Miss Peacockery’s 23 Favorite Things of 2023

2023 has come to an end. To me, I’m thankful because 2023 was a hellscape year in my life. Wrestling-wise, it was a hell of a year.

Today I’m going to take a look at my 23 favorite wrestling things of 2023. Why “things”? Sure, a lot of people can pull out a list of their 23 favorite matches scientifically ranked. I cannot. I have 1 and 2 but anything below that could shuffle at any moment. For me, it’s the extended moments and things that have happened over time. And that’s what I’m looking at.

Please remember these are MY 23 favorite things. They don’t have to reflect yours or be representative of THE best things that happened. Kenny Omega’s cool. I didn’t include him. It’s okay if you do!

I’m also going for mostly positivity here. These are things that I enjoyed. We complain enough on social media and on this website.

First though, thanks to you who have welcomed me into the Blog of Doom family this year (though the comments of the Morning and Evening Updates are like the family holiday dinners that I’m too anxious to attend because y’all get crazy). Scott offered me the invite and I gladly accepted as a LONG-TIME reader and told me to do what I want. I have and it hasn’t been everybody’s cup of tea, but some of you appreciate it and I appreciate that. There’s also a few women in the business that read so there’s that. I even remember to use a page break sometimes!

And now, let’s look at 23 things that made my year in no particular order.

Mami:

This is not a shocking start. I am a gigantic Rhea Ripley fan. Did you know she said my actual name in a video once and made a face? She did. I post about it on Twitter once a week.

Rhea has had a hell of a year, winning the Rumble, winning the gold at Mania in a five-star match against Charlotte and reigning ever since.

Even bigger though, her star has absolutely shined. She has been woven in and out of stories and segments with men as well and nailed every one of them. She’s become one of the top stars in the company, male or female, and her ascent looks to be just starting. She’s also been one of the biggest names for the company on social media, causing a regular lesbian panic amongst other things. It’s been the year of Mami.

Damage CTRL

There was a time last year we were a bit worried about Damage CTRL. They never seemed to win. Things have picked up, so to speak, for them however. They went into a big WrestleMania match against Trish, Lita and Becky. A year early, nobody would have believed Dakota and Iyo would have a Mania match outside of maybe the women’s battle royal. But there they were.

Then the takeover began. Iyo won Money in the Bank and then the title. Then we had the shocking addition of Asuka and Kairi Sane and the tension with Bayley. They were the featured act spread sometimes throughout entire (highly rated) episodes of SmackDown and went into a huge WarGames match. They’ve refocused a bit and go into 2024 with a title, an eye on tag titles and with Bayley eyeing Rhea’s title via a Rumble win. They’ve built up into the biggest women’s stable maybe ever and they’re roaring into 2024.

International Crowds

The companies, especially WWE, have held more PPVs internationally this year and the crowds have made the shows even bigger than they were. Backlash, for example, felt like the biggest show on earth with the crowd making insane reactions for Savio Vega, Zelina Vega, and singing along with Bad Bunny. Another crowd very vocally showed that they want a Mania.

AEW did the same with All In to their largest, loudest crowd. While that might have been overshadowed by backstage fights, it was a huge moment and they’re already selling big for the 2024 version.

International crowds are being fed after years of being passed over for the same ol’ North American sites and they are LOUD. A hot crowd can make a show, and lots of shows were elevated by those international crowds this year.

Bloodline

Yeah yeah, the Bloodline isn’t where it was this time last year… but it has had a pretty great year. A lot of the reason why is in my next favorite thing, but just a few big highlights: Roman/Kevin, Roman/Cody (I KNOW), Usos vs Kevin/Sami, the Civil War and Roman/Uso. Stellar matches that I enjoyed. But…

Sami and the Usos

The year of Ucey. Sami was the main story at first, with his absolute ascension into the fan’s hearts and being the highlight of the Bloodline. The Canadian crowds saluting him, the Mania main event (yes, ending night one is a main event in my book), and the way he to this day gets top-level reactions has been amazing.

