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Wrestle Inn 2023 Year In Review

In November, CM Punk strode out to the ring on WWE Raw, marking his first time on that show in almost a decade. His first words to the chanting fans were, “Looks like hell froze over.”

That opening line is a fitting tagline for pro wrestling in 2023 as a whole. Fans saw all manner of unlikely scenarios, learning to indeed never say never.

Mercedes Moné (the former Sasha Banks) wrestled for STARDOM. Katsuhiko Nakajima left NOAH for All Japan Pro-Wrestling. Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling brought its vibrant act to Los Angeles. AEW and Ring of Honor star Eddie Kingston competed in the NJPW G1 Climax tournament. 

It was a year of spectacular matches and unfortunate injuries, one filled with memories both grand and bittersweet.

The Wrestle Inn team looked back on all of it, highlighting the highs and lows of 2023 in wrestling. We offer some under-the-radar match recommendations, reflect on joy via retail therapy, and look forward with hope toward 2024.

Here’s the squad:

1. What is your five-word review of the year in wrestling? 

Ryan: God bless all this collaboration.  

Adam: 2022? Here, hold my beer.

Trent: Great wrestling, mediocre company performances.

Fusa: All over the place booking.

Steve: The wrestling world is thriving.


Thumbly: Oh hey, the actual product!

Alex: Why does TK hate Shida?

Kay: Highest highs and lowest lows.

2. What is your favorite match that won’t make anyone’s Match-of-the-Year lists?

Adam: Kevin Bennett vs Psycho Mike (Steel Cage Match) (SMASH Wrestling Super Showdown, August 20)

Fusa: Will Ospreay vs Mark Davis (New Japan Cup Night 6) (NJPW, March 13)

Kay: Kota Minoura, Madoka Kikuta & Shun Skywalker vs Ben-K, Strong Machine J & Yuki Yoshioka (Hopeful Gate – Day 5) (DRAGONGATE, May 11)

Ryan: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Mio Momono  (Marvelous) (Marvelous, March 15) 

Trent: Chris Brookes vs Maya Yukihi, (Baka Gaijin + Friends Vol.3) (Baka Gaijin, March 15)

Steve: Mr Blobby & Eddie Dennis vs Tate Mayfairs & James Ellis, (Jingle Bell Brawl) (Riot Cabaret, December 19)

Thumbly: Athena vs Willow Nightingale (Death Before Dishonor 2023) (Ring Of Honor, July 21)

Alex: Billie Starkz vs. Utami Hayashishita (Ring of Honor 15.07.2023)

3. Who was the breakout star of the year? 

Trent: Maika

Fusa: Yuma Aoyagi

Kay: Madoka Kikuta

Adam: Jake Crist

Ryan: Miku Aono

Steve: Dominik Mysterio

Thumbly: Skye Blue

Alex: Julia Hart

12 Years in the Making; The Story of Jon Moxley vs. Jake Crist

4. What did you like least about wrestling in 2023? 

Trent: INJURIES. I swear all my favourites went down.

Ryan: The STARDOM injury bug. What a damper on the end of the year.

Fusa: Gedo’s god-awful booking decisions from June onward.

Kay: In terms of what affected the promotions I actually watch, the horrendous amount of illnesses and injuries.

Adam: WWE’s continued involvement with Saudi Arabia.

Thumbly: Constant extrapolations that any one single event meant an entire company was in the mud or doomed. Which seemed to catch on with larger, more mainstream outlets as the year went on.

Alex: AEW positioning more WWE lite content as the main stories in the company. I think it took until the success of the Continental Classic for TK to realize that, actually, disenfranchised WWE frans looking for an alternative don’t want to see the content that disenfranchised them to begin with. Smort.

Steve: Similar to last year, the toxicity of fans on social media. Just enjoy wrestling – if you don’t like a promotion then don’t watch it.

5. What did you like most about wrestling in 2023?

Trent: Companies continually cooperating consciously.

Fusa: The cooperation and collaboration throughout wrestling.

Kay: Creativity and teamwork in the face of crisis.

Ryan: Sareee returning to Japan and tearing shit up, instantly revitalizing the joshi independent scene along the way. 

Adam: Tony Khan finally relaunching ROH.

Steve: The post-Vince WWE is more exciting than it has been in years.

Alex: Much like Jamie Hayter last year, I have loved seeing Toni Storm and Julia Hart break out as stars of the division. Hopefully TK builds on their continued successes in 2024.

Thumbly: The sheer number of “dream matches” that seemed like pure fantasy until they suddenly very much happened.

6. What was the best promo/talking segment? 

Kay: The father/son confrontation between Mochizuki Sr. and Jr. on November 9th. One of the most bittersweet and heartfelt little segments I’ve ever seen in wrestling.

Adam: Not really a promo/talking segment per se, but the video package announcing the rebrand of Impact to TNA was great!

Trent: Giulia and Tam Nakano at the All Star Grand Queendom press conference. A befitting confrontation given their history.

