The Worst of Wrestling in 2023

[@CGB_Crash]

The fact that the Mtn Dew Pitch Black match will be immortalized as Bray Wyatt's last PPV match makes it even more deserving of a spot on the list.

[@Joe90h]

Yeah, sadly the legacy of one of wrestling's most intriguing creative minds is going to be forever riddled with just the most baffling decisions, and I get why WWE would sugar coat history in any documentaries or match collections going forward but it'll leave a bitter taste in my mouth for sure.

[@KnowPhere]

I agree. WWE released a lot of Brays matches on KZbin to honor his legacy but as a fan it reeks of mishandling and misjudgment. Vince never got fully behind Bray. They can sugar coat it all they want, fans know he deserved better.

[@KnowPhere]

I agree. WWE released a lot of Brays matches on KZbin to honor his legacy but as a fan it reeks of mishandling and misjudgment. Vince never got fully behind Bray. They can sugar coat it all they want, fans know he deserved better.

[@KnowPhere]

I agree. WWE released a lot of Brays matches on KZbin to honor his legacy but as a fan it reeks of mishandling and misjudgment. Vince never got fully behind Bray. They can sugar coat it all they want, fans know he deserved better.

[@KnowPhere]

I agree. WWE released a lot of Brays matches on KZbin to honor his legacy but as a fan it reeks of mishandling and misjudgment. Vince never got fully behind Bray. They can sugar coat it all they want, fans know he deserved better.

[@petersiddorn1369]

I would have added the RAW after Mania 39. An complete shitshow of 3 hours of wrestling and basically had 99% of fans fearing the return of Vince to running everything on shows again.

[@dkmenace1990]

Stop letting dirt sheets manipulate you

[@luffsnstuff]

​@@dkmenace1990 fans weird tho. 😅.

[@petersiddorn1369]

@@dkmenace1990 That's how I felt at the time and since we have seen that's not the case 'Thank god'

[@Joe90h]

I mean, Vince kinda sorta was back in that vacuum between Wrestlemania and the Endeavor merger. Gotta love Vince now having a boss who tells him to stay in his lane, though.

[@DasNordlicht91]

I imagine a lot of the rage towards that Raw was influenced in part by WM39 Night Two and Roman retaining the title through a lame finish, and what seemed like WWE immediately demoting Cody Rhodes with the start of the Brock Lesnar feud (although that turned out well for Cody in hindsight, given how said feud turned out).

[@iamthurnis745]

it’s terrible how many ACL injuries have plagued the women’s division over the past year

[@godlikecedar7877]

NXT women’s division has been hampered so much by them. Cora who looked to be winning the title just went down. It all sucks

[@kittenpuke8918]

Admitting that women have susceptibility to ACL injuries does not contradict that they are on the same level as athletes with men. It’s in now way PC to say many women may deal with ACL problems. It’s just as important to also point out however also that all bodies across both gender are different and that being a woman inherently does not mean their ACL may cause problems, just that there’s a more likely chance unless they are bodily more unique (as the same for all men who may differe from the average male body). All that to say, it’s not ALL women but it’s likely for most and should be evaluated on an individual level than just a gendered one.

[@wezleeclinton5850]

The women’s division in almost every company has been on a bit of a rough patch in general over the last year. Between injuries, bad booking, or just lack of star power.

[@kittenpuke8918]

Also I’ve never seen too many ever call saying that women are more likely to get ACL injuries as misogynistic and get called out by “PC people”. It’s like saying how men are more likely to get heart attacks or diabetes (both true), it’s just a thing with body types (which can differ for those of either sex or even more so intersex people on a masculine and feminine body type spectrum).

[@kittenpuke8918]

TNA and NXT (even with certain injuries like Cora Jade just a week ago) has been holding strong id argue and doing very well for a long time now, firing on all cyclinders.

[@rhedosaurus2251]

As bad as the Pitch Black was, at least it had two things going for it. 1. Bray won his last televised match. 2. He did so while making LA Knight look good.

[@reddragon0624]

LA Knight being the only person to benefit from feuding with Bray Wyatt while also being his last rival is kinda poetic in a way

[@venomousnate7263]

That’s true.

[@closethockeyfan5284]

And I think it's one of those ideas easy to blast in hindsight but also one that represents a risk we want promotions to take, knowing some such risks will flop as this one did

[@stephen9281]

I honestly enjoyed the pitch black match. I was watching it with my friends and we enjoyed it. I was also a huge mark and waiting every second to see what would happen with Uncle Howdy. I do understand the lighting making everything worse visually and respect others' opinion, but I enjoyed it.

[@theronquishow5837]

LA would've looked good had he been visible

[@Ryanonfire03]

Tony Khan: “I’d put our safety record up against anybodies…” 👀👀👀

[@Homerstar]

I feel like Sponsorships in general should have been on the list. Things like the Mountain Dew Pitch Black Match, the Texas Chainsaw Death Match and perhaps the most frustrating one, turning Rey Mysterios entrance for his super serious blood feud match with Dominik, into a sponsorship for Cinnamon Toast Crunch with a mascot dancing. I get that they get good money for this, but it just stops wrestling from being treated like a legitimate thing.

