Superstar Of The Week « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database

17/2023: Cole Radrick

Over the past few years, Cole Radrick has quickly emerged as a standout of the independent wrestling circuit, especially in his home area of the Midwest. In the main event of the BLP 2 Cold 2 Hold pay-per-view event on 29.04.2023, "Raddy Daddy" defeated Billie Starkz, Alec Price, and Skye Blue to win the BLP Heavyweight Title, arguably his biggest accomplishment to date. Radrick adds his name to a long list of prestigious wrestlers to hold the BLP Heavyweight Championship, including Tom Lawlor, Jordynne Grace, Ethan Page, and PCO. From everyone here at CAGEMATCH.net, we applaud Cole for becoming the new BLP Heavyweight Champion, as well as for being named our Superstar Of The Week!

16/2023: Tam Nakano

The saga between Giulia and Tam Nakano has continued once again in front of a big Yokohama crowd at Stardom's All Star Grand Queendom. The two rivals had another battle for a title, this time the World Of Stardom Championship was on the line, held by Donna del Mondo leader Giulia. In a very good match Tam Nakano defeated her rival for the Wonder Of Stardom Championship to crown herself as the World Of Stardom Champion for the very first time in her career after failing to win the title last year. We at CAGEMATCH.net would like to congratulate Tam Nakano for becoming the World Of Stardom Champion and to being named our Superstar Of The Week!

15/2023: Steve Maclin

The former Steve Cutler of The Forgotten Sons in WWE, Steve Maclin earned an opportunity at the Impact World Championship after pinning Heath in a four-way match that also included Brian Myers and PCO at the No Surrender PPV event on 24.02.2023. After Josh Alexander was forced to relinquish the Impact World Title due to injury, Maclin was booked against and went on to defeat Kushida in a singles match for the vacant Impact World Championship at Rebellion on 16.04.2023. Congratulations to Steve Maclin for winning the top prize in Impact Wrestling, in addition to being named the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

14/2023: SANADA

After seven years in New Japan Pro Wrestling SANADA's journey to become a World Heavyweight Champion came to an end when he defeated Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the place where he made his debut back then by attacking Kazuchika Okada after all to help Tetsuya Naito to become IWGP Champion. The last weeks have been pretty busy for SANADA with leaving Los Ingobernables de Japón, joining Just Four Guys and ultimately winning the New Japan Cup. From everyone here at CAGEMATCH.net we would like to congratulate SANADA on becoming the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and for being voted as our Superstar Of The Week!

13/2023: Rhea Ripley

After winning the women's Royal Rumble match on 28.01.2023, Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley challenged Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 39. Rhea had previously lost to Charlotte at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, and leading up to WrestleMania 39, Flair made Ripley very much aware of this fact. At WrestleMania 39 - Tag 1 on 01.04.2023, Ripley defeated Flair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship. With this victory, Ripley became the seventh Women's Triple Crown champion, the fifth Women's Grand Slam champion, and the youngest grand slam champion in WWE history at 26-years old. From everyone here at CAGEMATCH.net, we would like to congratulate Rhea Ripley on her recent accomplishments, as well as for being voted Superstar Of The Week!

12/2023: Tomoya Hirata

From his humble beginnings at the FREEDOMS Dojo in 2017 to now becoming world champion in 2023, Tomoya Hirata has already left his mark on the wrestling business in a relatively short amount of time. After losing the King Of FREEDOM World Tag Team Titles alongside his partner Toru Sugiura, Hirata turned his eyes towards the biggest prize FREEDOMS has to offer, the King Of FREEDOM World Championship. In front of a packed at Korakuen, Hirata managed to defeat Violento Jack in a dangerous death match to become the 18th King Of FREEDOM World Champion. Congratulations to Tomoya Hirata on winning the King Of Freedom World Title and for being named Superstar Of The Week by all of us at CAGEMATCH.net!

11/2023: Masha Slamovich

After a brilliant weekend in Germany, Masha Slamovich returned to her hometown of New York City to challenge GCW legend Nick Gage for the Game Changer Wrestling World Championship in front of her family and friends. After a grueling 20-minute match in the squared circle with a formidable opponent like Gage, Slamovich overcame interference from Blake Christian with the help of her boyfriend AKIRA. She ultimately defeated Gage for the title with a piledriver and a rear -aked choke, forcing the current champ to tap out. Congratulations to Masha Slamovich on winning the GCW World Championship and being named Superstar Of The Week by CAGEMATCH.net!

10/2023: Shigehiro Irie

The stakes couldn't have been any higher: this year's 16 Carat Gold Tournament was not only for the prestigeous trophy that comes along with a future world title opportunity, but for the first time ever the winner of 16 Carat Gold would be crowned the new wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion. After three days it came down to Shigehiro Irie and Axel Tischer in the finals. While the 'Axeman' was the odds-on favorite on paper as a former two-time champion, 'Beastmode' was certainly the sentimental favorite going into this match. And much to the delight of the fans in Oberhausen Irie was able to defeat Tischer via referee stoppage after a hard-fought battle to win 16 Carat Gold 2023. That victory not only made him the new wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion, but also CAGEMATCH's Superstar Of The Week!

09/2023: Jason Lee

Jason Lee did it! After being with Dragongate for six long years the man from Hong Kong finally won his first ever singles title at Champion Gate. In an exciting match he defeated the current champion Minorita in just twelve minutes to capture the Open The Brave Gate Championship at the EDION Arena in Osaka. After failing in three Brave Gate title matches before the 30 year-old crowned himself as a singles champion. From everyone here at CAGEMATCH.net, we congratulate Jason Lee on winning his first ever singles championship in Dragongate and for being named the Superstar Of The Week!

