The Best in the World never actually lost the AEW World Championship and will be seeking to wrest it away from one of his greatest rivals.Īnother series of matches between them that is both different but plays up their well-documented history will go a long way toward further establishing MJF as one of the elite performers in professional wrestling in 2023. His biggest test may be coming up later this year if the teases by CM Punk on the debut episode of Collision are any indication. The self-proclaimed "Devil" wrestled one of, if not the, greatest Iron Man matches in the modern era against Bryan Danielson in February at Revolution.įrom there, he retained his title in another great match, a four-way against Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara and "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry in which the competitors reminded fans and analysts alike why they are considered the four pillars of AEW.Ī strong match with Adam Cole on the June 14 episode of Dynamite that went 30 minutes and hinted at a pay-per-view bout for the top prize in the company only bolstered the heel's argument for inclusion in the top five. MJF does not wrestle a ton, magnifying the significance of his in-ring performances when he finally does, and thus far the AEW world champion has delivered in 2023. If he can keep up the quality of his in-ring outings and the booking continues to support it, Gunther could be even further up these rankings by the time the end of 2023 arrives. He has proved any doubters wrong as a rare NXT export to thrive on the main roster and perhaps even excel beyond what he accomplished in the developmental brand. He throws punishing chops, absorbs the strikes of his opponents and gives fans even the slightest hint of hope that their favorite can do the unthinkable and beat him. Goliath showdown with Mustafa Ali, all while elevating the secondary title to heights it has not enjoyed in years.Ī hard-hitting, no-nonsense wrestler, Gunther has the ability to make any match look like a grueling war of attrition. ![]() The Ring General turned in a defining performance to start the year in the men's Royal Rumble match, setting a record for the longest appearance in the 30-strong version of the bout.įrom there, he turned in a five-star contest against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 39 and delivered a fun David vs. It's nothing if not effective Charlotte is now is a six-time champion, which means she's only ten more title reigns away from her legendary dad.The top five of this list are so great that it almost feels insulting to put the intercontinental champion this far down on the list, but here he is. She performs a bridge stretch after locking in the hold-a nod to her competitive gymnastics background. Charlotte refers to her figure-four leglock as a figure-eight leglock. So instead, she modified her father's finisher to suit her. Charlotte must have known that she couldn't top that show. There's a difference between an average figure-four leglock and a Ric Flair figure-four leglock, which comes complete with theatricals, hip swivels, and "WOOO"s. When his daughter, Charlotte Flair, came up through NXT, she staked a claim on the women's division, both as the daughter of a Hall of Famer and as one of the most athletic women on the roster. And he's quite possibly the greatest sports entertainer to ever live. A limousine riding, jet flying, wheeling and dealing, kiss stealing, son of a gun. What more can be said about Ric Flair? He's the Nature Boy. Rather than copying his father directly, young Ted asserted, through his moveset, that he wanted to be his own man. But the best iteration of the move was Dream Street, which transitioned from the cobra clutch into a slam that resembled the Rock Bottom. He first debuted the Dream Crusher, which incorporated a Russian leg sweep into the cobra clutch. But after a while, he started putting his own twist on the move. When his son, Ted DiBiase Jr., made his WWE debut in 2008, he picked up his father's gimmick and also adopted his father's finishing move. ![]() It was lights out once he locked this on, and he would finish the humiliation by stuffing a hundred dollar bill into his unconscious opponent's mouth His finisher was the cobra clutch, which he called the Million Dollar Dream hold. He tried to buy his way to the WWE Championship. He challenged a young child to dribble a basketball and kicked it away before the last bounce. ![]() Before Vince McMahon became an on-screen character, he channeled his "evil billionaire" persona through Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man.
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