[@98nh3609]

The kindest thing one could say about the Texas chainsaw Death match. At the absolute very least it made money for charity.

[@artirony410]

"it just stops wrestling from being treated like a legitimate thing" bruh there's probably 50 things minimum that happened before the Cinnamon Toast Crunch entrance that made wrestling look like an even bigger joke

[@rayedmonds6108]

I couldn't agree more. I was at WrestleMania night 1 and saw Rey come out for what should have been an emotional blood feud with his own son, instead the giant stadium was lit up like a rainbow (it was seriousy so much worse in person) and Rey comes out happily dancing with a piece of cereal. It completely took me out of the moment. Honorable mention to the women's WarGames match being completely spammed by Ruffles. Fuck corporate sponsorships in general, especially in wrestling.

[@sonomni]

So are we gonna ignore that even sports in general gets sponsorships?

[@JackieTheBold]

I'm really surprised "Vince Mcmahon's return" wasn't on this list. I mean, I can't help but remember the post-Mania RAW...

[@SteveElOtaku]

I suspect the only reason it wasn't is that Endeavor went "HAHAHA NO, YOU'RE NOT ON CREATIVE, VINCE" within about a month.

[@Cristiano-qw8gc]

Best moment brock roman cody drama i like that

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Boy, this one has turned even more sour over the last week or so...

[@mrterp04]

Since it’s not on the list anymore, I feel like you should “retire” the toxic online tribalism with a banner in the rafters of your studio

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

You mean the AEW vs WWE vs Cornette sucking club?

[@kenrickkahn]

Thank You! Tribalism is killing pro wrestling.. It is! I can't enjoy anything about pro wrestling without some person saying *"This company sucks and you shouldn't watch them"* Like damn it man! Like what you like but damn if you don't like it move on and don't watch it.. Let others enjoy it for a change while you enjoy what you like..

[@ravensflockmate]

I like how aew fans will always cry about tribalism only when wwe fires back in any way they can throw stones in their glass houses unimpeded though

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

@@kenrickkahn Yeah. I am sick of going on videos that otherwise have nothing to do with AEW and there’s at least one comment making fun of it! It’s like these people need to do it or they’ll literally die!

[@alexs7670]

Yeah, the worst thing about any sporting event is definitely that fans have a team they like that they want to see win.

[@platinumpagoda3079]

I couldn't agree more about Cody and Roman. Hypothetically, they could still do it this year but all the momentum is gone. Roman still having the belt throughout the summer actually devalued it greatly.

[@mrlaidback83]

And the most of the Bloodline storyline got boring as a result too imho

[@platinumpagoda3079]

@@mrlaidback83 Yep, I really don't know why they thought they could stretch it out for another year. I'm so sick of hearing "finish the story" that I could puke.😆

[@TravisBroski]

I remember the discourse of people saying "Cody didn't work HARD ENOUGH, isn't READY!" and then others were like "JEY WILL WIN IT AT SUMMERSLAM DUH" and then, well, look how that turned out.

[@MetalMadness_00]

@@TravisBroskipeople were saying Cody wasn’t ready before the match and when he did people changed their gears

[@meh2228]

Can't wait for wwe to have Roman go unbeaten for another year just so you all can whine about it more. Here's a fun fact. Stop acting as you are the center of universe because you like a wrestler better than another cause you aren't. Wwe is doing better than it has in 15+ years and bloodline and reigns has been the major attraction / story. No one has gotten devalued because your fav didn't win, boo hoo, and by your own admission if reigns has made the title as undervalued as you claim it is then maybe stop whining about reigns and focus in another title? This may shock you but wwe has more than one title going on for you to enjoy and Cody to win. But then again it would mean that likes of you wouldn't get to whine about reigns anymore so here's to another year of whining bud

[@SonofJones]

Also, as far as the CM Punk in AEW issue goes, I think it's fair to say regardless of whose "side" you're on, if any, we can all agree it was just a really bad situation not just for the company, but for all of wrestling. It drew battle lines between a devoted fanbase and created a major blemish on not just the company's reputation, but the reputation of everyone involved. Wrestlers having beef with each other is nothing new, but the fact that it was allowed to carry on for so long and got so out of hand, especially in a major promotion, is completely inexcusable. At a certain point, it doesn't matter who said what or who started what, all people involved are guilty for continuing to add fuel to the fire and not just putting it to rest. And ultimately that hurts more than just them, because having a viable alternative to WWE is objectively a good thing for both wrestlers and fans; it means there's more expectation of quality programming, and more options for the workers so they don't find themselves stuck somewhere they're unhappy with because that's the only real game in town. Now that they've been forced to finally deal with it (regardless of how people may feel about the end result) hopefully this means everyone involved can finally move on to focusing on what they do best and this can just be a nasty bump in the road in long, storied careers for both Punk and the Elite. And hopefully this can serve as a much needed wake up call for all those men that they all need to do better going forward.