08/2023: Ricky Knight Jr.

After having a great 2022, Ricky Knight Jr. continues his hot streak this year by challenging former WWE superstar Big Damo fka Killian Dain for the PROGRESS Atlas Championship. In a real test against a bigger opponent RKJ showed that he got the mental ability and the strength to beat such a well known opponent like "The Beast Of Belfast". It was at the famous Electric Ballroom in the heart of London where RKJ grabbed another opportunity to win a title of a big domestic promotion. Congratulations RKJ for becoming the new PROGRESS Atlas Champion and for becoming our Superstar Of The Week!

07/2023: Yuji Nagata

Yuji Nagata may be 54 years of age, but he made history over the weekend with his match against six-time Triple Crown Champion Kento Miyahara. "Blue Justice" is now just one of five men who has captured all three major titles of the Japanese "Big Three" promotions, including New Japan Pro Wrestling (2002), Pro Wrestling NOAH (2014), and All Japan Pro Wrestling. A true Grand Slam Champion. And it's also the right time to crown Yuji Nagata as our Superstar Of The Week for the fifth time after a 15-year dry spell. What a weekend for "Blue Justice," and congratulations, legend!

06/2023: Jordan Oliver

At just 23 years of age, Jordan Oliver has wrestled stars of the independent wrestling scene, such as YAMATO, Tony Deppen, and Matt Cardona, during his career. Last weekend, he wrestled for JCW, the sister company of Game Changer Wrestling, and was able to overcome Alex Shelley, Joey Janela, and even Mike Bailey to win the JCW Jersey J-Cup 2023. Not only did he win the tournament, but he also also won his first bigger singles title, the JCW Championship, making hi the inaugural titleholder. Congratulations, Jordan, for this accomplishment, and congratulations for becoming our Superstar Of The Week!

05/2023: Violento Jack

It may be already Jack's fourth King Of FREEDOM World title win in his 18 year long career but capturing the title of one of the hottest deathmatch wrestlers out there is quite something. Even more important is the fact that Jack and now former champion Drew Parker are stablemates of ERE, in which the welshman outstripped the mexican and became some sort of a leader of the faction. Jack's surprisingly challenge became a nightmare for Parker when the masked man locked in his dangerous mexican stretch for the title victory. Jack not only won his fourth King Of FREEDOM World title but he's also our Superstar Of The Week!

04/2023: Rhea Ripley

While going into the Women's Royal Rumble Match as one of the favourites, Rhea Ripley faced the biggest of odds when she had to enter the contest as entrant #1. But in the end it was indeed the 26-year old Australian who outlasted all of her 29 competitors to win the 2023 Royal Rumble Match. In the process she eliminated six superstars by herself and set a new women's record with a total match time of 61:08 minutes. Rhea Ripley is going to WrestleMania - as our Superstar Of The Week!

03/2023: Jay Briscoe

Former two-time ROH World Champion and 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, Jay Briscoe, tragically passed away on 17.01.2023. The Briscoe Brothers, of which Jay was a part of alongside his brother, Mark, for nearly 23 years, were one of the most beloved and decorated tag teams in modern pro wrestling history. Aside from their storied careers in Ring of Honor, the Briscoes also held tag team gold in numerous companies worldwide, such as New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Impact Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, and Combat Zone Wrestling, just to name a few. All of us at CAGEMATCH.net were fans of Jay Briscoe and watched him grace the ring for many years. He will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with Jay's family, friends, and fans at this time.

02/2023: Mickie James

Back in September 2022, Mickie James announced her "Last Rodeo" tour, which meant that she would have to retire if she were to lose a match again. However, Mickie stated that if she was able to keep on winning and capture the Impact Knockouts Championship, her career would continue on. After a string of impressive victories over the past several months, Mickie earned the right to challenge Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Title in the main event of Hard To Kill 2023 on 13.01.2023. It was Mickie James, who pinned champion Jordynne Grace in a near-20 minute contest, thereby becoming the new Knockouts Champion, as well as being able to continue on with her in-ring career in the process.

01/2023: Kazuchika Okada

It's funny that, with all his accolades, Kazuchika Okada had to wait seven long years to get his hands back on the CAGEMATCH Superstar Of The Week Award. After losing the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship last summer against Jay White, Okada came back better than ever when he won the prestigious G1 Climax tournament for a second straight year in a row and move on to Wrestle Kingdom 17 to challenge for the biggest price in New Japan Pro Wrestling. In front of a packed house in the Tokyo Dome "The Rainmaker" was then able to beat his former stablemate "Switchblade" after thirty-three minutes to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Title back. That big win does not only make Okada a seven-time champion, but also our first Superstar Of The Week of 2023.

52/2022: Giulia

Back in October, Giulia became our Superstar Of The Week after coming out on top of the 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 tournament. By winning the 5STAR Grand Prix, Giulia earned the right to challenge Syuri for the World Of Stardom Title on 29.12.2022 at Dream Queendom 2022. In a near 30-minute main event match, "Beautiful Madness" Giulia pinned Syuri following a Glorious Northern Lights Bomb to win the World Of Stardom Championship, Stardom's top prize, for the very first time. For this reason, the CAGEMATCH.net team has selected Giulia to be Superstar Of The Week once again!

