The 10 Biggest Winners of WWE and AEW So Far in 2023
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Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes have been two of WWE’s most valuable players in 2023.Credit: WWE.com
From outstanding in-ring performances to exemplary character work, it’s been a landmark year for several stars in WWE and All Elite Wrestling.
Roman Reigns has continued to rule the roost as undisputed WWE universal champion, but many others in the company have risen to the occasion and been recurring highlights on TV.
While the quality of its weekly programming remains inconsistent, WWE’s stellar string of pay-per-views has not gone unnoticed. A number of those shows have featured fresh faces on top and have been the lifeblood of the company this year.
Plenty of AEW stalwarts have had similar success. Similar to Reigns, MJF has remained atop the totem pole as AEW world champion, but the product has been bolstered by equally entertaining acts as well.
The second half of the year promises to be every bit as eventful as the first, but as we surpass the halfway mark of 2023, those who have dominated the last six months deserve to be recognized.
These are WWE and AEW’s biggest winners of the year thus far, with tag teams and stables counting as a single selection.
Roman Reigns
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Roman Reigns continues to smash records as undisputed WWE universal champion.Credit: WWE.com
Having wrestled a mere five matches so far, “workhorse” wouldn’t be an accurate term to describe Roman Reigns in 2023, but his status as the biggest star in all of wrestling remains undeniable.
The Bloodline storyline has been the centerpiece of the WWE product since its start three years ago, but the group reached their apex at the onset of the year when Sami Zayn turned on The Tribal Chief. That led to one of the hottest pay-per-view main events in years with Reigns defending against Zayn in the Canadian’s hero hometown of Montréal at Elimination Chamber.
Both there and at the Royal Rumble, Roman reigned supreme, but it was a lot less likely he’d emerge from WrestleMania 39 with his record-setting run intact. Thanks to outside interference from the rest of The Bloodline, though, he was able to beat Cody Rhodes, too.
Although The Tribal Chief has lost his last two matches in tag team action, including Money in the Bank where he was pinned for the first time since 2019, he’s still the most must-see aspect of WWE right now.
His feud with The Usos has definitely delivered, and all signs point to him staying unbeaten one-on-one until WrestleMania 40 at the earliest.
MJF
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Who will eventually dethrone MJF as AEW world champion?Credit: All Elite Wrestling
MJF walked into 2023 with the AEW World Championship firmly in his grasp, and he has no intentions of relinquishing it anytime soon.
His first few months of the year were spent fending off the threat of Bryan Danielson, who he defeated decisively in an Iron Man match for the ages at Revolution in March. From there, he shifted his focus to AEW’s “four pillars” and successfully retained his title in a Four-Way at Double or Nothing in May.
His work on all fronts throughout the year has been consistently strong and has brought the best out of all of his opponents. Due to how infrequently he competes, his matches have become more of an attraction, especially with every one of them living up to the hype.
In recent weeks alone, he’s set back an impromptu challenge from Ethan Page on AEW Collision and wrestled Adam Cole to a tremendous time-limit draw. He’s proved he can excel in any situation and carry Dynamite on his back with extensive talking segments.
At the rate he’s running through opponents, it’s possible MJF holds onto the gold for the remainder of the year.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
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Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have injected new life into WWE’s tag team division as champs since WrestleMania.Credit: WWE.com
A considerable part of the success of the Bloodline storyline must be attributed to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who have been fantastic foils for the family stable all year.
It was always a matter of when, not if, Zayn would defect from the faction, and when he did, it made for an exceptional ending to the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He was WWE’s hottest babyface when he challenged Roman Reigns in the main event of Elimination Chamber, and even in defeat, he solidified his status as a main event player.
The build to the reunion of Owens and Zayn as friends made for a fun Road to WrestleMania, and when the finally joined forces, it was a monumental moment, almost as big as when they dethroned The Usos in the main event of ‘Mania after nearly two years as tag team champions.
Amazingly, they’ve maintained their momentum and had an excellent reign. They’ve pulled double duty between both brands with title defenses against Pretty Deadly, The Usos and Imperium and have managed to elevate the entire division along the way.
Blackpool Combat Club
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Blackpool Combat Club’s new edge has made them an unstoppable force in 2023.Credit: All Elite Wrestling
There was a point at the tail end of 2022 when it appeared Blackpool Combat Club were on the brink of collapse.
William Regal had just left AEW, Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson had branched off into separate storylines, and Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta were left to flounder as a tag team.
Keeping them together has been one of AEW’s best decisions this year, along with turning them heel. That came a few weeks removed from Revolution when the group made enemies out of Adam Page and Dark Order, which was the catalyst for The Elite reuniting.
Their Anarchy in the Arena victory at Double or Nothing saw them adopt an aggressive edge and go to great lengths to inflict pain and punishment on their archrivals. The Elite will have a chance to rebound when they meet again at Blood and Guts on July 19.
As incredible as they are individually, Blackpool Combat Club are much stronger collectively. With many impressive wins to their credit, there’s no telling who will be the ones to ultimately usurp them as AEW’s top stable.
Gunther
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Gunther is closing in on becoming the longest-reigning intercontinental champion of all time.Credit: WWE.com
It’s been decades since the last time the Intercontinental Championship was treated with such reverence, and thanks to Gunther’s dominant year-long run, it’s been brought to new heights.