[@bruceleroywayne]

“its 2024, we dont have time for respect or humility or even basic human courtesy…you either think like i do or i shit on your existence, hmph!”

[@JoeChillton]

All of this, yes. No side is innocent, Tony should have never waited till after it spilled in front of him AGAIN to do something.

[@hyperchord]

@@JoeChillton He should've never hired Punk. He's proven time and time again he can't act like an adult

[@AzureRoxe]

@@hyperchord It's morons like you that the OP is talking about.

[@colonthree88]

Got it in one! all that was needed was a neutral negotiator (or backstage enforcer, worked back in the day didn't it) to tell both parties to wind their fucking necks in during the early stages, and it would have perhaps played out differently I hate that this played out the way it did, I hate what it's done to fans, but 2024 seems to have most of that stuff in the rear view mirror and we can hopefully look forward to some great wrestling and storylines this year on all si... ....what do you mean the head of one of the companies is acting like a complete and utter manchild on social media and showing his whole ass to the world?

[@therainmakerinsider]

Number 7 should be number 1. How to destroy a national TV deal with a white powder spot approved by Billy Boy.

[@AndreNDP]

100% believe they never had the deal and just did something controversial to give a reason why they didn't get it.

[@wtfaiwpodcast]

I'm guessing it would have been higher if NWA was a bigger deal, but it's a fifth-tier company at best.

[@DaremoTen]

My theory is that CW was just stringing Billy along as a tactic in their WWE negotiations, and the a-cola incident was just an excuse to break their promises to him.

[@mariomm9080]

i don`t think CW ever wanted NWA, they just used them to get WWE deal

[@EmperorPilaf04]

How prophetic that Brian mentioned the Rock coming back, since this was filmed before the Rock officially came back and took Cody's spot at Wrestlemania

[@TheLokiBiz]

I think in retrospect, a lot of the problems we had with Bray's last storyline - him only having one match over six months, them seeming to tread water for a while there etc. can be explained by his health issues. I really wish we could have seen what he had in mind for the whole thing. I hope one day maybe Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy can give us a taste of what Bray had planned.

[@mikeygraves16]

I agree that's certainly a possibility, but the thing is we just don't know when he started to get sick. It's entirely possible that he was perfectly fine and at 100% during that entire time and only became sick sometime well after he had his last televised match.

[@choke9270]

It’s tragic he died. But let’s be honest. His entire return was the shits. Rambling promos and stuff that made no sense. There’s a reason he was let go.

[@TheLokiBiz]

@@choke9270 I suppose it's subjective. I liked his promos, and felt it was clear it was held back because he couldn't go forward with the storyline due to health issues (there were stories about his health issues the whole time, but we obviously didnt know how serious things were) - I also really liked the Fiend, and felt that was mostly held back by poor booking. That said, I've always loved a bit of "camp" in my wrestling - I'm all for crazy supernatural shit and the like. Hell, Papa Shango was one of my favourite wrestlers when I was like 8 years old lol. Anyhow, to each their own and all that.

[@ConfusedProud]

Yeah Bray had many many huge chances to be creative and got several huge pushes. He was pretty dreadful and his ideas consistently sucked .

[@sonomni]

@@mikeygraves16 It was sometime before Wrestlemania 39, it was reported that Bray got sick which was why he couldn’t show up at WM and why Lashley vs Wyatt didn’t happen.

[@venomousnate7263]

I love how even though you criticized the Pitch Black Match, you payed a wonderful tribute to Bray Wyatt. A great performer taken too soon. RIP BRAY WYATT ✌️

[@timhickey80]

Tyrus would have to catch someone to get them an ass whooping. The guy moves like pushing a fridge in the snow.

[@PKSunset]

He moves like goofy on muscle relaxers.

[@mrmusickhimself]

It's hilarious to watch him run the ropes, it's almost sarcastic.

[@RealGateGuardian]

I've seen refrigerators that were more mobile than Tyrus

[@Gammera2000]

He's the best wrestler since Rick Flair you just hate him because he supports that mormon dude who definitely isn't trying to exploit victims of sex trafficking to make money.

[@MissAlmostFine]

Holy sh*t😂😂😂

[@mrmusickhimself]

James Mitchell taking harder bumps than Tyrus did during his entire run.

[@Gammera2000]

I'm genuinely confused why he was given a title shot. He was boring as hell when he won the belt, and he was never really a guy who I saw holding gold at any point in his career. He had nothing going for him besides being a fox news guy

[@mrmusickhimself]

@@Gammera2000 They should have known when he ran the ropes.

[@numero1superfly393]

I honestly would’ve added Vince McMahon returning after, “retiring.” (As well as the Raw after Wrestlemania 39.)

[@storysnob1022]

lol the Rock’s music cutting you off had me rolling. Peak editing ✊🏻

[@roadwarriorhawk692]

2023 is the year where I heard cult of personality more than in 1988 when I had the cassette.

