I Watched 4,169 Matches In 2023. Here’s 19 Of The Best Ones. And Some Other Stuff.

January 1, 2024 by TeeCoZee

Well, I made my goal. And then I made it again. And again. And then I forgot what the goal was and why I was doing it in the first place. I think I just wanted to see how far I could push myself (and my wife) before I pulled back (and before she found a lawyer). I started out naively, thinking I could just write about it quarterly and everything would be hunky dory. But then I got lost in the sauce, drowning in the spreadsheet that only knew how to grow and grow. 6.6 match after 6.6 match until none of them were distinguishable anymore. But that’s all behind me now. I think I won. I made the finish line.

I watched 4,169 wrestling matches from 2023.

And a lot of them were very good.

I figured that at the end of the year, I would write a little ditty about every match that I ranked a 9.0 or higher. But there ended up being over 130 of them, so that’s not happening. I could also just list them, but do you really want to see that? If you do, then you’re better off just looking at the spreadsheet. Which you can go to here. Use it as a guide for matches you want to catch up on or use it as evidence that I’m unfit to be a human being. Do with it what you want, it’s read-only.

But what I will talk about is 19 matches. They were the best of the best, the ones that actually made me feel something. They’re the ones that I rated a perfect 10 and they’re in no particular order because if one was better than the others, I’d give it a 10.1. I’m not Dave Meltzer. That’s probably a good thing. But I’m sure Meltzer also liked these matches.

Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega – IWGP United States Title – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 – 1/3/23

Before the match even started, I was already resigned to the idea that the best match of the year would occur on the third day. My ass woke up at 3 AM to watch the show live and the sun was already up by the time the bell rang. What my tired eyes saw was a scientifically sound wrestling match. The way a story was told in 3 acts harkened back to the classics Kenny had against Okada oh-so-long-ago. I watched it, went back to bed, woke up and made Rachel watch it. And then 12 hours later, I watched it a third time. Rachel yelled out from bed, “Are you watching that fucking match again?!?” Yes. Yes I was. Two of the best wrestlers in the world wrote a symphony and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Mark Briscoe vs Jay Lethal – Singles – AEW Dynamite #173 – 1/25/23

Since the inception of AEW, owner Tony Khan tried getting The Briscoes on TV. For reasons that we’re not going to get into, the bigwigs at Warner Bros Discovery wouldn’t let that happen. So when Jay Briscoe tragically died in January, the question was what would happen to Mark. He had never been without his brother by his side and the thought of it just felt wrong. And would the network that denied them over and over allow a proper tribute to take place? Those questions were answered on January 25th, when Mark made his AEW debut against longtime friend, Jay Lethal. A match doesn’t have to be technically sound or expertly choreographed to move you. There was just a profound presence in the air that night. When the bell rang, there wasn’t a dry eye in the arena, including the men in the ring. Every action they made, they did for Jay. Performing every move as a living tribute to one of the best to ever do it. To their brother and best friend. I could go on, but it’s hard to fight back the tears. There’s no way you can watch this match and not feel romantic about wrestling.

MJF vs Bryan Danielson – 60 Minute Iron Man Match – AEW Revolution – 3/5/23

We didn’t know what to expect out of this match. MJF was crowned world champion in November and he spent the first 5 months of his reign being his asshole self and refusing to defend it. He was already legendary on the mic, that much we knew. The qualities of his aura alone made him worthy of the world title to the general public. But he still had yet to actually prove himself in the ring. We didn’t know if he could go with the best of the best. So they pitted him in a 60 minute Iron Man match against arguably the greatest wrestler to ever live. And he delivered. There’s no better way to shut up critics than to go 60+ minutes against the GOAT. The intensity that he brought and the chemistry that they had granted MJF a hall pass for the rest of his title reign. Or, at least a long time…

Giulia vs Tam Nakano – World Of Stardom Title – Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom – 4/23/23

I started following Stardom in January and didn’t watch anything from years prior. So shoot me for not knowing all of the Tam Lore. All that I knew was that the match was a long time coming and these women hated each other. On the same show that gave me my favorite wrestling moment of the year (we’ll get to that later), these two put on the best women’s match of the year. It truly felt like something they were planning their whole lives, every emotional beat hitting perfectly. I didn’t need to watch old matches or understand Japanese to feel the story they were telling. Simply put, this match made me a Joshi fan for life and everyone owes it to themselves to see it.

The Elite (Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta & Claudio Castagnoli) – Anarchy In The Arena – AEW Double Or Nothing – 5/28/23

There was an exploding shoe in this match. AN. EXPLODING. SHOE. 10/10, no notes.

Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay – IWGP United States Title – AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door – 6/25/23

God damnit, they did it again. In the Tokyo Dome, they gave it everything they had. In Toronto, it was apparent that they saved a lot of stuff for the sequel. It’s impossible to parse the two matches apart, so much so that some publications are merging the two matches as a combined “match of the year”. To try and pit one match over the other would be a disservice to the craft. Once again, we were treated to two of the best to ever do it, doing it. And I know that next year, I’ll be writing about part 3, hopefully with more eloquence.

FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) – AEW Tag Team Titles/2 Out Of 3 Falls – AEW Collision #5 – 7/15/23

Everyone was skeptical when AEW added a live show on Saturday nights. But then from the first episode, fans noticed a stark difference between Collision and Dynamite. The new show had more of an old school presentation, with a sharp focus on in-ring quality. This match forever cemented the show’s legacy. A runtime like 58:03 is never done on television these days. This was a true callback to the territory days and the whole thing felt like a love letter. Just immaculate tag team action, with everyone knowing their part and their spots. The Calgary Stampede crowd didn’t relent as these guys essentially murdered each other. It felt like something from a long-gone time. You could bottle the energy and sell it at a premium. It created a blueprint for how you wrestle on Saturday Nights.

Tetsuya Naito vs Will Ospreay – G1 Climax 33 Semifinal – NJPW G1 Climax Tag 18 – 8/12/23

This was a story of two men in different phases of their career. Will Ospreay has become the final boss of the G1: always contending, always a final hurdle, never winning it all. Because the final boss is meant to be defeated. Naito, on the other hand, had nothing to prove. He’s cruising into the twilight years of his career with nothing but success to look back on. And yet, he still had something to prove. He wanted to prove that he could still hang, that he could still be an attraction, that he could win the G1 and be in the Tokyo Dome main event one more time. Nobody ever expected it out of him, but we all secretly hoped for it. He spent most of the tournament under the radar, trying his best not to make a big splash while keeping his record sufficient. Going into the semifinal, he was a major underdog as Ospreay was seemingly a man of destiny. But destiny met the Destino and Naito had an answer to everything that was thrown at him. It was an exhausting back and forth that could’ve ended 10 times over. The match served as a reminder of the Naito we knew and loved. A proper tribute to an era soon to be ending.

Arisa Nakajima vs Sareee – SEAdLLLING Beyond The Sea Title – SEAdLLLING 8th Anniversary – 8/25/23

Spending time in Orlando makes the fighting spirit soft. Just ask the countless talents that rotted in NXT before being eventually thrown in the trash. But while Sareee sat in catering, she didn’t get brainworms. She got ready. And her match with Nakajima sent a message to all corners of the wrestling world: “I’m back”. After spending years in junk creative, hardly ever being utilized, she returned to Japan and made it known that she’s still one of the best Joshi wrestlers out there. And that’s just beautiful.

Bryan Danielson vs Ricky Starks – Strap Match – AEW All Out – 9/3/23

There’s no reason why this match should have worked. It was thrown together at the last minute after CM Punk was fired. It was to take place in Chicago, a city that praises CM Punk and was feared to go completely nuclear. Oh and also, Bryan Danielson only had one functioning arm going into the match. You had to feel bad for Ricky Starks, who was expecting a big push with the CM Punk feud, now completely dead in the water. This match should’ve been an afterthought, a consolation prize, a preshow warmup. Instead, Bryan gifted Ricky with the best match of his young career. It was violent, it was technical, it had fighting spirit, it was the best strap match ever. And this is an opinion that’s universally shared. There was no reason for this match to even exist and yet it was still one of the best of the year. That’s the magic of Bryan Danielson.

Jon Moxley vs Orange Cassidy – AEW International Title – AEW All Out – 9/3/23

Orange Cassidy was tired. He was very, very tired. His reign as International Champion was like none other. He was taking all comers, putting himself out there at every show. In an age where the WWE World Champion wrestles 4 times in a year, OC defended the belt 31 times before he hit the wall. And that wall was Jon Moxley. It was an epic and bloody retelling of David vs Goliath. OC knew that he couldn’t beat Mox, but he refused to give up. He wanted to believe. We all wanted to believe. What was supposed to be an awful dejected Chicago crowd were at a fever pitch. The whole world wanted to see Orange Cassidy win. He carried that weight as a badge of honor and a reason to never give up. When he eventually lost, I had never felt so hurt by professional wrestling. But I had to take a step back and appreciate everything about it. In November, Orange Cassidy won a secondary title. He spent 10 months elevating it and by the time he was done, he lost it to one of the top guys in the industry in the main event of a PPV. And that’s just beautiful.

Konosuke Takeshita vs Kenny Omega – Singles – AEW All Out – 9/3/23

I think it’s obvious what the show of the year was. Kenny Omega went out there doing Kenny Omega things and Konosuke Takeshita proved that he wasn’t the young lion that Kenny fought years ago. They did moves that I didn’t even know were physically possible. This whole match had me hyped beyond belief, so much so that this is the one match that I admittedly overrated. Literally nobody remembers how great it was. It did absolutely nothing for Takeshita’s career. People still marvel about how much they dropped the ball on him. Hopefully someday, when Takeshita is world champion, people can look back on this match and see how sublime it was. But for now, LoL tOnY cOn HaTeS jApAnEsE pPl.

