70. Masashi Takeda (21 ballots, 878 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 498
High Vote: CFOS (3)
Average Rank: 43.14
30.43% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Jun Kasai (FREEDOMS, 1/3)
– w/ Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (BJW, 2/8)
– w/ Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Daiju Wakamatsu (BJW, 2/13)
– vs. Suzu Suzuki (Prominence, 3/18)
– w/ Jun Kasai vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Drew Parker (FREEDOMS, 3/23)
– vs. Joey Janela (GCW, 7/18)
– vs. Masha Slamovich (GCW, 7/19)
– w/ Rina Yamashita vs. El Desperado & Jun Kasai (FREEDOMS, 8/11)
– vs. Mance Warner (GCW, 10/8)
– vs. Toru Sugiura (FREEDOMS, 12/25)

“The more I watched, and the more I thought about it, I came away with Takeda being the #1 wrestler in Japan for 2023. I like the Astronauts as much of the next guy but their two best matches don’t work without Takeda. Besides the higher stakes deathmatch stuff, which I think a lot of it is darn good, Takeda at a base level is a more interesting wrestler to be. His matches where they say go out there for 5-12 minutes are always engaging. The match with Masha in GCW in Japan, a blast. I like Masha a ton but it was just one of a list of Takeda matches where he knows how to squeeze the juice” ~ Sam DiMascio

“It’s fucked up that Hirata isn’t still King of FREEDOMS but sometimes your karma just isn’t in order. Takeda is still the guy obviously. Great singles matches with Sugiura, Sakuda, Masha, Janela and Mancer, the biennial gorefest with Kasai, great performances in the Despy Rina tag and the Drew Parker final deathmatch. He’s undeniable. But I long for my friend Tomo Hirata. Get well soon buddy.” ~ Bucky

69. Bryan Keith (23 ballots, 898 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 115
High Vote: Timothy Robert Buechner (4)
Average Rank: 55.78
33.33% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Black Taurus (WCPW, 1/6)
– vs. SB KENTo (PWG, 1/7)
– vs. Masha Slamovich (PWG, 1/8)
– vs. Kevin Ku (Timebomb Pro, 1/12)
– w/ Gino Medina & Mysterious Q vs. Big Boss Shimizu, Kzy & Ryan Davidson (New Texas Pro, 2/9)
– vs. Kevin Ku (Freelance, 4/14)
– vs. Timothy Thatcher (New Texas Pro, 10/8)
– vs. Dominic Garrini vs. Kevin Ku vs. Mike Bailey (DPW, 10/15)
– vs. Mike Bailey (REVOLVER, 11/16)
– vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW, 12/16)

“While not the best wrestler on the indies this past year, maybe the most The Guy of the indies of 2023. Works all the major indies, and the not so major indies, booked as a top dude in essentially all of them. North, South, East, West, Keith worked it all. He also has this charming match in Mexico with Vengador which if I’m being honest with myself, probably sealed the deal. I value these types of dudes who can take their brand of wrestling around the country and even transport it to a country where you aren’t known at all, and make it work.” ~ Sam DiMascio

68. Demus (17 ballots, 909 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 17 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 244
High Vote: Dan Rice, jon (3)
Average Rank: 31.53
24.64% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– w/ Dinamico & Iron Kid vs. Brazo de Oro Jr., Drago Kid & Mini Vikingo (AAA, 1/21)
– vs. Wotan (Zona 23, 3/26)
– vs. Rey Espartano (Lucha Memes, 4/15)
– vs. Calibus (Lucha Memes, 6/18)
– vs. Avisman (Lucha Memes, 7/23)
– w/ Judas El Traidor vs. Freelance & Steel Heart (AVE, 9/30)
– vs. Cachorro de Guerra (Lucha Memes, 10/15)
– vs. Lunatik Extreme vs. Sadika (The Wolf King, 11/3)
– w/ Shun Skywalker & Yoshiki Kato vs. Jacky “Funky” Kamei, Kzy & VIENTO (DG, 12/15)
– vs. Argus & Gaius (Lucha Memes, 12/25)