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

😂😂😂

[@HandlebarOrionX]

15:25 Bryan Danielson had his orbital bone RE-broken. It's the same eye that Takeshi Morishima broke back in 2007 in ROH, where Danielson wrestled with an eye patch back then

[@artirony410]

I didn't know Morishima broke Danielson's orbital bone, I just knew he detached his retina

[@magesentron]

I'm going to make a prediction. IF the WWE decides to go with Rock vs. Roman at Mania, it's going to end up on this list, next year. I totally agree with Brian's reaction to that "surprise" Rock entrance.

[@FaysalIsGoated]

I understand why you put CM Punk’s AEW exit at number 1, but in my opinion the worst thing that happened in wrestling last year was Vince’s mustache👨🏻😂

[@iamkonner4813]

Nah man put that thing in the best list, think of all the memes we’ve had because of Vince’s squirrel tail

[@jd9119]

Come on. That mustache was great. He looked like the stereotypical bad guy in a silent film.

[@jamescurrall9341]

Nah objectively yes it is awful but there's just too much comedy mined from it

[@beastycool]

I want pictures of spiderman!!!!

[@viralshadow]

To be fair to the NWA entry, from what I've seen of that PPV I doubt that CW execs would have look fondly at the product even without the James Mitchell spot.

[@WalkingCowboy]

Long ago there was a rumor were Billy Corgan offered the NWA as a "bonus" to CW while negotiating the rights for his docu-reality show

[@rickyrosay33977]

The ppv itself was terrible

[@SLJR16]

It appears the injury bug made it’s way to WWE this year. Only a month in and they’ve already had quite a few big injuries. Here’s hoping no one else has to be out for a significant period of time in any wrestling company.

[@Boozer13]

Maaaaan. Tyrus was HORRIBLE! He moved at the speed of molasses. And he’s like 50 years old! Giving ur biggest title to him was insane to me…

[@BB-ed4om]

Like 50 years old lol. So is edge. You’re either in shape or you’re not.

[@PierzStyx]

Except Tyrus was on TV every week with the belt. And, yeah, it was Fox. But there is still a large percent of wrestling fans who are White conservatives. I'm willing to bet there is actually a positive connection to Tyrus on TV and the CW originally picking up NWA because, if nothing else, Tyrus was getting publicity for the title. That made it a known brand.

[@VinnieGer]

Deaths are super obvious but at the same time I wish they were addressed. That Jay Briscoe one still gets me.

[@rayedmonds6108]

Me too. The night Jay died this 41 year old man cried like a baby.

[@SwannyTheMike]

Something I keep wondering is why anyone needs to pick a "side" in the CM Punk situation when it seems like everyone involved behaved like a bunch of immature teenagers and management (I.E. Tony Khan) refused to draw a line in the sand. They all looked bad, the company looked bad, and made fans focus more on backstage BS than the in-ring product.

[@danmount9462]

I agree with this take. TK not showing a backbone cost the company a surefire moneymaking program. He should have made the Elite and Team Punk sit down and work together.

[@DerekScottBland]

Exactly. In the end, the lion's share of the blame falls on Tony for caring more about being everyone's buddy than being a business owner. The Bucks and Jungle Jerkoff should have been reigned in long ago and told to behave or take a walk. Punk needs anger management counselling. He was right to be mad, especially after going to Tony about his issues and seeing nothing done, but he ended up making himself look bad when he was in the right.

[@Kinterlude]

@@DerekScottBland ....what is this revisionist trash? We don't know what Tony did behind closed doors, but everyone has been ready to speculate. We don't know what Tony did to handle it because no one to this day has any clue? What is it with people making up this narrative like we know what happened with how Tony handled it? We were immediately told there were NDAs, so shit got serious enough that it was taken to court and handled. So we'll never know. And tell me you're being tribal without so many words (misplaced mind you). No one had a negative thing to say about The Bucks or Jungle Boy prior to the CM Punk blow out. The biggest controversy The Bucks had was the Booker issue backstage (which they admitted fault to and Booker said wasn't a big deal by any stretch). But what's this garbage about Punk having a right to be mad? Punk was made THE GUY of the company. Punk got anything he wanted and STILL acted like an asshole. Banning people from the show who didn't agree with him, etc. He made a toxic work environment then bitched about the work environment being toxic. Holy revisionist history do you guys just re-write things to fit your point of view. We have it documented from multiple people about what Punk's done backstage. Yet every pro-Punk "leak" from his camp was refuted and ultimately disproven every time. How do you guys come up with the mental gymnastics to ignore proof just to complain about AEW? Punk was known to have these issues back in IWA-MS, ROH, TNA, FCW, WWE, and now AEW. He's always been the asshole but since he's WWE, people want to act like it never happened and he was some poor victim.

[@whatwelearned]

this is the correct take

[@ryukami404]

It really feels like to me that a lot of people wanting to pick sides in the CM punk situation have determined that one side started it and because that side started it, they are at fault for everything that happened afterwards and it's just, not how life works. Who knows what really started the bad blood between The Elite and Punk but I can say that both sides are to blame for what happened in their own ways and hopefully something like this doesn't happen again in any company. What happened was childish, could've been handled better by everyone involved and overall just served as a massive distraction that made an already toxic IWC a biohazard.

