2023 proved to be a fantastic year for WWE. With creative control firmly in the grasp of Triple H, there were so many great storylines, matches, and moment that could even make the most jaded fan smile. Whether it was the rise of Sami Zayn, the splintering of The Bloodline, or even some corporate shake-ups, 2023 was a year to remember for WWE fans. So as the sun sets on 2023, we here at AIPT want to take a moment to reflect on what was as we eagerly anticipate what is to come in 2024!
Shinsuke Nakamura faces The Great Muta in NOAH
The Great Muta, after a long and influential career, decided to retire in 2023. However, the creator of the Shining Wizard and the infamous Poison Mist would not go quietly into that good night and, of course, had a retirement tour that began with a match with Shinsuke Nakamura. The match was excellent but was more surprising was the fact that Nakamura, a WWE Superstar, was allowed to venture outside the confines of WWE to wrestle the match.
– Jay Barrett
Vince McMahon returns to WWE Board of Directors to steward sale of the company
“Somehow, Vince McMahon returned.” After resigning and retiring in dishonor in July of 2022, Vince McMahon made a surprising and ominous return to the company that he founded using an aggressive shuffling of the C-suite. Fans and WWE employees alike were jarred by his sudden return as things were going very smoothly with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H at the helm of the company. VKM explained that he had returned to usher a sale of the company before the television rights for Raw, SmackDown, and NXT were due for renewal.
– JB
Stephanie McMahon reaffirms status-quo after VKM’s return to WWE; Resigns from company immediately after
Vince McMahon’s return was alarming to WWE aficionados because the company, from a financial and creative standpoint, were on the significant upswing and there was renewed vigor in the company. Stephanie McMahon’s rule was met with significant acclaim and it was truly a new day in the company but, Steph, understanding this, immediately addressed the company to reassure her compatriots that Vince was only returning to usher a sale and that nothing would be changing. She then stepped down immediately.
– JB
Rhea Ripley and Cody Rhodes win the Royal Rumble
The surprise of no one, Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley won their respective Royal Rumble matches. The women’s Royal Rumble was, frankly, one of the best Rumbles I had ever seen with the most exciting final three in recent memory. It was truly excellent. The men’s was great too – most notably, Gunther lasted well over an hour, proving that he’s a top guy.
– JB
Sami Zayn turns on The Bloodline to reach new level of superstardom
Sami Zayn ruled 2023. After years of being one of WWE’s hidden ace, an excellent match with Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania 38, and joining The Bloodline in 2022, which breathed new life into the storyline, Sami Zayn used that momentum to soar through 2023. He was one of WWE’s hottest acts, a crucial part of the biggest angle within the promotion, and his popularity skyrocketed when he turned on Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Seemingly overnight, fans were reminded of why they fell in love with Sami Zayn in the first place as he reclaimed a top spot atop WWE.
– JB
WWE merges with Endeavor to form TKO
Remember when we talked about Vince McMahon forcing his way back onto the board to usher a sale of the company? Well, it worked. WWE was purchased by Endeavor, the owner of the UFC, to make a new, behemoth sports entertainment company called TKO. For the first time in the company’s history, a McMahon was no longer at the helm and the merger is so far paying off for the fans. The merger has allowed Triple H to have a tighter grasp on creative and allowed President Nick Khan a firmer hand on the wheel of operations to the benefit of the fans as the product has arguably never been better. It is honestly a great time to be a WWE fan.
– JB
WWE Tag Team Championship match main events WrestleMania 39 Night 1
Sami Zayn rode his wave of momentum into the Elimination Chamber event in February when he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns, but his story was not finished. Sami Zayn reconciled with his best friend, Kevin Owens, to challenge The Usos for the tag team titles in the main event of Night 1 at WrestleMania, marking the first time the tag team titles were ever given such a spotlight. And after a hard fought match, Zayn and Owens won the title in a truly touching moment as the two paid tribute to their Pro Wrestling Guerrilla roots while winning the tag team titles for the first time in WWE.
– JB
Cody Rhodes fails to “finish the story” at WrestleMania 39
Fresh off of being booed out of the company he co-founded, Cody Rhodes emerged as the hottest babyface WWE has seen since John Cena. The man competed in a Hell in a Cell match with a torn pec and earned so much clout with fans that everyone was overjoyed when he returned to win the Royal Rumble match (one of the best in recent memory), and all the while he shared his passionate and honest story about wanting to cement his legacy by doing what his legendary father couldn’t and winning the WWE Championship. So what did they do in the main event of WrestleMania? Roman won it the same way he has won every one his matches since this bloodline thing started two years prior. It was so immensely frustrating and really pissed off a large contingent of the fanbase.