Jay Malachi vs Jake Something vs Speedball Mike Bailey vs Filthy Tom Lawlor – Carolina Classic Final – DPW Carolina Classic – 9/23/23

I had to throw this match in there just so I could retain my mark status. To be fair, it was only a slight markup from 9.7 to 10 and also, it was one of the craziest fucking things I’ve ever seen in my life. Just spot after spot after spot after spot, not giving themselves time to breathe. Every guy sacrificed life and limb for the hundreds in attendance and the few thousand streaming at home. Complete organized chaos in the best way. If you were to ask me “What match did I miss this year?”, I would immediately recall this one. It’s a perfect showcase for some of the best guys on the indies, doing it for the best promotion in the indies. When the boys are back in town, the boys never miss.

Zack Sabre Jr vs Bryan Danielson – Singles – AEW WrestleDream – 10/1/23

There are dream matches and there are Dream Matches. This one was the latter. Zack Sabre Jr has spent his career honing his technical skills, trying his best to be the next Bryan Danielson. There was only one problem: he hadn’t fought Bryan Danielson. This match was absolutely perfect. And by that, I mean absolutely no mistakes were made. It was the most immaculate match I had ever seen. A masterclass in grapples and holds the likes of which you just don’t see on television. This was unlike any other match on this list. This was Pure Wrestling in its truest form. I spent the whole time hoping and praying for it to last forever. And in my heart, it did.

MJF vs Kenny Omega – AEW World Title – AEW Collision #20 – 10/28/23

So, about MJF’s hall pass: it was starting wear thin. In early summer, he turned face and slowly lost his edge. His mic skills were dwindling and most of his matches were comedy tags. The memory of the Iron Man match was deeply faded. So what do you do when your champion needs to have a banger match to keep the fans satisfied for the back half of the run? You call for The Cleaner. Kenny pushed MJF to the limit like nobody had done for months. It was refreshing to see the champion be the champion again. MJF was able to flawlessly adapt to Kenny’s style and they took it all the way to broadway. FTR vs Bullet Club Gold was a mission statement. This match firmly cemented Collision as the best wrestling show on TV.

Will Ospreay vs Shota Umino – IWGP United States Title – NJPW Power Struggle – 11/4/23

New Japan Pro Wrestling did not have a good year. They’ve been bleeding legends left and right and will soon face the death blow of losing Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada. While the rise of Yota Tsuji has been enlightening, the question still remains as to who the next ace is, who’s going to fill the massive void that’s growing by the day. Shota Umino wants to be that man and he made a massive case for it against Will Ospreay. It’s safe to say that he shocked everyone by not only being able to keep up with Will, but also appearing at moments to be one step ahead of him. By the end of the match, he had the crowd eating out of his hands. Years from now, when he’s a top guy, we can point to this match to show when the tide shifted. Who was once an overrated nepo baby has become a prodigy and it seemingly happened overnight.

Swerve Strickland vs Adam Page – Texas Death Match – AEW Full Gear – 11/18/23

I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore fan, but I’ve seen my fair share of death matches. Sometimes you just need the satisfying crunching sound of a mat covered in broken glass. But never in my life have I seen such a spectacle of hatred and violence. Just a few minutes in, Hangman was drinking Swerve’s blood, letting it drip onto his face like he was changing his car’s oil. It didn’t relent from there. There’s only been a few times that Rachel has been invested in a match and had to look away because it was too much. That’s how you know you have something special. Not only did they perform acts that would be illegal in several states, they also had a coherent and sound wrestling match, as a treat. It was balanced, well-paced, told an engaging story and both men lost at least a liter of blood. What more could you ask for?

Eddie Kingston vs Jon Moxley – Continental Classic Final – AEW Worlds End – 12/30/23

This was an emotional selection for me. To be totally fair, the match that Eddie had in the semifinals against Bryan Danielson was superior. But seeing this match live in a sold out arena fully behind Eddie, this felt like one of the best matches of all time. In a year that has been nothing short of improbable, Eddie put his two titles (he had two fucking titles) on the line to make the Continental Classic tournament for a true triple crown championship, an idea that has been his lifelong dream. It all seemed like a mistake when he started the tournament at 0-2. With his back against the wall, he harnessed the pressure and went on a ridiculous run against antagonists that he had never defeated before. To beat Moxley in the finals felt like an impossible task. But mid-way through, when he had Mox running from corner to corner to get away from his chops, it suddenly felt real. There wasn’t 50 false finishes, nor were there any shenanigans. Eddie won 1-2-3 and 10,000 people got to their feet to scream their asses off. Just 4 years ago, Eddie was ready to give up on the dream. Now, he’s doing things that he always dreamed of. He’s not supposed to be there. But he is. He serves as a constant reminder that anything is possible. I said it once, I’ll say it a million times again: wrestling is the best.

