incredibly talented Yuki Ueno and the best rock, paper, scissors pro wrestler in history, Masahiro Takanashi, for the DDT Universal Championship. And then DDT's favorite son, Konosuke Takeshita, made his long awaited return after tearing the American scene up for the past several months, teaming up with MAO and Yaso Urano against Daisuke Sasaki, KANON, and Dick Togo.
The show's main event was a KO-D Openweight Championship bout between the current champion, Kazusada Higuchi, and the belt's former holder before he had to drop it in June, Tetsuya Endo. This was a fresh matchup, and one that exceeded my expectations. It was a bonafide match of the year contender, and could've won my male match of the month had it no been for Okada and Ospreay. Higuchi left Peter Pan, DDT's biggest show of the year, a much bigger star than he was prior, and I for one am excited to see how he fares as champion moving forward.
DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2022 might not have had the cache that some other shows from this past month, nor did it have as many bangers as others, but I feel that it best encapsulated the company that promoted. DDT has many things; it's got comedy, it's got deathmatch, it's got technical acumen, it's got some of the best wrestlers on the planet, and it's got some of the best wrestling right now. I'll be following DDT more closely for the rest of the year, and who knows? Maybe they'll take my favorite promotion of the month down the road?
Honorable Mentions:
NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night 12 (8/6)
Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 5 (8/11)
DDT Road To Peter Pan 2022 In Korakuen Hall (8/14)
AEW Dynamite #150 (8/17)
NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night 19 (8/17)
BONUS: Garden State PW Thy Kingdom Come (8/27)
FAVORITE PROMOTION
Stardom
Stardom once again takes the prize for my favorite promotion thanks largely to the strength of their 5STAR Grand Prix shows. The company held eight events for their annual round robin tournament, six of which I've watched as of writing, and all of those featured terrific action and memorable moments. Their August 11th event was an easy highlight for me, as you can see in my honorable mentions for my favorite show of the month, but high marks also go to their 8/6 and 8/14 cards.
Aside from the 5STAR, Stardom held other notable shows that were not affiliated with the tournament. On 8/21, they put on a major pay-per-view event called "Stardom X Stardom" in Nagoya, and on 8/26, they promoted the fourth "New Blood" event. My excitement for Stardom X Stardom was somewhat diminished after KAIRI was forced to step away from her Wonder of Stardom title match after she test positive for COVID. However, the show was still good overall and the replacement Wonder of Stardom bout between Saya Kamitani and Himeka was a terrific styles clash.
New Blood 4, on the other hand, was a terrific show filled with consistently good to really good matches and some exciting storyline developments, namely Syuri adding Tomoka Inaba to God's Eye and Hanan's strong10th defense of the Future of Stardom belt. These shows are always at the very least tremendously watchable, but some of the highlights already mentioned made this the best in the series so far.
With news that Stardom is going to be touring more often in the states with New Japan, the now 2nd biggest wrestling company in Japan continues to be the most exciting and interesting thing in the sport right now. I'll be at the "Rumble on 44th Street" event in October and cannot wait to finally see some of my favorite wrestlers on Earth compete in person for the first time ever.
