After a full year of reviewing every single wrestling Pay Per View on the WZWA Network, as well as a heap of weekly TV shows, I feel I have a full grasp of the whole spectrum of what’s going on in Pro Wrestling in the United States, and somewhat in Japan and Mexico. On that note, I thought I would list each wrestling company I covered this year and what I see as the Good and the Bad for each promotion and what I hope for them in 2024.
Let’s start off nice and easy.
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)
The Good:
The NWA has been extremely consistent throughout 2023, despite some of the supposed drama going on in the company with certain spots on Pay Per Views utilizing “worked” illicit substances, and the constant barrage of criticism for having Tyrus be the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion for most of the year – the National Wrestling Alliance have seldomly failed to put on a great Pay Per View. They held 7 Pay Per Views this year starting with ‘NWA Nuff Said’ on February 2nd, ending with ‘NWA Samhain’ on October 28th. I saw all of these Pay Per Views, including their 2 day NWA 75, celebrating their 75th Anniversary. What the NWA did right this year, was do right by their Women’s wrestlers. Every Pay Per View had multiple Women’s matches, whether the NWA World Women’s Title, NWA World Women’s Tag Team Titles or NWA World Women’s Television Titles were on the line – they always highlighted their women. How could they not? Kamille had an amazing 812 day title reign finally come to an end against Kenzie Page. The reign was tremendous, and her matches all stole the show no matter what show she was on or who else was on the card. What the NWA did GOOD this year was stay consistent, despite their detractors. NWA Powerrr is a great, simple, easy going wrestling program, and since the beginning of their self proclaimed ‘New Era’, this seem to be moving along smoothly for them.
The Bad:
Owner William Patrick Corgan had mentioned the NWA were going to be getting significant TV deal earlier in the year that didn’t seem to come to fruition. It’s ‘The Bad’ because that would have really been a shot in the arm for them, and the apparent spot with cocaine at NWA Samhein with Father James Mitchell is rumored to be what cost them the deal – which to me is completely ridiculous because it’s a work. You can have TV shows on all the time where people do drugs and commit crimes, but when it’s live action Pro Wrestling, those toxic skidmark fans pull out their pitchforks and go make complaints about it, costing the company it’s growth and potential to reach more eyeballs.
The Hopeful:
I really hope that the NWA can grow in 2024. I want more wrestling fans to place their eyeballs on the National Wrestling Alliance. They offer a style of Pro Wrestling, and an approach to their Television product that is different to every other company out there. They have a fantastic commentary team in Joe Galli and Danny Dealz, a great roster of familiar name talent and a heap of rising stars early in their careers. At this stage NWA does seem like a place for middle aged talent to be reborn again and enjoy sinking their teeth into something important, a place for younger talent to get their feet wet in the right way within the industry, surrounded by veteran talent like Jazz, Madusa, Ricky Morton, and being taught the right way. If they can travel more and put NWA Powerrr tapings in front of larger audiences like they did recently in Sarasota, Florida toward years end – well that would be a bit of fun, wouldn’t it?
Major League Wrestling – MLW
The Good:
I have only seen a few MLW Pay Per Views and episodes of MLW Fusion this year, and to be honest, I REALLY enjoyed it! They do things a little differently in MLW as well. It comes across fairly Sports based, but they also do enjoy their storylines and angles. They have a habit of investing me, especially in their MLW World Heavyweight Title programs. I really like where they’re going with Saint Laurent’s World Titan Federation (with Zayda Steel in tow, how could I not?) as well as anything Salina De La Renta is doing. I really want to keep watching MLW, because I just see so much potential there.
The Bad:
I know a friend of mine believes MLW Fusion can be inconsistent in quality at times, and at times does not enjoy some of their angles, I guess the Bad is that they’ve lost a MLW mainstay in Alexander Hammerstone, who was carrying the flag for MLW for some time as their World Champ before Alex Kane took the strap from him. Losing a talent like that can hurt, as well as a tremendous broadcaster in Sam Leterna. It can hurt ones identity when the people the fans identify with, with your product, leave.