“Demus’ hype for this year mostly came from the brutal Wotan match, but if you haven’t checked his stuff in Lucha Memes, you’re missing out. Probably the most consistent wrestler in that promotion not named Avisman, and he’s not too far behind. Such a great wrestler I watched a Dragon Gate match for the first time in like three years.” ~ chris

67. Daniel Makabe (19 ballots, 929 points) – HIGHEST RANKED 19 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 139
High Vote: Bucky (14)
Average Rank: 33.68
27.54% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Steve Migs (SOS, 2/10)
– vs. Cody Chhun (NEW, 3/24)
– vs. Adam Priest (ACTION, 4/28)
– vs. Artemis Spencer (Prestige, 7/8)
– vs. Cody Chhun (Prestige, 7/9)
– vs. Nicole Matthews (Dusk Pro, 9/2)
– vs. Travis Williams (365 Pro, 9/23)
– vs. Billie Starkz (ACTION, 12/8)
– vs. Kody Manhorn (TWE, 12/9)
– vs. Artemis Spencer (DEFY, 12/30)

“In what we now know will be Makabe’s last year as a full timer, he really put together an insane resume. On top of a true MOTYC with Adam Priest in ACTION (a match I was fortunate enough to see live), he had chances to tear it up with the likes of Billie Starkz, Skayde, Artemis Spencer and more, Makabe proved that he is still one of the best technicians on the planet and the sport as a whole will be in a worst spot without him in it.” ~ Tanner

“Everyone should watch the Kody Manhorn match if you really wanna see the Makabe mastery at work. God bless Shiny Shoes but Makabe carries his ass to the match of his lifetime. Makabe eats his fucking lunch obviously but makes Kody look credible and upstanding. Excellent big brother vs little brother match. Also he’s a friend of mine dating back literally over 20 years but that’s beside the point.” ~ Bucky

66. Timothy Thatcher (23 ballots, 946 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 271
High Vote: Ryan Bingham (10)
Average Rank: 42.52
33.33% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Seiki Yoshioka (NOAH, 1/15)
– vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW, 2/1)
– vs. Wheeler Yuta (ROH, 2/25)
– vs. Dominic Garrini (AIW, 3/24)
– vs. Josh Barnett (GCW, 3/30)
– vs. Robert Martyr (Prestige, 3/31)
– vs. Tank (SCI, 7/14)
– vs. Adam Priest (SCI, 7/15)
– vs. Yuki Yoshioka (NOAH, 8/10)
– vs. Bryan Keith (New Texas, 10/8)
– vs. Chris Hero (WCPW, 11/17)

“There was a time when we thought Thatcher might just fade away. Word on the street was he had a decent shoot job. Well I don’t know what changed with the WWE move years ago but it seems to mean we aren’t going to be left without Thatcher anytime soon. Going around the world, being able to work as an attraction or in NOAH as a staple. My personal fave is him coming into Bryan Keith’s backyard and putting on a little torture session for the outlaw.” ~Sam DiMascio

65. Shingo Takagi (22 ballots, 988 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 67
High Vote: Austin (12)
Average Rank: 42.54
31.88% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NJPW, 1/21)
– vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 2/11)
– vs. Taichi (NJPW, 4/29)
– vs. HENARE (NJPW, 7/19)
– vs. Tama Tonga (NJPW, 7/30)
– vs. David Finlay (NJPW, 8/2)
– w/ BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji vs. Great-O-Khan, HENARE, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay (NJPW, 9/9)
– vs. Great-O-Khan (NJPW, 9/24)
– vs. Trent Beretta (NJPW, 11/10)