[@kevrulz06]

Cody not winning just pissed me off. Imagine if Daniel Bryan didn't win at 30. It totally made sense, and only proves that WWE didn't know how to end the story, or they were afraid to.

[@youngdolo8]

I'm not even a Cody fan, and even I felt robbed. Roman's reign in 2023 was very sluggish and plodding, it could and should have ended at WrestleMania.

[@fro-zone2k]

Not to mention the aftermath was clear that Reigns didn't need the title to keep things interesting.

[@rayedmonds6108]

​@@youngdolo8Same. I think Cody kind of sucks, but to watch him lose at WrestleMania even I was like, WTF?!

[@johnenigma8506]

"The NWA Blows it." I see what you did there.......and that's a good one.

[@stingrey1571]

Jericho’s spot is so deserved. It is so true in sports.if you stick around long enough, even the greats will suck. He is soo desperate to remain relevant, he feuds with anyone who is hot just to siphon off their heat.

[@ryukami404]

Which can work fine if done right. But as people have pointed out, Jericho has basically become the same thing that made him leave WCW.

[@Obscusion2]

@@ryukami404 And he's the exact kind of person that he had a literal WrestleMania feud with, i.e. "The Old Timer Who Doesn't Know When to Stop Appearing". At least Ricky Steamboat was retired for years before his amazing trio of matches during that time, but Jericho is 100% what he was insulting Piper & Snuka (and Flair, too) for being.

[@stingrey1571]

@@ryukami404 seeing jericho red faced and slurring his words during a promo and it not be a part of an angle should have been a wake up call for jericho himself and tony khan.

[@bigdaddythunder1982]

He's ok at commentary just let him do that and maybe be on the creative team Tony

[@BB-ed4om]

@@bigdaddythunder1982where’s Tony?

[@hound89]

"Can't wait to see what happens in april" This but unironicaly

[@animenut2591]

watching the #3 spot 3 days away from mania and what a hell of a ride it has been.

[@ethan_benfield]

I loved the NWA revival until AEW and WWE took everyone who was over. Man it has fallen off.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

My introduction to Eddie Kingston and Ricky Starks

[@ethan_benfield]

@@claymathewselevator8121 its how I first saw them too. And Thunder Rosa, and Eli Drake.

[@SpaceDragonX783]

I know people love to say NWA was always terrible but pre-pandemic it was top tier wrestling.

[@andrewdunn5568]

​@@SpaceDragonX783it was probably my favourite wrestling show at one point. It was just an easy show to watch and i liked the more stripped back production. Nowadays.....oof

[@rickyrosay33977]

The pre pandemic era was great and as someone who grew up watching wccw, mid south wrestling, and JCP tapes that my grandfather owned I loved the old school aesthetic but once they're big names left, into the fire was gone and cornette being removed from commentary I tuned out when I saw that Tyrus became champion I knew I made the correct decision and as much as I liked her in TNA velvet sky is insufferable on commentary

[@griffinkelly8694]

The curse sound effect is the noise the tiki makes in the episode of the Brady Bunch where they go to Hawaii.

[@royceflores23]

One of my favorite bits of content you do. I like the best of just because it feels better to hear. But it’s also nice to have 18 minutes of agreement on various wrestling happenings.

[@rex788]

I was so hyped for Bray Wyatt. But I agree, that Pitch Black match was something else. For me it was too short and did nothing for either wrestlers. But as you said, we miss you so damn much Bray Wyatt. ❤❤❤❤

[@aaron24wood]

The reason releases happen when record profits are announced is exactly to keep profits hitting records. It's the nature of US capitalism that every single year you need to make more than ever before. If you miss even one year, you are in massive trouble. That's why releases are genuinely for budget reasons. Not because they're hurting for money to spend, but that they need to keep more of it.

[@theangriestpigeon4403]

As someone who couldn't watch wrestling at all because of how busy my year was I just knew what number 1 was. It left the wrestling sphere, that's how bad it was.

[@blakeandrews9496]

one thing i’m happy to see in the modern era is WWE treating top talent from other companies, as top talent. in previous eras cody, punk, and cargill would be upper midcard at best right now, at least in terms of booking. maybe even worse. but instead they’ve all come in and been treated as main eventers or at least worth our time being interested in.

[@armandotorres8962]

If you don’t mind, I feel this should have been on the list (or an honorable mention): NJPW’s conservative booking and poor handling of their younger talent. Recently they announced Shota Umino, Ren Narita and Yota Tsuji as the new 3 Musketeers. Putting a label on them is putting too much pressure on them, but the lack of proper booking hurt them. Sure they have good matches but by having them lose at the end, it means nothing. And that’s not even getting into Noah’s ace Kiyomiya’s booking and how often they would bury him on commentary. The lack of payoff of his feud with Okada, completely ruining what was once a hot angle. Still relying on the same guys without building up the guys below to take their spots eventually. 2023 looked as to be a bit of rebuilding year for New Japan, but by the second half, between losing talent and not focusing on the future, hurt them big.