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Kento Miyahara – Triple Crown Title – AJPW Mania X – 12/31/23

In speaking of the Triple Crown Title, I’m just now getting heavily invested in the kings road and AJPW in the 90s. An era when wrestling felt like a true martial art and the performers were larger than life. In this match, I could feel that sentiment starting to creep back. Maybe it’s the way that AJPW shoots their matches. Maybe it’s Nakajima coming out to Antonio Inoki’s theme song. Or maybe it’s the fact that these two men completely and utterly brutalized each other. It was a true puroresu match with two of the stiffest masters of strong style. A clinic on how things used to be and how they want it to look again. This match occurred at the end of a very tumultuous week for AJPW but as long as these two guys are still there, the promotion will be just fine.

If you ever want to watch any of these matches, there are ways of doing it. Just shoot me a line. If you don’t, then you probably just skimmed to the end. But joke’s on you, this isn’t actually the end! Here’s some random superlatives off the top of my head:

Moment That Will Always Live Rent-Free In My Head: Himeka’s retirement match (Stardom All Star Grand Queendom) – Not only did Maika have to say goodbye to her best friend, she had to be the one to put her down. In the end, Maika is drowning in tears. She yells out, “Please kick out! I love you!”, and gives Himeka a shoot headbutt followed by a Michinoku Driver for the pin. Those words are going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I feel feel nothing but heartache every time I think about it.

Most Improved Wrestler: Mariah May – I really didn’t get it at first. Nobody did. When Stardom was still new to me, Mariah was still new to Stardom. Her blonde diva gimmick just felt wholly out of place and it took a while to realize that that was the point. Out of the 99 matches she had in 2023, I watched 99 of them. It was so cool to watch her grow before my very eyes. While she started as modest and green, she left Japan as a confident ace. Seeing that trajectory was a whole lot of fun and I look forward to seeing what she can do in AEW. (After writing this, I bought a ticket to Dynamite to see her debut match, so yeah, I’m heavily invested…) It’s a testament to how much good an excursion to Japan can do for a female wrestler. They literally make assassins. Like Team Taz, but a country. But I digress…

Most Devolved Wrestler: Blake Christian – Good god, that guy got boring in a hurry. I can’t believe he was my boy. gross.

Wrestler Who Carried An Entire Promotion On Their Back: Athena – She was also in contention for most improved, but this award seems more appropriate. She spent the entire year being the only consistent thing in ROH. Literally the only draw. They have built the entire promotion around her. It couldn’t have happened for a more deserving person, but still, can we get some other stars around her please?

Most Comforting Promotion: DDT and TJPW (Tie) – Even though I haven’t mentioned either promotion yet, I can assure you that I’ve been watching them. The thing is that the promotions are never bad, but they’re never great. It’s just consistent low-stakes entertainment to vibe to. Every night, I would pour myself a whiskey, fire up the PS5 and cast Wrestle Universe to the TV, knowing that I was in for a good time.

Best Gimmick: Kazuki Hirata and his sunglasses – In a year that had the Iron Savages “sipping sauce and living hoss”, Timeless Toni Storm and Roddy In A Wheelchair, it was a pair of sunglasses that took the cake. For you see, the sunglasses are magical. Whenever someone puts them on, a song will play and the wearer will have no choice but to dance. Kazuki Hirata uses this for both good and bad. Just trust me bro, it’s funny. It was the only thing keeping me invested in DDT’s mid-card.

Best Promotion (Match Quality): AEW – It’s been a very polarizing year for AEW. While they’ve provided some of the best matches in their short history, their booking decisions and behind the scenes politics makes you think it’s a sinking ship. We know that it’s far from it, but because they aren’t WWE, they’ll always be held to impossible standards. That’s just how it is. But regardless of how things were going, they still put on banger matches weekly. And a dude like me appreciates it.

Biggest Letdown: Cody Rhodes Not Finishing The Story – The moment that Roman Reigns pinned him, I was speechless. We all knew that Cody was going to win and then he…didn’t. Nor did he get a rematch. That was the moment that The Bloodline jumped the shark. What was once the reason to tune into WWE became the reason to tune out. At least that’s my opinion, I know I’m in the minority. WWE is hotter than ever. Probably because AEW is somehow worse at booking.

Wrestler That Hasn’t Been Mentioned Yet That I Should Mention: Gunther – He’s been killing it all year. He’s gonna kill it more next year. And probably the year after that. And so on.

And some superlatives that need no explanation (or, I don’t feel like explaining):