This Week in Wrestling 2023 Week 26

Brian Damage

It’s Saturday and today we have ’This Week in Wrestling’, the 26th entry of 2023. Today Brian reviews the landscape of professional wrestling, as we reach the half way mark on the calendar year and shares all the best wrestling content from this week.

2023: Broken in Half

Well, just like that, here we are at the half way point of 2023! There has certainly been a lot to digest in the last six months of pro wrestling…some good and some bad. We have seen some things that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago and things that made us scratch our heads. To say that 2023 has been a crazy year would be an understatement.

First of all, who would have really believed that Vince McMahon would sell the company he built in WWE? It’s still crazy to know that while Vince is still technically in charge of WWE, ultimately, he no longer owns it. Despite the sale to Endeavor, WWE continues to get stronger and stronger by breaking records for attendance merchandise sales and continued strength in rating whether that by for TV or views on YouTube etc.

Meanwhile, All Elite Wrestling has continued to grow into a viable second option for both wrestlers and fans. The AEW All In Wembley stadium show looks to be a real success for the company with over 60,000 tickets sold. Unreal when you consider that this is not a WWE produced event. In addition to that, they have added a third show in ‘Collision’ to compliment ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Rampage.’ Tony Khan has also smartened up a bit by putting together a creative team with names like Jerry Lynn, Bryan Danielson, Stokely Hathaway and others to help alleviate some of the pressure of booking every single show and pay per view.

We have seen the retirement of one of the all time greats in Keiji Mutoh aka The Great Muta at the beginning of 2023. We also may see the retirements of Sting and Edge by the end of it.

2023 has also experienced tragedy with the sudden and tragic deaths of Jay Briscoe and Sara Lee and the deaths of wrestling legends in Superstar Billy Graham and The Iron Sheik and just yesterday Darren Drozdov.

We have witnessed the Mercedes Mone formerly Sasha Banks become an international star in Japan for Stardom/ New Japan and Trinity Fatu formerly Naomi sign a big money contract with Impact Wrestling proving if nothing else…there is life after WWE.

Despite all the chaos and drama involved, 2023 saw the return of CM Punk to AEW. With that, AEW held a tremendous ‘Forbidden Door’ pay per view in Toronto, Canada. The Will Ospreay/Kenny Omega II match is worth the effort to watch if you so choose.

Over in WWE, the Bloodline storyline is still going very strong. It has been touted by many wrestlers in the business both from WWE and outside of it as one of the greatest storylines in pro wrestling history. Love it or hate it, it helped elevate the careers of Sami Zayn, the Usos and even Solo Sikoa. That in itself has made the Bloodline story very effective. Having over 26 million views in a few hours after Jey Uso turned on Roman Reigns certainly helps make a cause for it being a strong story.

Overall, the last six months have been filled with a ton of content. We still have another six months to go with the AEW All In Wembley show, Money in the Bank at London’s O2 arena, Summerslam in Detroit, new TV rights deals still pending for WWE and a host of other things to watch out for in the remainder of 2023. So far, it has been a truly wild ride.

Photo Gallery

What’s your WCW Monday Nitro Match?

Badass!

Cool pic of Dustin Rhodes

Blah blah blah

I like the artwork

25 years of Edge

Bayley as Supergirl

Rey and Dominik Mysterio

Never rush superstardom…it takes time and probably a few gimmicks along the way.

Very cool look at the WWF Primetime set

Love this fusion of art combining classic wrestlers with the Rock band KISS

Buff Bagwell and Scotty Riggs aka The American Males today!

AJ Lee looks tremendous lately. Here’s her pictures from her wrestling days and now.

A blonde Stephanie McMahon just hit a bit different.

Brandi Rhodes at 40!

Dana Brooke

Jade Cargill

Kayla Braxton

Ariane Andrew

Candice Michelle

Mandy Rose

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WARNING!!!

NSFW CONTENT BELOW

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

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Mandy Rose

CJ Perry

Mandy and Paige VanZant

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SAFETY!!!

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Video Gallery

An Advertisement for the Rock N Roll Express Fan Club circa 1986

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