[@bilogangbola71]

InNJPW’s defense, Naito finally won the gold and got to do the LIJ roll call at WK, hopefully he gets a long reign while Sanada solidified himself as main even talent after rebuilding from his Wrestle-1 stint

[@mrlaidback83]

As a fan of NJPW I agree with everything you said, but I do believe that they will focus more on the younger talent this year imho.

[@thegreatczarn]

The Mtn Dew Pitch Black match was visually interesting, but that's about it.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Batman Forever vibes

[@wathan0]

i was quite literally watching the best of 2022 and was like dang i can’t wait for the worst of 2023 and here it is

[@thatguywade5384]

I will say, I feel like there has been more positives in wrestling this year than I think in previous years. WWE's product is much more enjoyable thanks to the efforts of Triple H being in creative, AEW for all its woes still had incredible matches with stuff like the Continental Classic, TNA finally is rebounding after years of being stuck as a small independent, more people are watching wrestling these days, and yeah, certainly what Brian has mentioned in the video has sucked for sure, but I can't say it tainted the year for me personally. I dunno, it feels nice being a wrestling fan with good main stream products for now.

[@swagz262]

TNA especially after hard to kill last week. I think that ppv in particular is gonna be remembered as one of their best.

[@Abridgimation]

@@swagz262 Yup, fingers crossed they can keep that momentum going

[@misteraskman3668]

It was a year very similar to gaming: Some of the best games ever (that is no hyperbole) came out this year, and also some of the worst crap (that is also no hyperbole) came out the same year.

[@thatguywade5384]

@@misteraskman3668 And to think people assume gaming and wrestling have no connections what so ever. Have they not seen Kenny Omega ever?! Lol

[@AustinSportsGuy]

Brian: We all saw that match! Me (who was there): We did? I know it happened. I was in the building. But I can’t honestly claim to have “seen” it.

[@TheJollyMisanthrope]

AEW has a Tony Khan problem. Gets in his own way infinitely more than Vince McMahon ever did (when it comes to booking wrestling that is).

[@Air_OK]

The Cocaine instrumental under the NWA segment killed me 💀

[@ottagol1985]

Surprised you didn't refer to the coke that The Sinister Minister snorted as "The Devil's Dandruff".

[@WrestlingWithWregret]

After hearing the story from Col. DeBeers about the time the Iron Sheik asked a cab driver for the White Gimmick, I can never not refer to cocaine as such ever again 😄

[@ottagol1985]

@@WrestlingWithWregret I can definitely see what you mean. Also sucks that we lost The Iron Sheik last year too.

[@atenchifan]

I don't think I'll ever get over the death of Bray Wyatt who has been my favorite wrestler since he debuted! RIP Bray Wyatt

[@BXMarathoner26]

If you ever see me say "I agree with Roman winning over Cody at wm 39" I have been kidnapped and my family is held hostage where i have to agree with any shit bookings or they will be killed. Cornette said it best: 5 Star match with a 1 Star Finish"

[@tafua_a]

"When business is up, you can do no wrong, but when business is down you can do nothing right". Brawl Out was the moment business slowed down for AEW and people other than full blown haters started seeing more and more flaws with AEW. Punk leaving definitely only made this worse.

[@justAuntyJoe]

Nice rise and fall of wcw quote ✌️it’s very fitting.

[@daniel___________9129]

Punk was fired.

[@tafua_a]

@@daniel___________9129 Hard to not leave when you get fired.

[@TheIllustriouBlueJay]

​@@daniel___________9129its still leaving the company.

[@prj7894]

typical delusional aew marks ..things were not great before brawl out ....the company was still in the red

[@jimibaboza]

2:53 Remember how the WWE and AEW stole most of the NWA stars? The CW stuff was never confirmed and was a moot point once NXT entered the picture.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Father James Mitchell has best eyebrows in wrestling

[@41Brother2]

I never believe the "budget cut" excuse when it comes to the mass releases and even more so when they show you the profits they're making. And naturally it happened right around when Vince came back into the picture. Some i could understand as they were just never gonna be used. But others like Mustafa, Cedric, Shelton and especially Ziggler really seemed off-brand for them. Dolph felt like he was gonna be a WWE-lifer. He was a guy you could put into any spot and he'd deliver. Could main event, US/IC title picture, tag team, even sending him down to NXT to help elevate the new talent like Bron Breakker

[@slashandbones13]

The biggest problem with Cody losing was "okay, Jey Uso at Summerslam" and he didn't win ethier.

[@kingofthekeysXBL2]

13:16 Oh…. Oh, Brian. Oh……. Oh no…..

[@claymathewselevator8121]

The Mountain Pitch Black match reminded me of Batman Forever

[@MrMusick84]

Holy shit this is the best comment I’ve read in a long time! I salute you sir!

