20. Will Ospreay (39 ballots, 2225 points) – LOWEST RANKED 39 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 30
High Vote: Robert Warns, Andrew Ridener, Robin Reid (1)
Average Rank: 26.1
56.52% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 1/4)
– vs. Taichi (NJPW, 2/4)
– vs. Luke Jacobs (RevPro, 2/26)
– vs. Lance Archer (NJPW, 6/4)
– vs. Kenny Omega (AEW/NJPW, 6/25)
– vs. YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW, 7/18)
– vs. KENTA (NJPW, 7/21)
– vs. Great-O-Khan (NJPW, 7/25)
– vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 7/27)
– vs. El Phantasmo (NJPW, 8/6)
– vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/12)
– vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 9/24)
– vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 10/14)
– vs. Eddie Edwards (Impact, 10/27)
– vs. Gabe Kidd (RevPro, 12/16)

“Ospreay’s style has progressed past the label of generic flippy British guy, and now wrestles like a British guy with years of CTE and hatred in his mind. He has just become a reckless and overbearing force in the ring, constantly grabbing audiences attention by being a jacked up bloke who wants to cause a bit of a ruckus by giving his opponent head trauma or paying homage to scorned dead wrestlers in Canada. He has become an Assassin’s Creed tattoo guy doing AJ Styles spots. How can you not enjoy that?” ~ stephen malkmus

“Is he the most self-indulgent wrestler in the world? Most likely. But while he can make me roll my eyes like few others, he’s also one of the most insane bumpers in the world and beats the shit out of people. I’m still coming to terms with my turnaround of opinion on Ospreay, but those Kenny and Naito matches helped a lot.” ~ chris

19. Kenny Omega (46 ballots, 2334 points) – LOWEST RANKED 46 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 53
High Vote: JML (1)
Average Rank: 26.85
66.67% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW, 1/4)
– w/ Kazuchika Okada vs. Aaron Henare & Jeff Cobb (NJPW, 1/5)
– w/ Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. AR Fox, Dante Martin & Darius Martin (AEW, 2/8)
– vs. El Hijo del Vikingo (AEW, 3/22)
– vs. Jeff Cobb (AEW, 3/29)
– vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 5/10)
– w/ Adam Page, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta (5/28)
– vs. Will Ospreay (AEW/NJPW, 6/25)
– vs. Wheeler Yuta (AEW, 7/5)
– vs. El Hijo del Vikingo (AAA, 7/15)
– w/ Adam Page, Kota Ibushi, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, Konosuke Takeshita, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (AEW, 7/19)
– w/ Adam Page & Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson & Konosuke Takeshita (8/27)
– vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW, 9/3)
– w/ Chris Jericho vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW, 11/18)
– vs. Ethan Page (AEW, 12/5)

“The Gamer has so much wear on his body, it’s understandable when he just goofs off behind the Bucks in a trios match. But boy he can deliver the big match when he wants to. The feuds with Ospreay and Vikingo were two of the best high profile matchups of the year. Omega’s performance in the Tokyo Dome match set the standard high for 2023, and most wrestlers didn’t come close to matching it.” ~ chris

18. Kaito Kiyomiya (44 ballots, 2365 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 44 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 26
High Vote: SolPosting (2)
Average Rank: 28.39
63.77% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Kenoh (NOAH, 1/1)
– vs. AMAKUSA (NOAH, 1/9)
– w/ Yoshiki Inamura vs. Kazuchika Okada & Togi Makabe (NJPW, 1/21)
– vs. Kazuchika Okada (NOAH, 2/21)
– w/ Go Shiozaki & Yoshiki Inamura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh & Manabu Soya (NOAH, 5/4)
– w/ Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kento Miyahara vs. Kazuchika Okada, Kenoh & Yuma Aoyagi (NJPW/AJPW/NOAH, 6/9)
– vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW, 7/15)
– vs. Shota Umino (NJPW, 7/21)
– vs. SANADA (NJPW, 7/25)
– vs. Gabe Kidd (NJPW, 7/27)
– vs. Ren Narita (NJPW, 8/5)
– w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. (NOAH, 9/3)
– w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Alex Coughlin & Gabe Kidd (NJPW, 11/20)
– w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Great-O-Khan & HENARE (NJPW, 11/23)
– w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Ren Narita & Shota Umino (NJPW, 11/28)