51/2022: Minorita

The 25-year old, 156 cm sidekick of Ben-K, Minorita was granted an Open The Brave Gate Title match against H.Y.O after he defeated Ryu Fuda in a heated game of rock paper scissors. At Dragon Gate's The Final Gate event on 25.12.2022, Minorita pinned H.Y.O. to win the Open The Brave Gate Championship, ending H.Y.O.'s reign at 148 days. From everyone here at CAGEMATCH.net, we congratulate Minorita on winning his first-ever singles championship and for being named the Superstar Of The Week!

50/2022: Levaniel

He's fighting "Für die Liebe" (eng.: For the love) and boy he did that on saturday when Levaniel finally captured the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship after defeating frenchman Tristan Archer at wXw's 22nd Anniversary show. The homegrown talent had quite a year with having multiple chances to win the big title of the promotion, most notable on wXw'S biggest stage the 16 Carat Gold in March, and winning the Shortcut To The Top Battle Royal in August. Congratulations Levaniel you're the wXw World Champion and our CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

49/2022: Grayson Waller

On the 15.11.2022 edition of NXT, Shawn Michaels announced a new match format for WWE called the Iron Survivor Challenge, which would debut at NXT Deadline on 10.12.2022. The winners of the Iron Survivor Challenge matches would be declared the new number one contenders for the NXT Championship and NXT Women's Championship respectively. Grayson Waller would emerge from the men's match victorious, outlasting Carmelo Hayes, JD McDonagh, Joe Gacy, and Axiom, to win the bout. With his impressive victory at NXT Deadline, Grayson Waller is the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

48/2022: ASUKA

After losing a much-anticipated title match against Chihiro Hashimoto on 10.07.2022 at Sendai Girls' biggest show of the year, SENJO Chronicle, many expected ASUKA to fall to the back of the line of Hashimoto's top challengers for the Sendai Girls World Title. Just five months later, at Sendai Girls Big Show In Osaka on 04.12.2022 , however, ASUKA earned the right to challenge Hashimoto for the Sendai Girls World Championship once more. After a heated contest, ASUKA pinned Chihiro Hashimoto, ending her historic 1,148-day reign as champion, to win the Sendai Girls World Title for the first time in her young career. From everyone here at CAGEMATCH, congratulations to ASUKA for becoming the new Sendai Girls World Champion and for becoming our very own Superstar Of The Week!

47/2022: Lana Austin

Lana Austin, a nine-year veteran of the English professional wrestling scene and the leader of the Lana Austin Experience, earned the right to challenge "The Asian Sensation" Kanji for the prestigious PROGRESS Women's Championship in the main event of PROGRESS Chapter 146 on 27.11.2022. Despite a valiant effort by the defending champion Kanji, it was "The Queen Of Mean" Austin who walked out of Chapter 146 as the victor, thus becoming the PROGRESS Women's Champion for the first time in her career. Lana adds herself to a loaded list of former PROGRESS Women's Champions, including Toni Storm, Jinny, Meiko Satomura, Jordynne Grace, and Gisele Shaw. We congratulate Lana Austin on her recent success, as well as for being named the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

46/2022: MJF

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled off was convincing the people he didn't exist" -- This famous saying has now become synonymous with the rise of Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Leading into AEW's final PPV event of 2022 MJF tried to make everybody believe that he wanted to win the AEW World Title in a respectable way. But champion Jon Moxley and the entire world eventually found out that you cannot trust the devil. With the help of William Regal and his famous brass knucks MJF was able to defeat his opponent in the main event of Full Gear to become the new AEW World Champion. After failing in his first attempt to become the top guy in All Elite Wrestling two years ago MJF finally reached his goal and with that the distinction of CAGEMATCH Superstar Of The Week.

45/2022: Tyrus

In order to earn himself another shot at Trevor Murdoch and the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, Tyrus relinquished his NWA Television Championship, ending his historic reign at 414 days. Tyrus' date with destiny was set in a three-way match for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Title against champion Trevor Murdoch and his number one rival, Matt Cardona, at NWA Hard Times In New Orleans on 12.11.2022. Following a Tongan death grip and chokeslam, the former "Funkasaurus" pinned Murdoch to capture his first ever NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

44/2022: Logan Paul

Congratulations to "The Ultimate Influencer" Logan Paul for becoming the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week! In just his third ever professional wrestling match, Paul challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WWE Crown Jewel 2022 on 05.11.2022 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Despite coming up short in the contest, Logan Paul gained the respect of wrestling fans worldwide for his spectacular performance and his ability to continue working through the match with a torn meniscus, MCL, and ACL.

43/2022: Austin Luke

A student of Matt Tremont at the H2O Wrestling Academy, Austin Luke made his professional wrestling debut in early 2019. Since then, "The Anti Social Anti Hero" has made appearances for some of the top independent promotions in the United States, such as GCW and Beyond Wrestling as part of the Wrestling Open brand. On 30.10.2022 at H2O's Bound By Blood event, Luke defeated Colby Corino for the H2O Heavyweight Title in an NWA Rules match. Subsequently, at just 21 years of age, Luke became the youngest H2O Heavyweight Champion in history. The future is undoubtedly very bright for young Austin Luke, but for now, we would like to congratulate him on becoming the new H2O Heavyweight Champion and the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

42/2022: Wes Lee

From the heights of ecstasy to the depths of despair - Wes Lee's April was something else. Days after winning the WWE NXT Tag Team Championship for the second time alongside his MSK buddy Nash Carter, Carter was released, and the titles were vacated. Experience shows that losing a tag team partner does not necessarily mean moving up the career ladder. Exceptions prove the rule. He fought his way into NXT's singles division and defeated Tony D'Angelo in September to qualify for a Five Way Ladder Match for the vacant WWE NXT North American Championship. In the opening contest of WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2022, he successfully climbed a (real) ladder and claimed the title, defeating Carmelo Hayes, Nathan Frazer, Oro Mensah and Von Wagner. Congrats, Wes Lee, our Superstar Of The Week!