And then there is Main Event Jey Uso. The Usos were clearly very over, but I had a fear they wouldn’t sustain that separately. Jey has taken off. The fans adore him. Yeet.

Samantha Irvin

Some of you who follow along on Twitter have noticed the Samantha Irvin love, and it’s been a thing for years. I’m heavily biased towards her (and Alicia Taylor). I’ve been very blessed to get to know her over the years.

2024 has been her year. The love she puts into crafting special announcements has been thrust into the spotlight and she has made the most of it. She makes everything seem important. I love that for us. It’s also great seeing a lifelong fan living the dream.

Timeless Toni

Toni Storm has been through it for a few years, with whatever that was that WWE was doing with her and then being stuck with the Interim label when she won the AEW Women’s Title. She became an Outcast but as time went on, something changed. She started picking up little quirks here and there, finding pieces of being a Hollywood starlet.

Then the Timeless era exploded. She went full-on vintage Hollywood star, exaggerating things, appearing in black and white and throwing shoes. This led to another title, Luther, and Mariah May. She’s been one of the breakthrough stars of AEW and has hit a home run with every single appearance. Bonus: she called Taz the Human Duplex Machine.

Willow

I’m also pretty loudly a huge Willow Nightingale fan and I have been annoyingly loud about her not getting the spotlight she deserves. She is probably the easiest slam dunk case for somebody AEW should be sending to do every media and promotional appearance ever.

She did get something pretty big though, with her NJPW Strong title win against Mercedes Mone (yes, there was Mercedes’ injury). Willow getting a big match against Mercedes was something I’ve dreamed of and I’m sure she has too. She’s also had a stellar match with Athena for ROH this year.

The NXT Women’s Division

More than anywhere else, the women’s division in NXT has shined. 2023 wasn’t the first year NXT had a stacked women’s division, but it definitely showcased them. There have been episodes many times throughout the year where women have had more time and more matches than the men. Other weeks, there have been stories going on throughout the show that built up numerous women.

Becky Lynch was a catalyst for some of this, but everyone from Tiffany Stratton to Lyra Valkyria have been key to consistently. And of course, they couldn’t do it without the company and its bookers fully behind them.

American Nightmare

Some (all) would say the story should have already been finished. However, this year’s chapters of the stories have continued to build Cody as perhaps the company’s biggest star.

His receptions have only gotten louder. His merchandise is multiplying and continues to sell in giant numbers. Those of us on social media notice that he’s the one being the John Cena of 2023 with the appearances and younger fan base that adore him. Even without the title (so far), coming back to WWE has been the best choice of his career. He has never been bigger.

Dom Dom

I almost lumped Dom in with Rhea, but I think he deserves his own spot. Nobody has grown more in the last year than Dom Mysterio. Almost a year ago today, he did his first Prison Dom promo. He has absolutely exploded since then, showing charisma we had NO IDEA was buried in there.

Being paired with Rhea was the smartest thing that could happen, and the pairing has added so much to him. The fans love to boo him out of the building, but in a “we kinda like you” way. He’s going to have an even bigger 2024, and I believe he will have a world title by 2025. Remember this.

Trish vs Becky

Becky has been a key part of everything all year, but her match with Becky Lynch in the cage was my favorite match of the year (Charlotte/Rhea is a close second). The fans were into it and both women brought it.

Trish did not have to go that hard or take those bumps in this comeback. But she did. It was a perfect match to me and one I’ve watched back a few times. If you haven’t watched it, watch it.

Alpha Academy & Meta-Four

The rise of these two groups – and their overlap at the end of the year – has been a highlight for me. First, there is Alpha Academy. I wasn’t sure Otis being paired with Chad Gable was going to work, but it has. Tozawa being paired with them? It worked. Maxxine has worked. They’re a highlight anytime they’re on screen.