“Kiyomiya is levels ahead of every other NOAH main eventer. Early in the year feud with Okada showed off his motherfucka tendencies. He had a great G1 run and told an interesting story where every match was a unique challenge he had to overcome.” ~ stephen malkmus

“As much of a shame it is that NOAH’s kind of faded as far as booking and in-ring work goes in the past year, Kaito is still holding up a high standard of work. Whether he’s elevating guys like Jack Morris in his home promotion or showing off in his multiple NJPW runs, Kaito continues to be one of the best main eventers of the past decade.” ~ chris

17. CM Punk (48 ballots, 2390 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 2
High Vote: Pedro, matt bracket (1)
Average Rank: 29.88
69.57% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– w/ Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson & Samoa Joe (AEW, 6/17)
– w/ Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood & Ricky Starks vs. Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Jay White & Juice Robinson (AEW, 6/24)
– vs. Satoshi Kojima (AEW/NJPW, 6/25)
– vs. Samoa Joe (AEW, 7/8)
– vs Ricky Starks (AEW, 7/15)
– w/ Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage & Ricky Starks (AEW, 7/22)
– vs. Ricky Starks (AEW, 8/5)
– w/ Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black (AEW, 8/12)
– w. Darby Allin, Hook & Sting vs. Brian Cage, Jay White, Luchasaurus & Swerve Strickland (AEW, 8/23)
– vs. Samoa Joe (AEW, 9/3)

“I got your letter from postman just the other day
So I decided to write you this song
And just to let you know
Exactly the way I feel
To let you know my loves for real” ~ Bucky, channeling the unparalleled Stevie B

“It’s better to burn out than to fade away. Punk’s return to AEW before Brawl In got him fired was brief but memorable with great tags on Collision, a shockingly phenomenal match with 2023 Satoshi Kojima and two awesome Joe matches. Getting to see one of the classic feuds of the 2000s brought back to life with two hardened veterans 20 years wiser was magic.” ~ chris

16. Gunther (42 ballots, 2479 points) – ONLY 42 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 34
High Vote: Steven Graham (1)
Average Rank: 23.43
60.87% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Braun Strowman (WWE, 1/13)
– vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus (WWE, 4/2)
– vs. Xavier Woods (WWE, 4/21)
– vs. Mustafa Ali (WWE, 5/27)
– vs. Kevin Owens (WWE, 6/5)
– w/ Ludwig Kaiser vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (WWE, 6/12)
– vs. Sami Zayn (WWE, 6/26)
– vs. Chad Gable (WWE, 7/31)
– vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE, 7/31)
– vs. Chad Gable (WWE, 8/21)
– vs. Chad Gable (WWE, 9/4)
– w/ Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser vs. Chad Gable, Otis & Tommaso Ciampa (WWE, 9/11)
– vs. Tommaso Ciampa (WWE, 10/2)
– vs. Bronson Reed (WWE, 10/16)
– vs. The Miz (WWE, 12/18)

“The best Intercontinental Champion in WWE, which is saying a lot for this worker’s title. He delivered in big matches, he delivered in TV matches, in tags, and in every situation he was in. Having the elite matches he had with The Miz and Chad Gable in 2023 would almost be enough to give him the nod, but his consistent ability to get great performances each and every match was unmatched.” ~ Steven Graham