– Jason Segarra
WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico is a banger
Huh, how about that? You take the biggest name in modern music, invite him to the first PLE on his home island in nearly two decades, place him in the ring against your top star from the same country and it turns out fans will come. Not only that, when you starve a people of entertainment for that long and then give them a reason to get excited, THEY SHOW UP. On paper, Backlash was a nothing show with little of note beyond a celebrity match and Brock Lesnar appearance, but in practice? This was the hottest crowd the company has seen in forever. The only real issue I have with it is that they let Cody/Brock main event instead of the Bad Bunny street fight that featured the return of not only Carlito, but Savio BY-GOD Vega too!
– JS
Bray Wyatt passes away
On August 24th, the wrestling community was shocked to its core with the news of the passing of Windham Rotunda, better known as Bray Wyatt. Wyatt had been off TV since March when he was suddenly dropped from his upcoming WrestleMania program with Bobby Lashley with no reason being given. It was later reported that Wyatt was dealing with an undisclosed medical issue and was preparing to return to the ring when he suffered a heart attack and sadly passed away. He was only 36 years old. Following the announcement of his death, multiple wrestlers and fans began showing tributes to Wyatt, with SmackDown airing as a tribute show to him and Terry Funk, who had also recently passed away. Wyatt is survived by his partner JoJo and four young children.
– Shane Martin
The Bloodline implodes; Jey Uso becomes a certified singles star
Dissension within The Bloodline reached a fever pitch after WrestleMania 39 as The Usos had failed to retain the tag titles against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. An impatient Roman Reigns decided to take matters into his own hands when he teamed with Solo Sikoa to try to regain the tag team titles for the faction. However, the duo lost the match after a botched interference from The Usos which prompted Jimmy Uso to kick Roman in the face. This then led to the “Bloodline Civil War” at the Money in the Bank event in London which actually saw The Usos win the match as Jey pinned Roman. Jey Uso is considered by many to be the quiet protagonist of The Bloodline saga, and he used this momentum to become a legitimate singles star in 2023. He unsuccessfully challenged Roman for the title at SummerSlam after the daytime soap opera-esque swerve of Jimmy Uso turning on his brother. However, Jey Uso then moved to Raw where he continues to be one of the show’s focal points.
– JB
The Judgment Day becomes the focal point of Monday Night Raw
The Judgment Day has become the sun around which Monday Night Raw orbits. For the majority of the episodes, some permutation of the faction will come out to run afoul of Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, or whichever face is in the ring pontificating that will, invariably, end up in a match for the main event later that night to great effect. Despite its inherent predictability and repetitiveness, fans have responded well to this formula as Dom Mysterio has risen to new heights of villianhood, Finn Balor has enjoyed rejuvenated stature to his character, Damian Priest is an heir apparent to the World Title after successfully winning Money in the Bank, and, of course, Rhea Bloody Ripley has become a certified ratings and social media juggernaut. It is one of those rare factions where there is no “weak link” and all have benefited greatly from the association.
– JB
Well-rested Roman Reigns only has like 10 matches in 2023
Roman Reigns is so damn over, that SmackDown revolves around him despite his rarely appearing on camera. Whether it is Paul Heyman continuously reminding us that matches can’t happen without his approval, Jimmy and Solo taking orders from seemingly their cell phones, or the indisputable fact that ratings get a bump when he shows up, Roman is clearly the top dog in WWE and it isn’t changing for a long time. And honestly, people are OK with it. I hope Roman keeps the belt through Mania 40.
– JB
NXT Wins the Tuesday Night War against AEW; Tony Khan has Twitter Meltdown
AEW Dynamite was forced to air on a Tuesday due to baseball, and WWE’s NXT mopped the floor with them. Triple H and HBK decided to bolster the program with appearances by Cody Rhodes, Asuka, John Cena, Paul Heyman, and The Undertaker to good effect as Dynamite proved no match for these stars rating wise. Was it a fair assessment of AEW’s drawing power in comparison to WWE? No, not in my opinion, as Dynamite was forced into an irregular timeslot and assuredly, many of their fans were left unaware of the change. But still, not a good look. Tony Khan did not react well and took to Twitter to vent his frustrations in a less than productive manner.