Then there is Meta-Four in NXT. I never thought I’d be a Noam Dar Superfan, but here we are. Paired with Oro Mensah and the duo of Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson, they’ve become the coolest foursome in NXT and have the best entrance to match. Seeing the teams interact at the end of the year in NXT (and Lash SLAMMING OTIS) was fantastic.

Athena and the Minions

Ring of Honor in 2023 has been a mess for many reasons, of which we all complain about weekly. Three people have been done right in 2023, however: Athena, Billie Starkz and Lexy Nair. Athena has been the dominant force of the ROH Women’s Division, destroying every single woman who she has faced (which has hurt building ANYONE else up, but that’s not on her).

Then there’s Billie Starkz. Billie reluctantly became a possible Minion-in-Training along with interviewer Lexy Nair. They had amazing promo packages that should’ve been on Dynamite. Billie finally accepted Athena’s ways, only to be trashed by her during their graduation ceremony. And with this, we had our Final Battle main event. Ima division they’ve dominated, these two have carried Ring of Honor.

Logan Paul

I get it, Logan sucks as a person… but as a wrestler, he’s batting 1000%. Just this year he was a Rumble highlight, had a great match with Seth at Mania, another one with Ricochet at SummerSlam, fit in well into MITB and won the U.S. Title from Rey Mysterio.

As much as some of you want to debate it, he’s absolutely great at this.

Mercedes

Sasha Banks and Naomi left WWE and things changed. Trinity went to Impact while Sasha rebirthed herself as Mercedes Mone. She jumped to Stardom and into a feud with Kairi Sane, winning the IWGP Women’s Title. She would go into a one-night tournament to crown the first Pure Strong Women’s Championship. With an injury, she lost to Willow.

Every since, the Mercedes hype train has rolled. She appeared in the crowd of All In but never signed. Rumors surged that she might return to WWE. There’s lots of talk. Whatever she’s doing and has done, she’s got that spotlight on her.

Father of the Year Christian

Christian has been a trip this year in AEW. Does somebody have a dead father? Boy, does he have a one-liner for you!

Christian is doing the best heel work of his career in AEW and getting to face his former partner Adam Copeland in matches, which is a pretty cool twist.

Swerve

He swerves when he drives, but it’s no question Swerve Strickland is having a great year in AEW. His star has continually risen as he has huge matches with Hangman and in the Continental Classic. It’s only a matter of time before AEW is fully Swerve’s House.

Michael Cole

Michael Cole is a free man. Nobody is in his ear and he’s having the time of his life. From dropping stats from companies around the world to mocking Top Dolla to being excited for Pat McAfee, he’s never been so animated and clearly happy.

Punk

I’m ignoring the AEW part of Punk which was negative and focusing on the WWE pluses.

He seems happy. He’s reconnecting with people old and new. The fans are eating him up.

Will it last? We know his track record. So far though, I’m enjoying THIS Punk.

Jade

Jade Cargill had a good run in AEW as it’s TBS Champion before finally losing to Kris Statlander. They had a hell of a rematch for Jade’s final match.

Then the big news hit: Jade is WWE. She reported to the PC and appeared at every show to show she’s coming. She’s already made key media appearances. The hype is huge and she’s just the woman to match it. I’m thrilled to see what she does in 2024.

Trinity

Much like Sasha, Naomi left WWE unhappy. Naomi took a little longer to take action, but appeared in Impact as Trinity.

It clearly worked because she’s been Knockouts Champion and had fun matches with Mickie James, Deonna Purrazzo and others. Sometimes you need a chance, and she took a good one.

Eddie Kingston

Eddie, he of bleeding everywhere, is not my type of wrestler. Eddie the man is my type of man. He’s cool, funny, heart on his sleeve and deserves everything he gets.

He’s gotten a lot in 2023, including great matches and ending the year with three titles.

So that’s my 23 favorite things in 2023. What’s on your list?