B/R Wrestling Awards 2023: Ranking the 10 Best WWE and AEW Matches

2023 brought with it a plethora of pro wrestling classics for fans of any style to appreciate, particularly in WWE and AEW.

Be it traditional mat battle or story-driven epics, hardcore fights or 60-minute tests of endurance, the year has been home to some of the best matches in recent memory, regardless of one’s personal tastes.

As 2023 winds down and fans look back at all that it provided, these are the 10 best matches to come out of wrestling’s two most prominent promotions.

Don’t agree? Have a different match you want to give props to? Sound off in the comments and let your voice be heard.

Perhaps the most brilliant thing about the Strap Match between Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks is that there was no real history between the two entering the match. It was a match originally intended to see Starks do battle with CM Punk, but real life circumstances resulted in that change, leading to a match with little build that quickly earned its spot on this list.

The competitors beat the living hell out of each other with the strap, inflicting damage early and often. Their bodies beaten red by the match’s namesake, they endured tremendous punishment for no other reason than the pursuit of victory.

Starks made the mistake of challenging Danielson, daring him to bring the fight midway through. From there, they smacked each other in the face with the strap, firing one another up before Starks appeared to be in the driver’s seat following a spear.

An alert Danielson blocked the Rochambeau, delivered the running knee, and won the match when Starks passed out while being choked with the strap.

It was a stellar match, on short notice, that elevated Starks. Unfortunately, the followup for the young star was anything but fantastic.

Entering February’s Revolution pay-per-view, there was no denying that Bryan Danielson and MJF could go for an hour in an Iron Man Match. Both were, and are, extraordinary in-ring performers.

That, though, had been the case for several that had competed in that particular match type but failed to keep the fans’ interest for the entirety of the 60-minute run time.

For one hour and a five-minute overtime period, though, they proved a rare exception, taking fans on a rollercoaster that cleverly told the story of MJF not being able to keep up with Danielson, an oxygen tank conveniently nearby that allowed him to use it as a weapon and ultimately score the victory with his opponent’s own LeBell Lock.

Great heel work from the champion, bloody intensity throughout, and a clever finish helped elevate this one’s overall quality and make it an instant classic. More importantly, it added credibility to MJF’s title reign, which was still relatively in its infancy, in that it proved he could hang with the best wrestler of his generation and secure the victory.

Even if it meant cheating the rules.

It seems as though the finish to the WrestleMania 39 main event between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns has hampered the overall view of the bout, hurting the legacy of a match that should be on both men’s highlight reels.

Rhodes entered the show determined to finish his story and win the WWE title that had eluded his legendary father, “The American Dream” Dusty. Reigns sought to continue an epic reign as champion that started two-plus years earlier.

Family and friends of Rhodes were in attendance, heightening the expectations that it would be the night The American Nightmare captured wrestling’s top title and stood atop the mountain as the undisputed face of WWE.

For a good portion of the bout, it look as though that would be the case.

The contest built brilliantly to the point when The Usos interfered and it looked as though we would get another Reigns defense marred by interference. Until, that is, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn hit the ring to make the save.

With the match once again one-on-one, Rhodes delivered his father’s signature Bionic Elbow and added two Cross Rhodeses, on his way to victory. Perfectly time interference from Paul Heyman and a cheap shot by the forgotten Solo Sikoa led to the completely unpredictable Reigns retention.

And set Rhodes on a path of redemption that is likely to conclude in Philadelphia at WrestleMania 40.

A great, dramatic, story-driven match, it deserves its flowers for being the ultimate rollercoaster ride.

Did the right guy go over? History will determine that, but there is no denying the quality of the match or its place on this list.

True to the early days of Collision, the Best 2-Out-of-3 Falls Match pitting AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR against “Switchblade” Jay White and Juice Robinson of Bullet Club Gold was wrestling-centric goodness.

For nearly an hour, four of the best wrestlers on the AEW roster did battle in a hotly contested clash that saw White and Robinson jump out to an early lead 19 minutes in when the former delivered a Blade Runner for the first fall.

Nearly 20 minutes later, FTR evened the odds with Shatter Machine, setting up high drama in the final fall.

Late in the match, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood applied stereo sharpshooters and, despite the heels fighting through the pain initially, the latter dropped his knee pad, digging his bare knee into the injured limp of Robinson and forcing the submission.

A good, no-nonsense professional wrestling match that built on spots from previous matches and ultimately saw the best tag team in the industry successfully retain their titles, this was key in further establishing Saturday nights as the destination for wrestling fans.

Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley turned in one of the most physically grueling matches on the entire WrestleMania 39 card. A hard-hitting bout, it saw Flair defending her throne as SmackDown Women’s Champion against the 2023 Royal Rumble winner Ripley, who rode a wave of momentum into The Showcase of the Immortals as the leader of The Judgment Day and the face of wrestling’s future.