– JB
Logan Paul is infuriatingly good at wrestling, wins the US Title
It is so frustrating to see just how good Logan Paul really is when he steps inside the ropes of a WWE ring. His matches are consistently one of, if not the best on the card. His Rumble appearance and spot with Ricochet was one of the most talked about moments from the weekend, his match with Seth Rollins at WrestleMania was really good, and his SummerSlam match with Ricochet was well worked and made Paul look like a star. Fast forward to Crown Jewel and Logan Paul defeated Rey Mysterio to win his first championship in WWE, the United States Championship. Logan Paul has less than 10 matches under his belt and has already become a believable champion. Frustrating, but for the right reasons.
– SM
LA Knight ascends to megastardom
LA Knight ascended to megastar status seemingly overnight in 2023. After toiling for years on the independents, failed stints in WWE’s developmental system, Impact Wrestling, the NWA, and even WWE itself after being anchored by a manager role, LA Knight finally found an audience with his signature catch phrases, engaging persona, and intangible charisma. His meteoric rise was accompanied by meteoric merchandise sales which proved that LA Knight was no flash in the pan and was here to stay.
– JB
John Cena returns to WWE during SAG-AFTRA Strike
The SAG-AFTRA strike shut down Hollywood as the two unions took to picket lines to protest Hollywood studios’ refusal to adequately compensate writers and actors for their work on shows destined for streaming platforms nor address the looming threat of AI on media production. But while most actors were left with no platform to entertain, John Cena returned home to WWE for several months to widespread acclaim. He immediately became embroiled with The Bloodline, was a foil to Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa on many Friday nights and was instrumental in helping to elevate LA Knight.
– JB
The Rock returns to WWE for first time since 2019
With both the Writer’s Guild and SAG-AFTRA striking for a lot of the year, movie star interviews had to focus less on upcoming projects and more on actors’ personal lives and hobbies. The Rock spent a lot of time making crazy comments during this time period (seriously, how long are we going to ignore the fact that The Rock said he was going to fight for PRIDE FC back in the 90s?), but none were more interesting to WWE fans than Johnson’s claim on the Pat McAfee show back in September that the dream match between the Rock and Roman Reigns had been planned for this past WrestleMania, but the match fell through. There were a lot of doubters in the hours after this claim was made, with people saying The Rock was just lying or trying to regain goodwill post-Black Adam, but Rock proved that he was serious about being interested in returning to WWE when he appeared on the September 15, 2023, edition of SmackDown, helping Pat McAfee dispose of Austin Theory. The crowd roared louder than I’ve personally heard for any other moment this year, and The Rock really seemed like he was back home. Interestingly, there wasn’t a single Anoa’i or Fatu in sight for this whole segment, but however we saw him, The Rock did come back to Denver, and to WWE.
– Darius Melton
Solo Sikoa sends John Cena to Oblivion
John Cena got got at WWE Crown Jewel back in November when he faced Solo Sikoa. Ever the gracious wrestler, Cena continuously looks to give back to the business by using time in the twilight of his career to elevate newer and younger stars, and his match with Solo Sikoa was no different. Solo, till this point, has flanked The Bloodline as its silent but dominant enforcer. He was given this match to prove his mettle against the legendary wrestler and he did not disappoint. He soundly defeated Cena after multiple Samoan Spikes to the throat and beat down Cena so bad that commentators questioned if the previously invulnerable wrestler would ever return.
– JB
NXT finds a new broadcast home in The CW
NXT is and always will be the little promotion that could, and they have proved that in spades ever since their rebrand in 2021. They have successfully taken younger twenty-something wrestlers who had little to no experience in the squared circle and made them dynamic characters more than capable of holding their own. Slowly, surely, and methodically, viewers watched as these young wrestlers acted out simple but effective storylines that featured prototypical mean girls and bullies, the age-old squabbles between big city folk and humble country farm hands, and jocks vs. goths that all settled their differences in the ring. You know where a show like this would find a home? The CW. What is a CW show if not an arena for pretty twenty-something year old actors to wage their simplistic, memetic ideological wars? Jokes aside, the NXT crew has earned this. NXT will be a perfect fit with the other shows on the CW, and I hope they have ample opportunity for cross-promotion with the other shows on the network which will allow them to reach a much broader audience.
– JB
CM Punk Returns at Survivor Series
After allegedly getting into yet another backstage altercation at AEW All In, CM Punk was publicly fired by Tony Khan in September. Rumors of his return to WWE began to run rampant immediately but many doubted if that was even possible considering the bad blood between the two sides. I mean, WWE fired CM Punk on his wedding day and then bankrolled a lawsuit against him. But, never say never: CM Punk made his shocking return at Survivor Series event in his hometown of Chicago to thunderous applause from fans in the arena and around the world. How CM Punk will fit into WWE’s current landscape remains to be seen, but it should be great for the product regardless.
– JB
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