2023 was a banner year for WWE. The company saw a rise in interest and the quality of the product crew favorably in tremendous fashion at times. There were plenty of high spots and memorable moments. And as usual, there were also plenty of terrific matches.
And so, The Comeback is here to provide you with our Top 25 WWE matches of the year. We’ll be doing this in blocks throughout the week.
The way we came up with this was simple. Rob and I, Chris, took a list of nominations we both came up with. We then blindly created our own Top 25s. Amazingly, we wound up with the same matches on our lists besides just a few. I averaged out the rankings and we have our list to unveil.
We’ve made it to the Top Ten!!
Here are matches 10-6:
10. Becky Lynch vs. Tiffany Stratton, Extreme Rules Match (NXT No Mercy, October 2023)
Tiffany Stratton was one of the breakout stars of NXT in 2023. She showed why she has the goods and why many think highly of her when she went up with Becky Lynch at No Mercy. The two had a heralded Street Fight that saw a lot of violence and intensity brought out. It’s sometimes rare to see that level of intensity these days, but these two absolutely brought it. Lynch prevailed in an epic encounter that Stratton won a lot with even in defeat. She showed she can hang with The Man and that will go a long way. — Chris Novak
9. Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus, Steel Cage (Payback, September 2023)
Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus put together one of the best matches of the entire year. Saying that sentence is pretty wild, but it’s true nonetheless. Trish and Becky had an enthralling Steel Cage match at WWE Payback in September. Many had wanted to see Becky and Trish collide at SummerSlam, but the two proved it was worth the wait. Stratus had what was her best match in a very, very long time. This was the start of an epic run for Lynch, who commanded attention in the fall in a big way. This match was terrific and is well worth the rewatch. — Chris Novak
8. Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar (Summerslam, August 2023)
After a shocking WrestleMania loss to Roman Reigns (more on that shortly), it was unclear what would come next for Cody Rhodes. When Brock Lesnar came out on RAW the night after WrestleMania to seemingly team up with Rhodes against Reigns and Solo Sikoa, no one expected him to betray Rhodes immediately and set up a series of matches over the summer. The SummerSlam encounter was the best of the trilogy, and gave Rhodes a key victory to go along with the visual of Lesnar raising his arm and shaking his hand after the match. — Robert O’Neill
7. Bianca Belair vs. IYO SKY (Backlash, May 2023)
If you didn’t know about IYO SKY, her match with Bianca Belair at WWE Backlash told you all you had to know. The Puerto Rico crowd became enamored with her and rooted for her throughout the match. IYO and Bianca put together an outstanding match that showed what both ladies are capable of with the gloves off. IYO might not have prevailed on that night, but she won the crowd over and shot up the ladder of superstardom. Just a few months later, she got one over on Bianca, cashing in at SummerSlam by pinning her for the title. — Chris Novak
6. Women’s War Games (Survivor Series, November 2023)
The Women’s War Games Match this year was a fantastic piece of business. The match at WWE Survivor Series told a great connecting story along the way as big star after big star got in the match. It grew violent, and it built up with more brutality as it trudged on. The spot where Damage CTRL had all the kendo sticks was awesome, in particular. The babyfaces prevailing worked, as Bayley did the deeds to keep her team alive but fell victim to everyone after with no help. It was a terrific match and probably the best Women’s War Games match we’ve seen. — Chris Novak
Later Today: Matches 5-1!