The Hopeful:
Now they have settled their court case with the WWE, I hope they got a nice settlement and can use that to pump the roster full of name talent. Matt Cardona is there for the time being, but the announcement of Sami Calihan and Matt Riddle are likely good things for Major League Wrestling, because the aim should always to get more eyeballs on your product, and not settle for what you’ve already got.
Impact Wres-wait no. TNA Wrestling (TNA)
The Good:
Impact were VERY consistent this year with their product, as they were in 2022. They have built so much good will and good faith with the fans over the last 2-3 years, that they surely can’t be denied much longer. In 2022 I thought they had the best creative in Pro Wrestling, and whilst I feel like they have slipped to #2 in 2023, they have another chance to get back into the hunt as one of the top wrestling companies in the world as they re-brand from Impact Wrestling back to the more familiar TNA Wrestling. They did right by their Women’s division, their Tag Team Division, their new stars, guys like Bully Ray, Kazarian and Eric Young who came back to Impact, and the guy I consider Mr TNA right now, “The Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander.
The Bad:
Whilst I talk about consistency, there’s something else at play that has slightly frustrated me with Impact Wrestling in 2023. Whilst I say they are consistent, and reliable… they are also very safe. I feel like I’m not getting a lot of angles that keep me on the edge of my seat, they aren’t pushing the boundaries enough with their weekly TV show, and I feel like they hang their hat too much on stuff like Backstage Interview Interruptions, not using absolutely every part of the building to film pre tapes, and the shows are fairly ‘wrestling heavy’. Often times it feels like we don’t get a good beginning, middle and end with a main story threading through the show. That’s just me, I might be nitpicking, but when they become TNA, I want them to push the envelope a bit more.
The Hopeful:
I hope they can get TNA Impact in front of more eyeballs next year, I don’t think AXS TV reaches enough homes. My hopes are that they can become a super viable option for a lot of talent in WWE and AEW. AEW have too many people on the roster as it is, WWE are somewhat that way too. If TNA Wrestling can become neck and neck with AEW, that would be the first time we have 3 major wrestling companies in the US within the same ballpark in size. Nothing against ECW.
Ring of Honor (ROH)
The Good:
What is good about ROH is it’s a place that gives talent that haven’t been utilized on AEW television some sort of platform to ply their craft and sink their teeth into something they may not necessarily get on the main roster. It’s also given a hard worker like Eddie Kingston the chance to fulfil a dream and win the ROH Championship this year.
The Bad:
I don’t know where to begin. It is a brand stuck behind a paywall, where most of the top talents and champions appear on AEW Television anyway. It gives no incentive to buy ROH on Honor Club. Throughout MJF’s senseless ROH Tag Team Title reign, and during The Young Bucks and Hangman Page’s undeserved ROH Trio’s Title reign, none of those guys appeared on ROH on Honor Club, which is a disservice to having bought the company in the first place. Why did you even buy it Tony? It does not even resemble the ROH of old – that company was built on pride, and passion, and helped create some of the biggest wrestling stars in the world. They just tape it before Dynamite and half the time the card is full of multi man matches as the overbloated roster is shoehorned into the show. Don’t even get me started on this AEW Continental Classic where the winner wins a “Triple Crown” by unifying the NJPW Strong Openweight Title, the ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and…. the AEW Continental Title, which isn’t even an active title yet. Wouldn’t that make it a double crown and you’re just naming it the Continental Title? How can you unify a belt that doesn’t exist yet? Make it MAKE SENSE. I can’t stand ideas for ideas sake. They’re going to take away the history and lineage of an important Championship for some supposed “prestigious” Triple Crown. If you reallly wanted to make it something, you should have unified the ROH World, AEW World, and NJPW Strong titles, and made it the AEW Triple Crown. There you go, that makes it prestigious. I am so disappointed in Tony Khan, because early on I really enjoyed the ROH PPV’s and he’s gone and cluttered it up and made it over complicated again. Final Battle 2023 had 14 matches, get the fuck out of here dude.