Honorable Mentions:
DDT
DPW
NJPW
NOAH
WWE
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Wrestler(s)
January (Male/Female) - Dragon Dia (Dragongate)
February (Male/Female) - MJF (AEW)
March (Male) - Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW)
March (Female) - KAIRI (Stardom)
April (Male) - Wheeler Yuta (AEW)
April (Female) - AZM (Stardom)
May (Male) - El Desperado (NJPW)
May (Female) - ASUKA/VENY (Freelance)
June (Male) - Will Ospreay (NJPW)
June (Female) - Miyuki Takase (Freelance)
July (Male) - Claudio Castagnoli (AEW/ROH)
July (Female) - Natsupoi (Stardom)
August (Male) - Will Ospreay (NJPW) (2nd)
August (Female) - Hazuki (Stardom)
Tag Team(s)
January - D'Courage (Dragon Dia and Yuki Yoshioka - Dragongate)
February - 37KAMIINA (Konosuke Takeshita and Yuki Ueno - DDT)
March - Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley - AEW)
April - FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood - AEW/ROH)
May - F.W.C. (Hazuki and Koguma - Stardom)
June - FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood - AEW) (2nd)
July - FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood - AEW) (3rd)
August - Cosmic Angels (Natsupoi and Tam Nakano - Stardom)
Faction
January - Prominence (Freelance)
February - House of Black (AEW)
March - Donna Del Mondo (Stardom)
April - Blackpool Combat Club (AEW)
May - God's Eye (Stardom)
June - Natural Vibes (Dragongate)
July - Blackpool Combat Club (AEW) (2nd)
August - The United Empire (NJPW)
Match
January (Male/Female) - Go Shiozaki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH The New Year, 1/1)
February (Male/Female) - AZM vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom Cinderella Journey In Nagaoka, 2/23)
March (Male/Female) - Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW New Japan Cup Night 13, 3/26)
April (Male/Female) - FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers (ROH Supercard of Honor, 4/1)
May (Male/Female) - El Phantasmo vs. Robbie Eagles (NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 9, 5/26)
June (Male) - Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door, 6/26)
June (Female) - Miyuki Takase vs. Miyu Yamashita (DPW No Pressure, 6/5)
July (Male) - FTR vs. Briscoe Brothers (ROH Death Before Dishonor, 7/23)
July (Female) - Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch (WWE SummerSlam, 7/30)
August (Male) - Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax 32 Night 20, 8/18)
August (Female) - MIRAI vs. Suzu Suzuki (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 5, 8/11)
Show
January - Stardom Nagoya Supreme Fight (1/29)
February - Stardom Cinderella Journey In Nagaoka (2/23)
March - AEW Revolution (3/6)
April - ROH Supercard of Honor (4/1)
May - Hana Kimura Produce "Bagus" (5/23)
June - AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door (6/26)
July - WWE SummerSlam (7/30)
August - DDT Wrestle Peter Pan (8/20)
Promotion
January - Stardom
February - All Elite Wrestling
March - New Japan Pro Wrestling
April - Stardom (2nd)
May - New Japan Pro Wrestling (2nd)
June - Pro Wrestling WAVE
July - WWE
August - Stardom (3rd)
Every Match of the Year Candidate in 2022 from June (9/10s or higher)
(Note: Italics means it was my match of the month)
8/6 - Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 12)
8/6 - Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW Battle of the Belts III)
8/6 - Konosuke Takeshita vs. Andrew Everett (DPW Believe the Hype)
8/7 - JONAH vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 13)
8/10 - Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 15)
8/11 - Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 5)
8/11 - MIRAI vs. Suzu Suzuki (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 5)
8/15 - Drew McIntyre vs. Kevin Owens (WWE Monday Night RAW)
8/17 - Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia (AEW Dynamite)
8/17 - Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 19)
8/17 - Kenoh vs. Go Shiozaki (NOAH N-1 Victory 2022 Night 4)
8/18 - Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW G1 Climax 2022 Night 20)
8/19 - Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet vs. Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss (WWE SmackDown #1200)
8/20 - Kazusada Higuchi vs. Tetsuya Endo (DDT Wrestle Peter Pan 2022)
8/20 - Will Ospreay vs. Speedball Mike Bailey (RevPro Ten Year Anniversary Night 1)
8/21 - Will Ospreay vs. Ricky Knight Jr. (RevPro Ten Year Anniversary Night 2)
8/21. -Saya Kamitani vs. Himeka (Stardom X Stardom 2022)
8/24 - Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, & Mark Davis vs. PAC, Penta El Cero Miedo, & Rey Fenix (AEW Dynamite)
8/27 - Maika vs. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 9)
8/27 - Giulia vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 Night 9)
8/31 - Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson vs. Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, & Mark Davis (AEW Dynamite)
Most Match of the Year Candidates (As of 9/1):
1st. Will Ospreay - 14
2nd. Syuri - 9
3rd. Jon Moxley - 8
T4th. Kazuchika Okada, Shingo Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii - 7
T7th. El Desperado, Konosuke Takeshita - 6
T9th. Giulia, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenoh, Starlight Kid - 5
T13th. Bandido, Dax Harwood, Hiromu Takahashi, Kaito Kiyomiya, MIRAI, Saya Kamitani, Tam Nakano, Wheeler Yuta, Zack Sabre Jr. - 4
Special thanks to WhoScored, Transfermarkt, Baseball Reference, Baseball Savant, Fangraphs, Cagematch, and 1.02.JP for helping make me a more well-informed fan.
Featured Image Credit - NJPW
Contact me at AndrewSoS@protonmail.com if you want to collaborate!