41/2022: Orange Cassidy

Before the 12.10.2022 edition of AEW Dynamite, Orange Cassidy had challenged for AEW championships on eight separate occasions, but he had never been able to win. Most recently, at AEW Grand Slam 2022 in late September, Cassidy unsuccessfully challenged PAC for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, thanks to PAC illegally using a ring keeper's hammer. When OC watched his fellow Best Friend, Trent Beretta, lose to PAC in a similar fashion at AEW Battle Of The Belts IV, Cassidy seemingly had enough of the champion's antics and challenged him for the All-Atlantic Title once more. On 12.10.2022, after avoiding yet another attempted hammer shot by PAC and nailing a pair of Orange Punches, OC was finally able to capture his first championship in All Elite Wrestling, the AEW All-Atlantic Title. From everyone here at CAGEMATCH.net, congratulations to Orange Cassidy on becoming a champion in AEW, as well as for being voted as the Superstar Of The Week!

40/2022: Titus Alexander

After beating the likes of Chris Sabin, Masha Slamovich, Nick Wayne and Starboy Charlie in the finals to win the West Coast Cup this year, Titus Alexander aimed to become the next West Coast Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. Not an easy task when you look at the dominant champ Jacob Fatu who has beaten the top indy guys such as Bandido, Mike Bailey or Tom Lawlor. It was a typical David versus Goliath type of fight when Alexander stepped into the booth to face the big Samoan. Alexander made his dream come true, overcame the huge obstacle and crowned himself as the fourth West Coast Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion, as well as our CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

39/2022: Giulia

Ever since leaving Ice Ribbon for Stardom in 2019, Giulia has quickly risen to become one of the company's most beloved wrestlers. After two months worth of grueling matches, Giulia went on to defeat her longtime rival, Tam Nakano, in the tournament finals to win the 5STAR Grand Prix 2022 on 01.10.2022. With her 5STAR Grand Prix victory, Giulia now looks ahead to the biggest match of her career, in which she will challenge Syuri for the World Of Stardom Championship on 29.12.2022 at Sumo Hall. For the time being, though, we congratulate Giulia on winning the 5STAR Grand Prix, as well as for becoming the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

38/2022: Ace Romero

Ace Romero has competed in Limitless Wrestling's annual Vacationland Cup tournament since its inception in 2019. In 2019, Romero came up short in the tournament finals. In 2020, he made it to the semi finals. In 2021, he fell in the tournament finals yet again. On 27.08.2022, however, "Acey Baby" had his moment when he managed to defeat Channing Thomas, Charles Mason, and Rip Byson for the 2022 Vacationland Cup. By winning the Vacationland Cup, Romero earned himself a title shot against "The Prize" Alec Price for the prestigious Limitless World Championship. On 24.09.2022, at Limitless Chasing Forever, Romero continued his successful 2022 by capturing the Limitless World Title, ending Alec Price's 315-day reign as champion in the process. From all of us at CAGEMATCH.net, we would like to congratulate Ace on winning the Limitless World Championship, as well as for becoming our Superstar Of The Week!

37/2022: Atlantis Jr.

One of CMLL 89. Aniversario's main attractions on the evening of 16.09.2022 was the Cuadrangular Eliminatorio De Parejas Increibles, in which the winners of the tag team tournament would later face off against one another in a Mask Vs. Mask Match. In the finals of the Cuadrangular Eliminatorio De Parejas Increibles, Atlantis Jr. and Stuka Jr. went on to defeat Averno and Ultimo Guerrero. Subsequently, the main event of CMLL 89. Aniversario was set: the young Atlantis Jr. vs. the legendary Stuka Jr. Despite the 43-year old Stuka Jr. putting up the fight of a lifetime, Atlantis Jr. won the match and took Stuka Jr.'s mask in a very emotional yet memorable moment that will surely be remembered by lucha libre fans for many years to come.

36/2022: Kasey Kirk

Since the beginning of 2022, Kasey Kirk has slowly developed a name for herself as being one of the most exciting new deathmatch wrestlers on the American independent circuit. After a number of victories and strong performances in ICW No Holds Barred over the likes of Danny Demanto, John Wayne Murdoch, Eric Ryan, and her husband Brandon Kirk, Kasey earned the right to challenge ICW American Deathmatch World Champion Joel Bateman on 10.09.2022 in Newark, New Jersey. It was Kasey Kirk who walked away from that match as the winner, subsequently becoming the first woman yet to hold the ICW American Deathmatch World Title, ICW No Holds Barred's top prize. Congratulations to Kasey on becoming the new ICW American Deathmatch World Champion, in addition to being voted as the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

35/2022: Kaito Kiyomiya

Despite being just 26-years old, there are few professional wrestlers in the world who have received such acclaim as "The Supernova" Kaito Kiyomiya since he made his debut in 2015. Along with being a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and two-time GHC Tag Team Champion, Kiomiya can now call himself a two-time winner of the prestigious N-1 Victory tournament (known through 2019 as the Global League tournament, which he won in 2018). On 03.09.2022, Kaito Kiyomiya defeated Hideki Suzuki in the tournament finals to win the 2022 NOAH N-1 Victory, thus earning himself a future shot at the GHC Heavyweight Title. Will "The Supernova" be able to capture the GHC Heavyweight Championship for a third time? Only time will tell... Until then, he is the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

34/2022: Jon Moxley

After CM Punk announced that he would no longer be able to defend the AEW World Championship due to injury, it was decided that an interim champion would be crowned at the AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view on 26.06.2022. Moxley faced and went on to pin Hiroshi Tanahashi for the interim title at Forbidden Door. After successfully defending the interim championship against the likes of Brody King, Konosuke Takeshita, Rush, Mance Warner, and Chris Jericho, CM Punk returned from injury to confront Jon Moxley on the 10.08.2022 edition of Dynamite. On the 24.08.2022 edition of Dynamite, Moxley pinned Punk to win the AEW World Title for a record-setting second time, becoming the undisputed champion in the process.