Steve: The end of the Royal Rumble. Roman telling Sami to hit Kevin Owens with a chair. The emotion on Sami’s face.

Thumbly: A visibly emotional LA Knight paying tribute to Bray Wyatt, then paying homage to him in helping us all still feel ok watching wrestling that day. His final callback of “…run” gave me chills.

Alex: Adam Copeland’s AEW debut during WrestleDream still gives me goosebumps. Those moments are few and far between, and that was special.

Fusa: A tie for me between the contract signing for WrestleDream between Swerve and Hangman and Hangman’s promo on the go-home Dynamite before Full Gear.

7. What will you remember most about this year in wrestling?

Ryan: Joshi wrestling traveling beyond Japanese borders. TJPW did multiple shows in the US. Mio Momono did a West Coast tour. We also saw the birth of American-based promotions Sukeban and Spark whose mission is to bring joshi to the States.

Trent: Whether I want to or not: CM Punk.

Fusa: Both of the Omega vs Ospreay matches.

Kay: The cage match at Kobe World and its result.

Adam: WWE being sold to Endeavor media and them being under the same banner, yet a separate entity, as UFC.

Alex: Cry me a river.

Thumbly: The AEW/WWE dynamic truly feeling like it approached Monday Night War levels with large names moving each direction in close proximity to each other.

8. What wrestling-related purchase made you the happiest in 2023?

Trent: Does the collective purchase of flights, accommodation and wrestling tickets for two weeks in Japan count? If so, that.

Fusa: A tie between tickets to an indie event with Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, and Minoru Suzuki all on the card and tickets for WrestleDream weekend.

Kay: Tickets to the DRAGONGATE Winter fan tour. An experience so intense that it completely changed the way I think of and interact with pretty much everyone on the roster. I had to politely decline participating in an ambush while wedged between two heel wrestlers in a tiny Karaoke box. 10/10.

Ryan: The excessive amount of TJPW photo-ops I paid for at WrestleCon. I light up inside every time I look at the pics I took with Miu Watanabe, Hyper Misao, Miyu Yamashita, and the rest of the gang.

Adam: I went with a couple friends to the Wrestling Revolver show in June and it turned out to be one of best and wildest events I’ve ever been to. At that show, I bought a Wrestling Revolver t-shirt and did a meet and greet package where I got a photo, signed 8×10 and t-shirt with local independent wrestling legend Shark Boy. That was a really fun night!

Thumbly: My first several donations supporting ChocoPro. #NoPayWall needs to take over the world as a philosophy.

Alex: Not a big merch guy, but I love the Shida shirt I bought.

Steve: It would have to be going to All In at Wembley. I couldn’t go to SummerSlam 92 and it felt so special seeing a show at the home of English football.

9. Which wrestler are you most rooting for to have a big 2024?

Trent: Starlight Kid. She had an incredibly quiet 2023 when it felt like she was on the cusp of the next step. Time she reminds everyone why Kid’s one of STARDOM’s most popular.

Ryan: Hanan. She seems poised to take a big leap for STARDOM, and I am pumped to see her star grow. 

Fusa: Billie Starkz. Billie had a star-making 2023 under the wing of Athena in ROH and her match against said mentor at Final Battle shows how much she continues to grow and more amazing things will come her way in 2024.

Kay: Ryoya Tanaka. Even though he only debuted this year, he already looks like an absolute star in the ring. If handled right, he could absolutely be DG’s next ideal super rookie.

Adam: Jake Crist. He finally broke out in 2023 by winning the Revolver World Title and came into his own as a singles star on the independent scene.

Steve: Matthew Brooks. If you haven’t seen him, check him out online. An amazing operatic voice, he sings his entrance, has a good look and is talented in the ring.

Thumbly: Julia Hart. It feels like she’s really arrived late in the year with the TBS title win and her recruiting of fellow new star Skye Blue. Along with her improvement in the ring, the arrow is pointing straight up.

Alex: Tough one, but Jamie Hayter. Her momentum was cut short, just as she was the most over performer in AEW. I can’t wait to see her return.

Jamie Hayter: Journey to Superstardom

10. What’s something you are excited about in the coming year?

Ryan: Whatever comes of this United Japan Pro-Wrestling partnership. 

Trent: A Wrestle Kingdom LIJ roll call to close out the show…please?

Fusa: Just more great wrestling and collaboration throughout wrestling. 

Thumbly: Giving a legend a send-off both on his terms and while he can still make something out of it. Thank you Sting, see you at Revolution for one more SHOWTIME!

Alex: Think I said this (somewhat naively) last year, but again; more success for the women’s division in AEW, and for TK to actually show support to them by giving them the minutes they have earned.

Kay: The return of DRAGONGATE Prime Zone, objectively the best show in wrestling.

Adam: It’s hard to put my finger on just one thing so I’ll say the rebrand of TNA, the continued rebirth of ROH and the continued good health of the US independent scene.

Steve: The contracts of so many top stars coming to an end creates excitement about who will sign where and what dream matches could follow.