The Hopeful:
As much as I hate to say it, I’d either like to see it be shut down and put out of it’s misery, or for Tony Khan to finally admit that he is overworked and burned out and incapable of keeping quality control across the board writing 4 Wrestling TV shows a week. I would get somebody else to book it. Give it to Danielson if you’re so high on him creatively, give it to SOMEBODY that would do something with it. You know why he won’t? Because people will notice how much better the angles are in ROH than AEW because let’s face it, Tony’s strong suit is not booking. When things were simpler, he was fine (All Out 2021, it was simple, it worked), but now he’s inundated and has too many shows and people to write for, he’s become downright dreadful.
NXT
The Good:
I would have to say despite it’s squeaky clean nature, and I suppose things feel a little over sanitized there and perhaps a little unrealistic, but I find NXT to be the most entertaining weekly wrestling product on TV. 2023 was NXT’s year. They showed some growth with their 6 PLE’s this year along with a few TV specials, they beat AEW Dynamite when they went head to head that one time and destroyed them. It’s been a place where lost performers from the main roster find themselves again and show their range, like Baron Corbin and Dijak. They have had angles that have gone on for months, with big time blow off matches, and dozens of people have some sort of direction from week to week!
The Bad:
I alluded to it before but man, would I like NXT to be a little grittier, a little more edgy and less perfect looking. They have had a MASSIVE habit of kicking off angles or continuing angles with backstage interview interruptions, which is very irritating. Another thing is, they kind of repeat angles over and over with different combinations. Despite the premises being different, Roxanne Perez and Blair Davenport is a carbon copy of Blair’s feud with Gigi Dolin, which kind of reminds me of the Kiana James and Roxanne Perez feud that just about saw out 2023. I really don’t think NXT needs to be so lazy with these types of things, and I was actually happy to report that the December 12th and December 19th editions of NXT did not have an interview interruption. I just can’t stand this cut and paste technique. There also needs to be more cohesion between the NXT and WWE Creative teams. When a team like Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn come up to the main roster, they unify the NXT Womens Tag Titles with the WWE Womens Tag Team Champs, and then they’re off TV for 5 months? That is poor planning. They built a big angle with Dominik Mysterio and Mustafa Ali for weeks, and on the week of their upcoming match, Ali got released. Could they not at least complete the angle first?
The Hopeful:
I want to see NXT continue to grow, and continue to be what it was designed to be, and that’s to be a perfect feeder system for people to be brought upto the main roster, and also a perfect system for stale Main Roster performers to get a fresh coat of paint or show more range, be given a platform – if they’re lost in the mix. It worked with Dolph Ziggler, it worked with Baron Corbin, it can work for anybody! Oh, and I hope they rehire McKenzie Mitchell. That was a bad call releasing her!
All Elite Wrestling (AEW)
The Good:
You have to give them props, being able to sell that many tickets for the Wembley Stadium show for All In was pretty fantastic and great for the fans, and it was great for AEW to have this massive spectacle. Although they didn’t actually break the Pro Wrestling attendance record, what they were able to do in London, England was a tremendous victory for them. As was the signing of Adam Copeland. I think what they have done in making MJF their “guy” and the push of Swerve Strickland has been some more ticks in the win column. Oh and the MVP for the year of 2023 – Christian Cage.