33/2022: Ricky Knight Jr.

"RKJ" is definitely one of the brightest young talents in professional wrestling today. The 22 year old from Norwich made a name for himself in smaller english promotions until he found his first big success in Southside Wrestling Entertainment, where he became the Speed King Champion and even won the Southside Heavyweight Championship before retiring the title to crown himself as the British Heavyweight Champion. With that achievement Ricky Knight Jr. started one of the most interesting feuds in wrestling against Will Ospreay. The "Commonwealth Kingpin" defeated Knight Jr. on two occassions in 2020 and 2021, but finally a year later RKJ dethroned Ospreay after a 919 days long reign as the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion, his biggest career achievement yet. That's why Ricky Knight Jr. is our SOTW!

32/2022: Big Damo

After his five-year stint with WWE ended, The Beast Of Belfast came back to the Independent Circuit as a much more experienced worker than before. The former Killian Dain made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut in America, worked for several US-Independent promotions like DEFY or Black Label Pro and made his way back across the pond to his home turf wrestling for ICW and OTT again. However, his biggest achievement after being released by the market leader came true last weekend when he defeated Chris Ridgeway for the PROGRESS World Championship at Chapter 137, Damo entered his name in a lineage of great PROGRESS champions such as Will Ospreay, WALTER and Pete Dunne. On top of that he is our CAGEMATCH Superstar Of The Week!

31/2022: Jaden Newman

It's the year of Jaden Newman! After making waves with matches on IWTV's Uncharted Territority against the likes of Jonathan Gresham and others, Newman entered the Scenic City Invitational Tournament for the second straight year after losing in the semi finals last year. It went way better this time as he moved on to the final four way match after beating Myron Reed and Ashton Starr in the first two rounds. Newman overcame Billie Starkz, Adam Priest and Kevin Ku to finally win the Scenic City Invitational Tournament.. and CAGEMATCH Superstar Of The Week!

30/2022: Yuki Yoshioka

A 2016 graduate of the Dragon Gate Dojo, Yuki Yoshioka returned to Dragon Gate after an excursion to Mexico in October of 2020 as the masked Dia Inferno. Immediately aligning himself with the R.E.D. stable, Dia Inferno (Yoshioka) entered a heated feud with Dragon Dia. On 01.12.2021, at Fantastic Gate 2021 - Tag 1, Inferno and Diamante of R.E.D. faced Dragon Dia and Shun Skywalker of Masquerade in a Mask Vs. Mask tag team match, with the loser of the fall having to unmask. Despite winning the match and forcing Dragon Dia to unmask, in an emotional moment, Dia Inferno also removed his own mask and revealed himself to be Yuki Yoshioka. From May through June, Yoshioka took part in the 2022 King of Gate, which he eventually won, defeating Kota Minoura in the tournament finals on 02.06.2022. After winning the King of Gate, Yoshioka earned the right to challenge Open The Dream Gate Champion KAI for the title on 30.07.2022 at Kobe World. Yuki Yoshioka went on to win the Open The Dream Gate Title at the event, capturing his first major singles title in the process. Congratulations to Yoshioka on becoming the new Open The Dream Gate Champion, as well as the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

29/2022: Claudio Castagnoli

After an 11-year tenure with WWE, Claudio Castagnoli made his debut for All Elite Wrestling at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door on 26.06.2022, revealing himself to be the newest member of the Blackpool Combat Club. Castagnoli went on to earn a big victory over Zack Sabre Jr. at the AEW/NJPW pay-per-view and picked up the win for his team against the Jericho Appreciation Society in a Blood and Guts match on the 29.06.2022 edition of Dynamite. On the 15.07.2022 edition of Rampage, Castagnoli interrupted ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham during a promo in which Gresham declared himself the "best technical wrestler in the world." On 23.07.2022 at the ROH Death Before Dishonor PPV, "The Swiss Superman" challenged and pinned Jonathan Gresham to win the ROH World Title, his first world championship in his 22-year professional wrestling career. Alas, it is a no-brainer for Claudio Castagnoli to be named the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

28/2022: Suzu Suzuki

Many fans around the world were not sure what to make of 19-year old wrestling prodigy Suzu Suzuki's decision to leave Ice Ribbon at the end of 2021, despite being set to be the ace of the promotion for years to come. Now, the "Violent Prodigy" is a freelancer and has been heavily involved in her true passion: deathmatch wrestling. However, being a freelance wrestler has also brought other non-deathmatch companies' interest in bringing in Suzu Suzuki to compete for them. Suzuki entered Pro Wrestling WAVEs Catch The WAVE tournament, being placed in a block alongside Haruka Umesaki, Kohaku, Chie Ozora, and Riko Kawahata. After fighting her way to the finals and being named the tournament MVP, Suzuki faced and went on to defeat Miyuki Takase on 17.07.2022 to win the 2022 Catch The WAVE, as well as the coveted Regina Di WAVE Championship.