[@miketuckerman5]

The music in the background of the NWA section was perfect. 😂

[@rickyrosay33977]

That entry is filled with puns 😂

[@justdirt]

It's growing pains for AEW. If TNA can survive with no TV deal, no budget, and no shows, then AEW can survive with several long-term 9-figure TV deals. Viewership has always been the most overrated thing in wrestling, especially now. I will say tho, the switch up I've seen online of AEW this last year is insane. I never really understood why tribalism was always so high on this list, but after seeing comments on wrestling posts on tik tok, I fully get it. Even things as simple as aew posting a clip from a match will have 100s of wwe stans saying the most toxic shit you can imagine. It's why TNA being revived (again lol) is a cool thing. The more big wrestling shows, the better. I don't watch wwe or tna that often, I just prefer Japanese wrestling and aew. But I still want wwe and tna to succeed. I love that wrestlers can get paid well. I'm glad so many shows are viable. Rooting for wwe to the point of harassing people online for enjoying a different promotion won't make Triple H want to be your friend

[@ParsnipPizza]

13:00 It turned out insanely well!

[@kanenums8888]

I understand your reasonings for including it, but idk the pitch black match seems so unimportant compared to what’s happened since.

[@dwightyboy5324]

Exactly, this wasn't really that bad to put in a top 8, top 16 maybe

[@swovy5]

I feel like you could wrap the Mtn Dew Pitch Black Match under an umbrella of "Sponsored Matches in general". The Texas Chainsaw Massacre match and the Yakuza match were pretty awful too.

[@mrlaidback83]

I personally liked the Yakuza/Like a Dragon match (probably because I'm a huge fan of the series) but I agree with you about the 2 matches. Those were hot garbage.

[@jeffdecker627]

The most incredible thing is with all those AEW injuries...Darby Allin isn't one of them.

[@logd27]

16:44 REAL GLASS. CRY ME A RIVER

[@dstaple3]

The Chris Jericho black hole for the past what, 3 years? Has been pretty rough

[@zacharysolano6375]

You know these ideas might be redundant but I would love to see you do a year end list on the worst wrestling matches and a year end list of the worst pay per views done threw out the year. I just think it be interesting for you to cover what you think are the worst matches and pay per views from the year

[@michaelclark2097]

2022 injury bug hit WWE. 2023 injury bug hit AEW 2024 WHAT IS INCAPACITATING INSECT DOING AT THE IMPACT ZONE?!

[@misteraskman3668]

Man, I was SO CONVINCED that Cody v Roman had a dusty finish that was going to be corrected. I was even convinced that the commentary would mention "Dusty finish". I was praying for it. And then the show ended.

[@OctoberRust02]

Some good news about Sonya Deville though. She's apparently already getting ready for a return. That's some Super Cena level healing right there! I just hope Cora Jade has the same luck with her recovery.

[@anthonyleon8410]

Oh thank God! Real talk, I came down with COVID just a couple days ago and it sucks, this is easily the best thing that I could have woken up to today. Thank you Z-Man!

[@Oxbayer]

Watching Jericho’s year play out in real time was kinda mid. But in retrospect it was god awful… He seems to be creatively stuck and hasn’t actually developed as a character is a long time beyond having multiple contrived nicknames.

[@LokiTricksterG]

Danielson also suffered a torn labrum and compressed vertebrae in his Iron Man match against MJF, which explains why he was off TV for two months and didn't wrestle again until late May. What's crazy is that, despite suffering 3 huge injuries, he still wrestled more matches than Adam Page for some reason.

[@sleezboy992]

I'm surprised that Satan did not interrupt your video like he did with Heroes of Wrestling review.

[@RobertGreenwald]

What made me angriest about Cody losing at Wrestlenania was that Solo Sikoa was ejected from the match. Then he just returns? Why eject him, or anyone for that matter, from ringside if they can just return to interfere in the match without consequence? It’s bad storytelling at the most pivotal moment of what many lauded ti be WWE’s best main event story in years.

[@Spectre1323]

Might change the order a little, but can't argue with any of it. Entertaining and well thought out as always. Wrestling tribalism is my permanent #1 at this point, especially because I think wrestling is as good as its been in a long time BECAUSE of the rise of AEW and the success of smaller companies (and I say that as someone who prefers WWE overall). On a related note, WWE releases to me aren't as bad of a situation as they were maybe 3-4 years ago, because at least now there are a plethora of places for those wrestlers to ply their trade and make a living without getting lost in the shuffle of a company that doesn't care to feature them.

[@bilogangbola71]

Helps as well that the releases generally affected those who aren’t on TV or those who just needed to shine elsewhere and inject the indies with much needed talent. And then there’s Top Dolla (doing really well in TNA) and Matt Riddle (with MLW)

[@wwesvk9958]

Ziggler was NXT Champion in 22 not 23

[@gatorsfan4ever]

I hope you mention the rebound of tna/impact when you do the best of 2023 in two weeks

[@matta6991]

TNA and gators fan? You get a like a from me

[@bloodrunsclear]

There was a time when heel-turns were badly planned. Now they just…happen.