15. Mistico (39 ballots, 2582 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 39 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 199
High Vote: João, Steven Graham (2)
Average Rank: 21.77
56.52% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Stuka Jr. (CMLL, 1/24)
– w/ Averno vs. Soberano Jr. & Templario (CMLL, 2/17)
– w/ El Desperado & Soberano Jr. vs. DOUKI, Hechicero & Templario (NJPW/CMLL, 2/26)
– vs. Atlantis Jr. (NJPW/CMLL, 2/28)
– w/ Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. vs. Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL, 5/12)
– vs. Titan (CMLL, 6/16)
– w/ Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs. BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & Titan (CMLL, 6/30)
– vs. Soberano Jr. (CMLL, 9/1)
– w/ Atlantis Jr. & Mascara Dorada vs. Kevin Knight, Rocky Romero & TJP (CMLL, 9/16)
– vs. Virus (CMLL, 9/29)
– w/ Mascara Dorada & Titan vs. Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja & Templario (CMLL, 10/6)
– vs. Templario (CMLL, 10/13)
– vs. Rocky Romero (AEW, 10/18)
– w/ Mascara Dorada vs. Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. (CMLL, 11/3)
– w/ Atlantis Jr. & Star Jr. vs Andrade El Idolo, Angel de Oro & Soberano Jr. (CMLL, 12/15)

“Mistico helped the Denver Bronco get five wins in a row. He’s so great at capturing crowd support.” ~ Henry/HeadCheese

“The magic is back baby! In 2023, Mistico feels like he truly recaptured that feeling that made him one of the most notable stars in all of wrestling. Every time he enters the ring, you feel electricity build up in the arena. That makes every trios match he is in all the better. I love CMLL trio matches, they are simply the best. Mistico bringing a feeling of stakes to every single one of those is incredibly challenging and incredibly satisfying.” ~ Sam DiMascio

“Mistico in CMLL in the mid to late 2000s was one of the best wrestlers in the world. Then he went to WWE and was missed, and his return to Mexico, mostly in AAA, made him feel like a huge deal but never an elite worker. However, here in 2023, Mistico looks not only like the biggest star in the world but one of the best workers. His connection to the crowd is a huge aspect of it, but he is smart in timing his spots, hope spots, and comebacks. He gathers so much sympathy and support in the ring. Watching him weekly just feels special.” ~ Steven Graham

14. Zack Sabre Jr. (53 ballots, 2746 points) – ONLY 53 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 12
High Vote: Jacob Shearin (4)
Average Rank: 28.11
76.81% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Ren Narita (NJPW, 1/4)
– vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 2/5)
– vs. Ryan Clancy (Beyond, 2/26)
– vs. Tom Lawlor (NJPW, 4/15)
– vs. AR Fox (ROH, 5/6)
– vs. Tony Deppen (GCW, 5/11)
– vs. Jeff Cobb (NJPW, 6/4)
– vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW/NJPW, 6/25)
– vs. Jeff Cobb (NJPW, 7/26)
– vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/2)
– vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/10)
– w/ Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa (NOAH, 9/3)
– vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 10/1)
– vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW, 10/14)
– vs. Oleg Boltin (NJPW, 10/24)

“I thought ZSJ had a down year last year, but a down year for ZSJ is only ‘maybe top 20 in the world’ instead of ‘easy top 5.’ Some of his marquee matches didn’t quite hit the levels I’d expect from him, but he was still extremely consistent even if the peaks aren’t as high.” ~ chris

13. Swerve Strickland (55 ballots, 2862 points) – LOWEST RANKED 55 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 5
High Vote: Caitlin (1)
Average Rank: 28.09
79.71% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. AR Fox (AEW, 1/4)
– vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW, 2/15)
– vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 4/12)
– vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander vs. Rich Swann (AAA, 4/16)
– vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW, 6/7)
– w/ Keith Lee vs. Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy (AEW, 7/5)
– vs. Darby Allin (AEW, 7/26)
– w/ AR Fox vs. Darby Allin & Nick Wayne (AEW, 8/23)
– w/ Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin & Sting (AEW, 8/27)
– vs. Adam Page (AEW, 10/1)
– vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 10/10)
– vs. Adam Page (AEW, 11/18)
– vs. Jay White (AEW, 11/18)
– vs. Mark Briscoe (AEW, 12/6)
– vs. Rush (AEW, 12/20)