27/2022: Wardlow

Since freeing himself from the reigns of MJF, the 6'3" and 267-pound Wardlow has looked unstoppable in All Elite Wrestling. After working his way to the top of the AEW Rankings and accumulating an impressive record of 14-2 on the year, "Mr. Mayhem" earned the right to challenge Scorpio Sky for the AEW TNT Championship on the 06.07.2022 episode of Dynamite. Even a street fight with Dan Lambert, Ethan Page, and American Top Team at ringside couldn't keep the TNT Title with Scorpio Sky. Following his trademark Powerbomb Symphony, it was Wardlow who walked away victorious and with his first championship in All Elite Wrestling, which more than justifies him being named the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

26/2022: Fujita Hayato

For over a decade, Fujita "Jr." Hayato was a pillar for Michinoku Pro Wrestling and amongst the company's top heels. Hayato first captured the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Title, Michinoku Pro's top prize, in December 2008 from Yoshitsune. He won the championship for a second time after defeating Kenoh in June 2012. In late 2018, Hayato announced that he had been diagnosed with spinal cancer. Subsequently, many believed it was only a matter of time before Hayato would retire from professional wrestling altogether. However, during the summer of 2022, Fujita "Jr." Hayato revealed that he would be returning to Michinoku Pro to challenge Musashi for the coveted Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship. Hayato went on to defeat Musashi on 01.07.2022 to win the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Title for a third time. During his post-match celebration, an emotional Hayato called out Kenoh (now with Pro Wrestling NOAH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling's Hiromu Takahashi for future matches. The CAGEMATCH.net Team would like to congratulate Fujita "Jr." Hayato on his return to professional wrestling, and he is our Superstar Of The Week!

25/2022: Fred Rosser

After being released from his WWE contract in late 2017, many were surprised by the news that New Japan Pro Wrestling would be bringing in the wrestler formerly known as Darren Young, Fred Rosser, in August 2020. Rosser earned himself a shot at the NJPW STRONG Openweight Title against champion "Filthy" Tom Lawlor in late 2021. Despite an impressive and memorable performance in which he proved that he did indeed belong in New Japan, Rosser came up short against Lawlor. Rosser worked his way up the ranks, and once again, challenged Lawlor for the STRONG Openweight Title in a match that aired on 25.06.2022. This time, Fred Rosser was victorious and he became the new NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, ending Lawlor's one-year title reign in the process. Furthermore, we are pleased to name Fred Rosser as the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

24/2022: Toni Harting

Toni Harting's long journey to become a world champion finally came to an end when he beats Axel Tischer for the GWF World title at Rising Heat. Harting was mainly a tag team wrestler in which he had his first successes in the German Wrestling Federation, becoming a tag team champion. Being on his own in 2020 he quickly won the GWF Berlin title, had one of longest reigns with the belt and has beaten the likes of Tarkan Arslan and Marius Al-Ani.

23/2022: Satoshi Kojima

If you follow Japanese pro wrestling, you will know that Satoshi Kojima's name is synonymous with being one of the great wrestlers of the twenty-first century. On 30.04.2022 at Majestic 2022 for Pro Wrestling NOAH, Kojima was revealed as Naomichi Marufuji's mystery partner against Kinya Okada and Yoshiki Inamura. This would mark Kojima's first match for NOAH since 2016. At CyberFight Festival 2022 on 12.06.2022, Kojima challenged and would go on to defeat Go Shiozaki to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the first time.

22/2022: Chris Ridgeway

Following a more than successful tour of Pro Wrestling NOAH in April 2022 (in which he went unbeaten in seven matches, including becoming one-half of the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions alongside Yoshinari Ogawa), Chris Ridgeway continued his monumental year in his home country of England. In the finals of the PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16 tournament on 05.06.2022, the 28-year old Ridgeway overcame Warren Banks to win Europes most prestigious wrestling tournament, as well as the coveted PROGRESS World Title for the very first time. For these incredible accomplishments, we are pleased to name Chris Ridgeway as the CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week!

21/2022: CM Punk

Seven years after his controversial exit from WWE and announcing his retirement from pro wrestling, CM Punk debuted for AEW on the 20.08.2021 edition of Rampage. After accumulating an impressive 18-1 record since returning and working his way to the top of the Power Rankings, Punk earned the right to challenge "Hangman" Adam Page for the AEW World Title at Double Or Nothing 2022. It was Punk who outlasted Page to become a world champion for the first time since 2013, as well as CAGEMATCH.net Superstar Of The Week for the first time since 2012!

20/2022: Bryce Donovan

Since 2018, most would likely associate Bryce Donovan as being no more than one-third of the Shook Crew stable alongside his teammates, AEW's Max Caster and Bobby Orlando. However, on 22.05.2022 at Create A Pro Wrestling's The Grand Stage, Donovan took a big step towards separating himself from the pack as a singles star. Create A Pro invited some of its most successful students from the past (e.g., Kris Statlander, Alex Reynolds, John Silver) for the show, but it was the main event that earned the most buzz, as Bryce Donovan ended Eric James' 211-day reign to become the new CAP Champion... and the CAGEMATCH Superstar Of The Week!

19/2022: Juice Robinson

Juice Robinson had not made an appearance in Japan for over a year until he unexpectedly attacked Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2022, officially aligning himself with BULLET CLUB in the process. Months prior, Robinson had suggested that he was was not looking to re-sign with New Japan and that he was contemplating retiring from pro wrestling altogether. Of course, this all turned out to be a farce. On 14.05.2022, the man now known as "Rock Hard" Juice Robinson defeated Tanahashi, Jon Moxley, and Will Ospreay to win the IWGP United States Title for a third time on the NJPW Capital Collision PPV in Washington, DC.