The Bad:
It pains me to have to write all these things I think are wrong with the company. This is just my opinion and this is just how I feel. Firstly, the way the whole CM Punk situation, the way it was handled, goes to show Tony Khan can’t be a real boss. The fact he didn’t make the Elite work with Punk to draw money, shows that Tony is a pushover. The lack of focus on the Women’s division, where they only get one match or segment a show or Pay Per View, despite the amount of talent they have, has been very disappointing. Their Pay Per Views are always nearing 15 matches long including the Zero Hour, and that’s a good 5 hours of time every time, and it’s just too long. With Tony’s experience of writing and producing, writing 4 shows a week has stretched him so thin, it has made the product suffer, with nonsensical storylines like The Young Bucks wanting to fight Kenny and Jericho because they didn’t like Kenny hanging out with somebody else. It’s juvenile. It’s the exact same story with Roderick Strong and Adam Cole. Grow up! And don’t get me started on MJF being “injured” on the Pre Show of AEW Full Gear, to be replaced by Adam Cole who couldn’t wrestle in that tag match to begin with because of his broken ankle, only for MJF to return in time for the match and just do the match with Jay White anyway. That was absolutely pointless and utterly stupid, and it’s nonsense like that which really turns me off. The Tag Team division is a bit of a mess, every Pay Per View it’s another multi-team match as Tony tries to shoehorn everybody he can on the show, even teams that haven’t even really qualified to get a title shot – like RUSH and Dralistico, who had only had 1 Tag Team match together prior to their Tag Title opportunity at Full Gear! I only am so harsh on AEW because they have SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Tony is literally the problem with AEW. The way he hogs up the Media Scrums, or wears stupid hats and sunglasses indoors, and acts like a spoiled little brat on Twitter, he is incredibly embarrassing and the man needs to stay deep in the background and stop making it about him. Why on earth do you think Cody left? QT Marshall? The video game took forever, and it ended up being a complete disaster. Something needs to drastically change at that company if they are going to turn anything around. Since Punk’s departure, Merchandise sales are down 70%, the ratings are at their lowest and they’re performing in half empty arenas. It’s all mathmatical in the end! Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and AEW do not have the buzz they did at All Out 2021.
The Hopeful:
I want this company to turn this ship around, because it’s about to hit an iceberg. If they lose their TV deal with WBD, I don’t know how they’re going to be able to get back to where they were. They have so many brilliant minds behind the scenes, and they don’t get used to their potential because the backstage culture is that of self entitled guys like Hangman Page who doesn’t think he needs to listen to advice. They need to trim the fat and they need to put experienced people in positions of power, the locker room needs to be controlled and policed better, somebody with experience needs to write the show, somebody like a Chris DeJoseph who used to write for Lucha Underground. It starts at the top unfortunately and the only way this thing can be rectified is if Tony gives up his booking and decision making, and just funds the thing and let’s somebody that knows what they are doing run the show. Take a step back, and get off social media. Also, get a haircut Kramer.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
The Good:
Vince McMahon is finally gone, and finally the healing has begun for the WWE. Finally the creative is no longer dictated by a 75+ year old man who is completely past his use by date and is simply too fuddy duddy and old to be the creative mastermind he once was. Notice since he’s been gone, how much the WWE have been praised for their creative and how well the Bloodline storyline was received, how people have raved about The Judgment Day and their run as a group, the rise of Sami Zayn and L.A Knight, the character evolution of Jey Uso, the returns of Cody Rhodes and CM Punk and Randy Orton being back in the fray. The Main Event scene is on fire right now for them, in comparison to previous years. Can things be better? Absolutely. The Intercontinental Championship has had the focus it so sorely has needed over the last 15 years, and Gunther has been killing it. I think the journey Cody has been on since his return at the Rumble has been a great story, and when he finally beats Roman at WrestleMania 40, the wait will be worth it!
The Bad:
I still won’t sit through an episode of RAW or Smackdown. They plod along too slowly on those shows, and it’s just not for me. I do watch the Pay Per Views, obviously, but I don’t believe their weekly show will be watchable for me ever again. I think they have done somewhat okay with the Women’s division, but honestly, I feel like they haven’t been given one decent, interesting, personal, character developing storyline all year. That’s just based off these matches I’ve seen on PLE’s, and the hype package prior to those matches. The WWE Women’s Tag Team Division is doing a tad better than yesteryear, but still, more can be done! I’m just glad an established Tag Team that came from NXT, Chance and Karter, are the champs now. They need to build off that! The show is a tad too overproduced and I just long for the days of a gritty set, where you can “smell the popcorn”, as opposed to having video screens on everything in the ringside area.
The Hopeful:
I hope they can continue building off the momentum they have at the moment and that maybe one day, it will convince me to try to watch the weekly product, but I just can’t get into it when the pacing of the show is too slow. NXT is snappy, but the Main Roster just plods along. I want WWE to be as awesome as it used to be, and I think they are on the right track.
There we have it everybody! My 2023 year in review of all the major U.S wrestling promotions that I checked out on a frequent basis this year. Here’s to a great 2024 for all of those promotions, and the fans!