“The best heel in wrestling had some of the greatest matches of the year. Playing into that role allowed Swerve to have the breakout year they have deserved for a long time now. It’s great to see when such a talent finally gets the spotlight. Here’s hoping they win the title in 2024.” ~ Steven Graham

12. Orange Cassidy (54 ballots, 2927 points) – ONLY 54 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 29
High Vote: Zach, TH, luke (1)
Average Rank: 26.15
78.26% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Wheeler Yuta (AEW, 2/22)
– vs. Jeff Jarrett (AEW, 3/15)
– vs. Gabriel Kidd (NJPW, 4/16)
– vs. Bandido (AEW, 4/26)
– w/ Darby Allin vs. Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona (AEW, 5/31)
– vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW, 6/7)
– w/ Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia & Zack Sabre Jr. (AEW, 6/21)
– vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (AEW/NJPW, 6/25)
– w/ Darby Allin vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland (AEW, 7/5)
– vs. AR Fox (AEW, 7/26)
– vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 9/3)
– w/ Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli (AEW, 10/25)
– vs. Claudio Castagnoil (AEW, 11/1)
– vs. Jon Moxley (AEW, 11/18)
– vs. Rocky Romero (AEW, 12/20)

“The actual ace. No one commanded TV attention better in 2023. His tropes are static but he never wrestles the same match twice in a short period. Has an absolute commandment over his skillset. Moxley match at All Out is a masterpiece with one of the greatest nearfalls of all time. What a guy.” ~ Bucky

“Nobody plays their character like Orange Cassidy, and they are one of the true highlights of AEW. Someone I can watch any match of, and it will make me happy.” ~ Steven Graham

“The Orange Cassidy gimmick hasn’t gotten old because behind the goofiness there’s a damn good wrestler, and I don’t think Orange Cassidy has had a better year bell-to-bell than 2023. The quiet ace of AEW’s with fun tags and title defenses almost every week. Proved himself with the Moxley match that he’s right up there with the Danielsons, Kingstons, Moxleys and Allins as far as star power.” ~ chris

11. Athena (46 ballots, 2990 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 46 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 43
High Vote: Timothy Robert Buechner (2)
Average Rank: 19.24
66.67% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Marina Shafir (AEW, 1/6)
– vs. Miyu Yamashita (Prestige, 1/21)
– vs. Willow Nightingale (ROH, 2/25)
– vs. Emi Sakura (ROH, 2/29)
– vs. Yuka Sakazaki (ROH, 3/31)
– vs Miyu Yamashita (ROH, 4/5)
– vs. Kiera Hogan (ROH, 5/24)
– vs. Kiera Hogan (ROH, 6/17)
– vs. Willow Nightingale (AEW, 7/12)
– vs. Willow Nightingale (ROH, 7/21)
– vs. Leyla Hirsch (ROH, 9/30)
– vs. Mazzerati (ROH, 10/7)
– vs. Mercedes Martinez (ROH, 10/28)
– w/ Billie Starkz vs. Marina Shafir & Ronda Rousey (ROH, 11/17)
– vs. Billie Starkz (ROH, 12/15)

“The ace of ROH had a great year dominating that company on their TV and occasional big events.” ~ Steven Graham

“She almost cracked the top 10 and most of her matches were on Ring of Honor TV. I’m not convinced there’s a person that watches that show on a week to week basis, but Athena made it so catching up on a couple months’ worth of the bigger matches was worthwhile. Incredible whether she was squashing some unknown in a proving ground match or wrestling someone like Willow Nightingale or Miyu Yamashita in a title match. Incredible year.” ~ chris