18/2022: Mercedes Martinez

With over 20 years of in-ring experience and having competed for nearly every prominent promotion in the United States, there is arguably no American female wrestler more accomplished than Mercedes Martinez. At ROH Supercard Of Honor 2022, it was Mercedes who pinned Willow Nightingale to become the Interim ROH Women's World Champion. Then, in the main event of the 04.05.2022 edition of AEW Dynamite, Martinez added another feather in her cap (and acquired perhaps the biggest win of her storied career) by defeating Deonna Purazzo in a unification match for the ROH Women's World Title.

17/2022: Daniel Garcia

Daniel Garcia's meteoric rise in 2022 has been a sight to behold. Back in January, Garcia won Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's prestigious Battle Of Los Angeles tournament by defeating Kevin Blackwood, Black Taurus, and Mike Bailey to earn a title shot against PWG World Champion Bandido. Since then, the 23-year old prodigy has joined forces with Chris Jericho as part of the Jericho Appreciation Society in AEW. Using some of Y2J's signature maneuvers to help him, Daniel Garcia captured the PWG World Title from Bandido on 01.05.2022, ending his historic reign at 863 days.

16/2022: Josh Alexander

After defeating Christian Cage to capture his first Impact World Championship at Bound For Glory 2021, Josh Alexander immediately lost the title to Moose after the former NFL player successfully cashed in his Call Your Shot Gauntlet trophy. Alexander would then disappear, until finally resurfacing at Sacrifice 2022, where he announced that he had signed a multi-year contract with Impact Wrestling and that he wanted a title shot against the man who took the championship from him. In the main event of Rebellion 2022, Josh Alexander was finally able to get his revenge on Moose by defeating him for the Impact World Title.

15/2022: Samoa Joe

The former three-time WWE NXT Champion, former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, and AEW's latest signee, "The Samoan Submission Machine" Samoa Joe immediately made his presence known within All Elite Wrestling when he pinned the legendary Minoru Suzuki to capture his first ROH World Television Title on the 13.04.2022 edition of AEW Dynamite.

14/2022: SHLAK

Ever since making his professional debut at CZW Dojo Wars in early 2016, fans of death match wrestling have had their eyes set on SHLAK. Having competed all across the United States, Mexico, and Japan over the past several years, SHLAK has quickly become an international sensation. On 09.04.2022, SHLAK had what was perhaps the biggest night of his career up to this point. At the XPW PPV, Killafornia, SHLAK won the King Of The Death Match 2022 tournament by defeating Dirty Ron, Eric Ryan, Sage Sin Supreme, and MASADA in order to become the holder of the newly-resurrected XPW King Of The Death Matches Title.

13/2022: Cameron Grimes

At WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2022, Cameron Grimes captured his first WWE title, the coveted North American Championship, by defeating five other competitors in a ladder match. Grimes' stated that this victory was for his late father, a former professional wrestler himself, TC Flexer. Since signing with WWE in 2019, Grimes has had fantastic matches time and time again, but this was perhaps the biggest victory in all of his 14-year career up to this point. It is hard to deny that the future looks incredibly bright for Cameron Grimes, but for now, he is the new WWE North American Champion... and the CAGEMATCH Superstar Of The Week!

12/2022: Zack Sabre Jr.

Zack has done it again! The 34 year old Englishman showed that he's a tournament man after winning the New Japan Cup for the second timeafter beating DOUKI, Great-O-Khan, longtime rival Will Ospreay, Shingo Takagi and finally Tetsuya Naito. With his second New Japan Cup victory Zack now won over ten singles tournaments in his career, most notably the already mentioned New Japan Cup, the PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16, wXw 16 Carat Gold and PWG's Battle Of Los Angeles. The "Submission Master" now has the chance to become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion on April 9th, when he's going to face the current champion Kazuchika Okada.

11/2022: Thunder Rosa

On March 11th 2021 Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. put the world on notice when they battled in a brutal Unsanctioned Lights Out Match on AEW Dynamite. And while Rosa left this war as the victor, Baker rose to the top of the women's division afterwards. She went on to become the AEW Women's Champion two months later and dominated the entire division ever since. But on St. Patrick's Day Slam 2022, almost exactly one year after their Lights Out Match, the champion met her nemesis again and the outcome would be the same. Thunder Rosa was able to beat Britt Baker inside a steel cage to end her 290-day reign and become the new AEW Women's World Champion.

10/2022: Scorpio Sky

In June, Scorpio Sky has been in the wrestling business for 20 years, but he had to wait until 2017 to finally gain recognition on the big stage, when he allied himself with Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian to form SoCal Uncensored. They won several titles in Ring Of Honor in 2018, became an integral part in the founding of All Elite Wrestling and even were the first Tag Team Champions of the then young upstart. All seemed well, but all good things must come to an end, and so did SCU in the first half of 2021. Sky set himself a new target: He wanted to become the Face Of The Revolution. And while he was able to win the eponymous Ladder Match at Revolution 2021, he fell short to win the TNT Title from Darby Allin. Fast forward to 2022, were he allied himself with Ethan Page and Dan Lambert of American Top Team. After accumulating 12 Singles Match wins in a row, be earned himself another chance at the TNT Title, this time against Sammy Guevara. And finally, after another year of waiting - and some shenanigans on the outside - Scorpio Sky became the new TNT Champion and a real face of the revolution.

