Amazingly, another year has come to a close. It’s about to be Royal Rumble season, with new beginnings and possibilities abounding between the tumult of that show and the incessant talk of the Road To WrestleMania picking up again. We’re still living in the aftermath of AEW’s World’s End. We have a brand new champion (hot damn, Samoa Joe wearing a world title looks and feels great), a new faction, led by a newly minted Devil himself that is in fact not MJF. Those men, their health, one’s faction, and the fed around them give the year endless new possibilities.
But, before we look forward, it’s time to take stock and determine just where these past 12 months are pointing towards. What have our experiences in being a wrestling fan in 2023 taught us about a path forward with the product, with its performers, and with each other?
New Year’s Resolutions as a Wrestling Fan
1. Avoid Gatekeeping…myself
With two major companies, Ring Of Honor and TNA, back with a vengeance, alongside many thriving independent companies, there’s just so much wrestling to consume. And that’s just talking North America – there’s the rest of the world running events damn near every day. Shit happens, lives and jobs and families get busy, and you can’t be in front of the TV each Monday…and Wednesday…and Friday and Saturday and on and on.
If you’re like me, you feel compelled to consume all the details of each story – because that’s basically the whole point! This means that, when I find myself always a few Dynamites or SmackDowns behind, I sentence myself to catching up on the past before I allow myself to enjoy the latest action and the reactions unfolding about it.
That’s fine in theory, but is rarely practical. What’s more common is that before I really make a dent in my catch-up, I’ve fallen equally or even further behind. Worse than not knowing the newest match results or hearing the latest cool promos, this also means I am cut off from the latest discourse, uninformed of new debuts or developments, and just a bit lost lest I scramble to Google what went on.
Reading results just doesn’t have the same magic, though. So I wait, and try to dig out, and end up waiting some more. Who does it help? Nobody, and instead of feeling better about “doing right” by the product I just feel worse that I’m not plugged in.
So, I’m going to give myself a break. I watched the first Dynamite of the year just on its own merits, and thank goodness because it was great! Great promos, a clutch debut in the women’s division, and an absolutely crushing performance by Konosuke Takeshita…and I got to see it all, hear it all, and talk about it, all live! It was more than just excitement, it felt like a true relief.
If there’s anything holding you back; not knowing everyone’s full career resume, or the past exchanges in each storyline, or simply wondering if you should really even be into wrestling – let it go! There are too many things in the way of enjoying yourself and your passions, don’t create more yourself. I can already tell you it’s worth it!
2. No time for twits, Dr. Jones
For all of the talk about the “IWC,” the thing itself becomes the story way too often for my tastes. The awful things said/sent to the performers, or said recklessly about them without involving them, and you’ve got a days-long news cycle that eventually eats itself. All of it leaves me deflated. It takes the focus off the humans putting themselves on the line and their pain, passion, and hard work: often with no point, true resolution, or comeuppance for bad actors. The platform itself is deteriorating and leaning into the same kind of racism, sexism and degradation that many have tried to get out of wrestling.
Why stick with it at all? At this point it’s built into our culture as the main news breaking source, connectivity point and taste measurement. It’s regularly how I first hear about awesome things like Hammerstone taking on Josh Alexander at the first TNA pay-per-view. Being able to share the experience of heads exploding at once with moments like THIS:
There’s nothing like being able to share that excitement – in this case, joining a large community built out of what has always been a niche business.
And I have found some great friends and colleagues and contacts, most of whom my social anxiety prevents me from adding on Facebook. I can’t lose that, so I guess I’m riding this out until the BWC gains steam on BlueSky. But if you think I’m leaving my “following” tab, or venturing out into the wider bullshit topics and arguments that are way too prevalent… to quote Eddie Kingston “I’m a different type of cat”. Or at least I will try to be every day that I can manage it. Each day spent in greater substance and more meaning, even within a hobby like wrestling, is a good one.
3. This one’s for the girls…
As mentioned in #1, there was a major debut for AEW recently. A former women’s champion around the world, and a former WWE superstar, they appeared with few spoilers out of the blue on Dynamite to a huge reaction.
Except it was in the women’s division and was not Mercedes Moné (yet at least!), so it has been undersold.
That new arrival was The Virtuosa Deonna Purrazzo, coming off an extended time dominating IMPACT Wrestling in the Knockouts division. Purrazzo has proven she can be the leading light against a wide array of competition while stretching anyone who gets in her way. Her arrival, and rumors of her former co-worker’s maybe coming soon, come on the heels of better and more populous women’s action in the company.
Soon after, we got a tease for the return of another devilish mat master in Serena Deeb. With Toni Storm and Julia Hart in place as champions with consistent stories, and former titleholders Thunder Rosa and (hopefully) Britt Baker soon to hit TV, it sure feels like the women’s division in AEW will capitalize on increased TV time to grab more and more equal standing. We haven’t heard definitive news on Jamie Hayter yet, either, but the pop for her coming back will be massive.
There’s similar momentum building outside of AEW and even the whole US too. Japan’s STARDOM has become one of the most successful promotions in the country, while Tokyo Joshi Pro recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a strong stable of newfound potential stars. Meanwhile, WWE found one of its biggest breakthroughs of 2023 in Rhea Ripley. Even if most of her most engaging moments have been related to matches that were not her own, Mami is always commanding the screen and the Judgment Day itself in a compelling way. Hopefully some true competition lets her do the same between the ropes a bit more often!
There’s so much happening, but not enough eyes on what’s happening. There’s more than enough high-quality women’s wrestling to focus on if you make the time for it, an entire diet of content from just their athleticism, comedy and fiery comebacks.
I began making it a bigger emphasis for myself last year, from sponsoring donations to ChocoPro and ordering/attending live events where they were the focus (even sole focus), I didn’t come away disappointed. Each one of us can make a positive difference to smaller promotions or to independent stars than we know.
This year, here’s to more! More consumption for me, and hopefully more people having their eyes similarly opened and notions shattered. L’chaim, 2024!
Wrestle Inn 