Together, they created magic.

Ripley was the superior wrestler, putting Flair on the defensive for much of the early portion of the match. The Queen fought back and at one point, had Ripley trapped in the Figure Four, only for the challenger to battle her way out of it.

The emotion of both women was painted on their faces, the determination to win abundantly clear to anyone watching. Ultimately, it was Ripley’s determination that proved greatest as she delivered an avalanche Riptide to Flair and scored the decisive pinfall victory, leaving no doubt as to who the better woman was on that night.

It was a great match, a coronation for Ripley, and a reminder that Flair is the peak of women’s wrestling when motivated and given something interesting to do.

Two of the most celebrated in-ring technicians in modern wrestling history clashed at WrestleDream as Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr. did battle.

There was little in the way of backstory, with the focus being each man’s status as technical masterminds, and that is exactly the narrative that played out between bells. From reversals to counters, small joint manipulation to submission work, the match captivated the audience in Seattle in a way that few others could.

There was no hardcore nonsense, little in the way of high-spots, and there was a healthy amount of action that was concentrated on the mat. Still, fans ate it up, appreciating the work of two mat wizards.

Danielson found himself trapped in an arm bar late but powered out with a suplex and added two running knees to secure the grueling victory.

A match unlike any other on this list, it may be the most pure match of 2023.

After coming to his senses and splitting from The Bloodline, Sami Zayn reunited with best friend Kevin Owens and challenged The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in the main event of Night One of WrestleMania 39.

The culmination of epic storytelling that saw Zayn achieve universal popularity, the match was brimming with emotion and drama. The near-falls meant more, every spot was calculated to perfect, and the crowd in Los Angeles for the match was loud.

By the time Owens laid out Jey Uso with a top-rope neckbreaker and Zayn launched across the ring with a Helluva Kick, the match had its perfect finish.

The post-match embrace by Zayn and Owens not only served as the appropriate ending for that chapter of their relationship, but a moment built to over the course of 20 years spent traveling up and down the road in professional wrestling.

From bell to bell, it earned its spot on this list. Everything else only served to elevate it.

Swerve Strickland awoke in “Hangman” Adam Page a monster that unleashed furious vengeance on the arrogant heel at Full Gear, in a Texas Deathmatch that ramped up the violence and tested squeamishness of the AEW faithful.

Page used staples, broken glass, and barbed wire while torturing Strickland, payback for the villain’s invasion of the Anxious Millennial Cowboy’s home in the lead-in to the match. To his credit, Swerve absorbed everything thrown at him by his revenge-minded opponent and fought through a nasty gash on his forehead to eventually defeat Page.

It was the most brutal example of AEW’s penchant for hardcore wrestling, executed to near perfection by two immensely talented competitors, with a red-hot crowd hanging on every spot.

More importantly, the Match of the Year candidate felt like a return to form for Page and a star-making performance for Strickland and both men figure to play prominent roles in 2024 for the promotion as a result.

Kenny Omega defeated Will Ospreay in April at WrestleKingdom 17 to win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. Two months later, driven by both competitiveness and the desire to avenge the defeat, Ospreay challenged Omega for the title at Forbidden Door.

Everyone expected the match to be good. Their first encounter in Japan was an instant classic and the idea that the rematch would be any different was inconceivable.

It was not.

Omega and Ospreay thrilled the fans in Toronto with a match that was, arguably, even better. More vicious and aggressive than before, Ospreay blooded Omega and delivered a jaw-dropping Tiger Drive 91 that landed the babyface on his head and neck.

Shaking off the effects of his own DDT onto the ring steps, The Aerial Assassin added a Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker to finally put Omega down and declare himself the undisputed champion and future face of professional wrestling.

A brilliant match that built on their history, it more than lived up to expectations and helped further cement Ospreay as the hottest free agent in the business by the time Tony Khan and AEW inked him to a deal later in the year.

Gunther may be the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE history now but at WrestleMania 39, there was a very real possibility that The Ring General would lose his title to either Drew McIntyre or Sheamus, both former world champions in their own rights.

What was not in doubt was that the three competitors, renowned for their in-ring work and unbridled physicality, would deliver one of the best matches of the entire broadcast.

They did, overshadowing the more publicized and touted matches on the card while delivering a modern classic and elevating the IC championship.

A hard-hitting affair full of strikes, red chests, and dramatic near-falls, concluded with Gunther powerbombing The Celtic Warrior onto his Scottish rival, then adding another to McIntyre for the win.

The victory solidified Gunther as, arguably, the most unstoppable force in WWE. That he has yet to be pinned or submitted on the main roster is a testament to Triple H’s booking of The Ring General and protection of his aura.