09/2022: Jonathan Gresham

Jonathan Gresham is on a roll. The man from Atlanta, Georgia managed to win the ROH World Championship at the end of 2021, founded his very own promotion with TERMINUS in early 2022 and won the biggest wrestling tournament in all of Europe for the first time in his career this past week. On his way to victory Gresham beat former wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion Bobby Gunns, Hungarian wrestling stand out Peter Tihanyi, OWE Openweight Champion Shigehiro Irie and finally head coach Robert Dreissker to win the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament to collect another major achievement in his long career.

08/2022: El Lindaman

Few would have doubted that El Lindaman's career would be a very succesful one. The former Yuha Hayashi made his debut in 2014 and became El Lindaman when he joined the Millenials stable in 2014, where he also met his long-term partner T-Hawk. Together they left Dragon Gate in 2018 and formed STRONGHEARTS alongside CIMA. He won his first singles titles in ZERO1 in 2020, but finally found his biggest success by becoming the inaugural G-REX Champion for GLEAT with victories over Issei Onitsuka, Soma Watanabe, T-Hawk and Hayato Tamura in the finals this past week.

07/2022: SANADA

Six long years of waiting are over for SANADA when he defeated New Japan Pro Wrestling's ace Hiroshi Tanahashi to become the thirteenth IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. The man from Niigata has come a long way since his pro wrestling debut under the All Japan Pro Wrestling banner, dubbed the future ace of the promotion. He left the promotion after six years for WRESTLE-1 with his mentor Keiji Mutoh, but still wasn't able to find success. After a lengthy excursion to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling he finally found his footing by helping Tetsuya Naito become IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a title which he himself tried to capture on multiple occasions without success. Now, in 2022, he was able to capture his first singles gold under the lion's banner.

06/2022: Matt Cardona

Few would have expected that the former Zack Ryder would be one of the most talked independent wrestlers in 2022 after his release from WWE. Matt Cardona made a name for himself in 2021 being a regular in Game Changer Wrestling, beating Nick Gage in a brutal Death Match and becoming GCW World Champion to the surprise of many fans. He continued his run in 2022, marrying his long-term girlfriend Chelsea Green and collecting gold in Impact Wrestling and Absolute Intense Wrestling, but the pinnacle of his achievements happened this past weekend at NWA Power Trip, where he beat Trevor Murdoch and became the new NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion.

05/2022: MJF

After weeks of verbal spats CM Punk finally had the chance to get his hands on MJF in a Six Man Tag Team Match at the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite. That didn't stop MJF from trying to avoid Punk every chance he got and while Punk and his partners Darby Allin and Sting got the win, Punk was far from satisfied. After overcoming a Powerbomb Symphony by Wardlow and edging out a victory, followed by a decisive win against Shawn Spears in record time, Punk finally got his wish and had the chance to take on MJF one on one. But this wasn't the glorious triumph everyone expected: With cunning and deceit (and a bit of help from Wardlow) MJF was not only able to pin CM Punk once, but twice, giving him his first loss in AEW singles competition while also gaining a new accolade: Being better than the best in the world.

04/2022: Ronda Rousey

When Ronda Rousey entered a WWE ring for the first time at WrestleMania 31, nobody knew if there would a future for her in the wrestling business. Fast forward to Royal Rumble 2018 where she made a surprise appearance after the Women's Royal Rumble match, pointing at the WrestleMania sign. She made her succesful debut at WrestleMania 32, won the RAW Women's Title at SummerSlam 2018 from Alexa Bliss and held the title until the following WrestleMania, finally losing it to Becky Lynch. After that, she quietly left WWE and became a mother in September 2021. Only four months later she drew #28 and entered her first Royal Rumble match, eliminating Brie Bella, Shotzi and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair to win the Rumble in her first attempt and book her ticket to WrestleMania.

03/2022: AC Mack

After holding the ACTION Championship for nearly 800 days and winning the Scenic City Invitational Tournament in August 2021, AC Mack set himself a new goal: The IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship, which was now held by wrestling veteran Alex Shelley. While Shelley missed some scheduled title defenses at the end of 2021, Mack overcame all of his obstacles and finally became the official #1 contender for the title at the end of the year. This past friday Shelley made his way down to Georgia, but went home ten pounds lighter: Mack beat Shelley in front of his home town fans and friends to become the tenth IWTV champion (and first openly gay world champion), which only means one thing: Southeast first!

02/2022: Dragon Dia

The final stretch of 2021 has been very eventful for Dragon Dia, the protégé of the Dragon Gate icon Dragon Kid: He and his MASQUERADE partners lost the Open The Triangle Gate titles to R.E.D. back in September, he got dragged into a fight between stablemates Kota Minoura and leader Shun Skywalker, which cost him his mask, and everything seemed to turn sour for the 23 year old. But the "2" seems to be a lucky number for Dia: When the year 2022 started and Dragon Gate visited the legendary Korakuen Hall for two nights in a row, not only did Dragon Dia get a surprise chance against Open The Brave Gate champion SB KENTo when the night already appeared to be over, he also teamed up with Yuki Yoshioka - his former nemesis and now unmasked Dia Infero - and got to take on the Open The Twin Gate Champions one night later. He was succesful on both occasions and can call himself double champion... and our Superstar Of The Week!

01/2022: Bron Breakker

We've entered a new era of NXT and one man is at the helm of the now brightly colored brand: Bron Breakker. Being the first guy of a fresh crop of talent, he immediately beat LA Knight in his first match back in September before staring down the new NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. While he fell short in his first title challenge at NXT Halloween Havoc, he was the winning man at War Games and earned himself another chance at winning "Goldie". Roughly one month later he was able to put away Ciampa and finally became NXT Champion. Bron Breakker is here to stay and our Superstar Of The Week!

52/2021: Syuri