64. Stuka Jr. (21 ballots, 1009 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 207
High Vote: Corwo (11)
Average Rank: 33.9
30.43% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Mistico (CMLL, 1/24)
– vs. Atlantis Jr. vs. Barbaro Cavernario vs. Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Fugaz vs. Gran Guerrero vs. Mistico vs. Panterita del Ring Jr. vs. Soberano Jr. vs. Templario (CMLL, 1/27)
– w/ Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Euforia, Hechicero & Mephisto (CMLL, 3/24)
– w/ Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Mistico, Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr (CMLL, 5/12)
– vs. Euforia (CMLL, 5/19)
– w/ Gran Guerrero vs. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja (CMLL, 7/14)
– w/ Gram Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero vs. Atlantis Jr., Mistico & Soberano Jr. (CMLL, 8/4)
– vs. Soberano Jr. (CMLL, 8/18)
– vs. Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL, 11/3)
– vs. Hechicero (CMLL, 11/24)

“Stuka Jr. has always been good but feels like leading up to losing the mask and obviously since, he has ramped up the hate. The Hechicero bout is maybe not his best match of the year but maybe the best at showing what he brings to the table.” ~ Sam DiMascio

63. Kevin Ku (21 ballots, 1012 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 79
High Vote: Eamonn Bell (16)
Average Rank: 43.29
30.43% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– vs. Colby Corino (DPW, 1/14)
– w/ Dominic Garrini vs. Anthony Henry & JD Drake (DPW, 3/26)
– vs. Bryan Keith (Freelance, 4/14)
– w/ Dominic Garrini vs. Marcus Mathers & Matt Tremont (DPW, 4/16)
– vs. Mike Bailey (BLP, 6/3)
– w/ Dominic Garrini vs. Dustin Waller & Kylon King (DPW, 6/18)
– w/ Dominic Garrini vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin (DPW, 8/13)
– vs. Dominic Garrini (BLP, 9/23)
– vs. Bryan Keith vs. Dominic Garrini vs. Mike Bailey (DPW, 10/15)
– w/ Dominic Garrini vs. Ciclope & Miedo Extremo (GCW, 11/4)

“I’ve always been more of a Garrini guy than a Ku guy, but the more I’ve watched Violence Is Forever the more Ku has grown on me. He works his role in the tag well and I think he’s really grown as a singles wrestler in the past couple years.” ~ chris

62. Daisuke Sekimoto (20 ballots, 1016 points) – ONLY 20 BALLOT WRESTLER
Last Year’s Rank: 548
High Vote: CFOS (5)
Average Rank: 33.2
28.99% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– w/ Yuji Okabayashi vs. Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (BJW, 2/13)
– w/ Yuji Okabayashi vs. Takuya Nomura & Yuya Aoki (BJW, 4/1)
– w/ Yuji Okabayashi vs. Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (BJW, 4/16)
– w/ Yuji Okabayashi vs. Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (BJW, 5/28)
– vs. Takuya Nomura (BJW, 5/28)
– w/ Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama (BJW, 6/17)
– w/ Minoru Suzuki vs. Daichi Hashimoto & Takuya Nomura (BJW, 7/6)
– vs. Fuminori Abe (ZERO1, 7/15)
– w/ Kazumasa Yoshida vs. Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (BJW, 9/18)
– w/ Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Minoru Fujita (KTDan, 10/12)

“I’ve been out on the BJW Strong division for a while, but Sekimoto’s various matches with the Astronauts grabbed my attention like few things in the division have in like five years. Sekimoto had a really fun performance in that KTDan tag as well.” ~ chris

61. JD Drake (24 ballots, 1029 points)
Last Year’s Rank: 356
High Vote: Eamonn Bell (14)
Average Rank: 45.63
34.78% of Ballots Made

Recommended Matches
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku (DPW, 3/26)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. Alex Coughlin & Katsuyori Shibata (ROH, 4/7)
– vs Mark Briscoe (ROH, 5/7)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. Dustin Waller & Kylon King (DPW, 5/21)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. Jackson Drake & Jay Malachi (DPW, 6/28)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. Kevin Blackwood & Kevin Knight (DPW, 8/13)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW, 9/23)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson (DPW, 10/15)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson (DPW, 11/12)
– w/ Anthony Henry vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin (DPW, 12/10)

“While I would’ve loved more solo JD Drake as I think he’s really underrated as a solos guy, he and Henry continued to dominate the indies while being a solid tag hands in the TonyVerse. And hey that singles Briscoe match was really good! Seriously, would’ve loved more of that!” ~ chris