[@jmike2039]

Tyrus looks like if some wizard made donkey Kong a human

[@cgsoldier4196]

10:26 Thankfully most of them are doing pretty well Ali is in the middle of a well hyped indie tour Emma & Riddick Moss have a KZbin show where they travel the world. Top Dolla/AJ Francis just debuted for TNA Nic Nemeth/Dolph Ziggler is in TNA as well as New Japan

[@fro-zone2k]

Here's my list 8. The Injury Bug Is All Elite 7. The Curse Of Women's Tag Team Championship 6. The Chris Jericho/Don Callis Saga 5. The Mass Releases 4. Jimmy Uso's Heel Turn 3. Raw After Wrestlemania 39 2. CM Punk's Final AEW Days 1. Cody Rhodes Looses At Wrestlemania 39

[@dkmenace1990]

Mass Releases always happen

[@TheEddieJ1984]

Thought that too, and for someone like Dolph, his career has been pretty stale and this is probably going to be the best thing for him, plus compared to other years it wasn't as much, and I don't even think they claimed it was due to budget reasons this time. @@dkmenace1990

[@greasy2007]

Loses but looses

[@billyboymartin]

I can't wait for your Best Of video. I always love those. They're the best.

[@nathanaguiar7264]

Having Cody lose is on the level of HHH beating Booker T at mania 19. It's one of the main reasons I refuse to even acknowledge WWE programing, opting to watch Jim Cornette recaps instead.

[@Eviltwin531]

That Pitch Black match is such a bummer because objectively, all the visuals are really damn awesome.

[@Lilbeef1]

My hot take is that for the moment, Cody taking the pin at wrestlemania 39 was the best way to end the show, and anybody who goes back to watch it in 10 years time without proper context will agree, however with given context it is the biggest dropped ball wwe has ever done, Cody’s year would have rivaled Kurt angles first year in wwe, or Brock in 2002

[@JohnSmith-wh2ob]

Not yet

[@DasNordlicht91]

How that finish will be received a year out from it will depend on whether or not we see vindication for Cody at WMXL. That said, even that seems uncertain now, with a certain Hollywood star barging in and calling his (as-of-yet undetermined) shot.

[@prj7894]

roman's a bigger draw than cody at this time ......WWE is not a mark company to put a title on buckaroos to please niche audience

[@davidlewis5312]

@@prj7894 Roman is such a big draw they won't even put on TV.

[@NoahWilson8108]

Brian you are too good. Really your sense of humor, delivery is all comedy gold. You must consider doing stand up or something in the comedy field. Commentary and youtube videos do not do you justice. There is real talent there.

[@johnenigma8506]

Okay Look You're right about Number 5 and that is why I'm still mad about that for the obvious reasons. Honestly this is one wrestling death I'm going to get over especially anytime soon. Not that all of the wrestling deaths aren't important but like you said his death was as surreal as the man himself.

[@cram2979]

Toxic fanbase tribalism of WWE vs AEW "fans"

[@bodins]

The mishandling of Punk is being repeated with Jericho and the allegations. If Tony just came out and said it was all rubbish then the fans would move on. But he keeps dodging the hard questions and so these rumours will stick around.

[@WHTSNK_]

He called them unfounded rumors and said that's why he wouldn't address them. That sounds like shutting it down as false

[@Danton1990]

AEW didn't fumble Punk. Punk ruined his own chances in AEW. He's lucky WWE hates AEW so much to have him back.

[@Palazzo]

Honourable mention: WWE insisting on working with a persistent scammer in Logan Paul.

[@greasy2007]

Thank u, I'm so done with him

[@Bandana_Boi]

Nobody's worried about Mania being in Philly outdoors in April?

[@jcace13]

Here’s hoping the knee injuries stop for WWE this year after Nikita Lyons, Sol Ruca, Sonya Deville and Charlotte Flair all went down… oh too late, there goes Cora Jade too.

[@jesterr7133]

The CM Punk saga has to be in the top ten of bad things to happen to any company in history.

[@Sampin19]

AEW did not fumble CM Punk! Punk ruined it all on his own!

[@Xehanort10]

8:03 They should have just brought him back with the Funhouse/ Fiend gimmick.

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

No fancy Countdown Card for 2023’s Worst…it doesn’t deserve it! 😂

[@SonicXeno]

13:25 Update from the future: Cody’s going after Roman and Rock didn’t show up in the Rumble lmao

[@HighestTrailsAbove]

Eh......

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

Ignoring the whole snorting deal, the NWA product is just awful. Sanhaim was filled with all these bad gimmick matches and wrestlers that were career jobbers elsewhere. This also ignores the dreadful presentation of their weekly programming. It feels like Billy Corgan loves 2002-03 TNA.

[@Matt-ob3it]

Not as much as he loves himself.

[@rickyrosay33977]

I tuned out a long time ago once their biggest names left, into the fire was gone, and Cornette was removed from commentary when I saw Tyrus became champion I knew I made the right decision and as much as I liked her in TNA Velvet sky is insufferable on commentary

[@sonnycherone4315]

Hey Brian, I got an idea for your next top 8 video. The worst ideas Vince Russo had during the Monday Night wars.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

Happy 2024 to Wrestling With Wregret viewers on Patreon and KZbin. Plus, happy new year to the Z-man. Keep making entertaining content, Zane. 😊