WWE’s brilliant booking of The Ring General on the main roster has been immaculate. He’s been an unstoppable force from the moment he arrived on SmackDown and has overcome every obstacle put in front of him.
This year, that has included hard-fought battles with the likes of Braun Strowman, Riddick Moss, Mustafa Ali, Matt Riddle and Xavier Woods. His Triple Threat title defense against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus at WrestleMania 39 was the best of the bunch.
WWE has nailed the Imperium leader’s final boss presentation to the point where it’s going to be quite the occasion when he’s eventually dethroned. Until then, Imperium’s rule will continue to be a bright spot of Raw every Monday night.
The Outcasts
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Saraya, Toni Storm and Ruby Soho have all been better off collectively than they were individually.Credit: All Elite Wrestling
While not the most compelling characters creatively, there can be no doubt that The Outcasts have had a stranglehold on the AEW women’s division throughout 2023.
Saraya and Toni Storm joined forces at the onset of the year and subsequently turned heel when Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker became fan favorites. Ruby Soho later joined the duo to officially form The Outcasts, and they’ve won a majority of their matches since then.
That includes Storm besting Hayter for the AEW Women’s World Championship in a Full Gear rematch at Double or Nothing. Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale have stepped up to challenge Storm for the gold, but both fell short.
Their mission statement has been simple: to solidify their superiority over the “originals” in the AEW women’s division. Thus far, they’ve been successful at doing so with no real threat in sight, or at least not until Hayter is ready to return.
The green spray-paint gimmick hasn’t had a lot of depth, but they’ve consistently delivered in the ring and given the title scene a storyline has lasted six months and counting.
A women’s Blood and Guts match seems inevitable, which would be a massive milestone for the division.
Bianca Belair
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Bianca Belair became the longest-reigning Raw women’s champion weeks before finally losing the title.Credit: WWE.com
The EST of WWE being one of the company’s most winningest Superstar in the last two years should come as no surprise.
Bianca Belair was already in a league all of her own, but her near-flawless win-loss record in 2023 has made her an even bigger star than she already was. After besting Alexa Bliss to retain her Raw Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble, she continued her winning ways on Raw in matches with Chelsea Green, Carmella, Bayley and Becky Lynch before beating Asuka at WrestleMania 39.
In addition to defeating Iyo Sky in a great contest at Backlash, The EST surpassed Lynch in early May to become the longest-reigning Raw women’s champion ever. Within weeks, though, she dropped the belt to Asuka and has been in chase mode since then.
The title loss came at just the right time as it freshened up her stale character. It’s possible she’ll soon turn heel and bring back her villainous persona from NXT.
The way she’s gotten over with the main roster audience while always delivering in the ring has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Cody Rhodes
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Cody Rhodes’ momentum as one of WWE’s hottest babyfaces continues to build.Credit: WWE.com
Fans expected Cody Rhodes to pick up where he left off upon returning from injury, but there was no guarantee he’d be as popular or be booked as aggressively. Several stars have ascended the ranks in his absence, and he could just as easily have been relegated to the midcard.
Thankfully, he was immediately put back in the main event by winning the men’s Royal Rumble match. From that point forward, he embarked on a winning streak heading into WrestleMania 39 and even handed Solo Sikoa his first singles loss.
Of course, the big blemish on The American Nightmare’s record this year was when he fell short of beating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. It’s a wrong that could eventually be righted, but for now, he’s busy battling some of Raw’s finest.
From all of The Judgment Day to Brock Lesnar, no one has kept Rhodes down for long. The Beast Incarnate is only other star to defeat him in 2023, and it’s logical for their rubber match to take place at SummerSlam on August 5.
Rhodes’ connection with the crowd is unmatched and will lead him to many more victories and championships.
Orange Cassidy
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Orange Cassidy has been AEW’s best-booked champion throughout 2023.Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Believe it or not, no AEW star has had a better 2023 than Orange Cassidy.
His classification as a comedy character has caused fans to write him off in the past, but no longer. He secured his first piece of AEW gold in the form of the International Championship last October and has had a remarkable reign ever since.
It’s commonplace by now for Cassidy to kick off Dynamite with a hot title defense against a credible competitor. Regardless of who it is, he has gotten a quality contest out of all of them and walked away with the title still in tow.
The run hasn’t seen him climb the card or headline many shows, but that’s because this is spot he was always meant to be thriving in. He’s also managed to make the international title the most coveted in the company next to the AEW World Championship.
Cassidy hasn’t had to change his shtick much, and yet he’s beloved by a majority of the audience. He’s firing on all cylinders and boasts one of the greatest winning records AEW has seen.
Seth Rollins
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Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship win was years in the making.Credit: WWE.com
It’s egregious that Seth Rollins was without a world title coming into 2023 despite his string of wins and immense popularity. He challenged for the United States Championship on a handful of occasions, but it was clear he was destined for bigger and better things.
Following his failures at the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, he went into next gear and started winning every match he had. He bested Logan Paul at WrestleMania 39, toppled Omos at Backlash and conquered the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament to become the inaugural champ.
Monday Night Rollins has very much been an institution in the time he’s held the gold. Everyone from The Judgment Day (sans Rhea Ripley) has stepped up to challenge him and all of them have been unsuccessful.
Rollins is finally having the run on top fans were hoping he’d have and his booking has backed that up. The only thing left for him to do in the second half of 2023 is staying true to his word as a fighting champion and setting back all comers.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
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