Top 10 Male AEW Wrestlers of 2023
Published 1/06/2024 By Adryan Delorbe
AEW has had its ups and downs in 2023, with fans proclaiming a change in presentation and a sports entertainment focus that seems to be shifting more towards sports presentation as we enter 2024. 2023 being a unique experimental year for AEW, which wrestlers stood out on the men’s side? So many wrestlers put out some fantastic work, so who made this list and who didn’t?
10. Jon Moxley
The undisputed ace of AEW, Moxley continued his reign of dominance with a violent feud against Hangman Page, another rivalry with Orange Cassidy, and a brilliant ending to the year against both friend and enemy Eddie Kingston, who’s had a great year of his own. The only negative, holding Moxley back, was his lack of main events and major championship wins.
9. Adam Cole
BABAY! Adam Cole headlined the biggest wrestling show of the year, maybe even of all time, against his “best friend” MJF. Although he may not bear the gold in his pursuits, his comedy and dramatic storytelling in this rivalry truly showed Adam Cole’s unreached potential. Ending the year with the bombshell of the Devil Reveal cements his spot, even after a halting injury. If he didn’t start the year with a lackluster feud with Chris Jericho and end it with an unfortunate injury, he would’ve been much higher on this list.
8. Will Ospreay
Will Ospreay may have lacked in presence, but in his few matches he showcased his personality, style, and power in victories against Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho. If I included matches outside AEW, Will would have guaranteed a top spot as his wrestling is in a class of his own with consistent show-stopping performances.
7. Samoa Joe
Joe has been presented like the legendary monster he always has been in 2023. Joe started the year strongly by becoming TNT Champion, and continued having solid performances throughout the year, including the best wrestling on All In in a great match with CM Punk, who unfortunately didn’t make this list. He proved himself through this feud, and then had a great consistent rivalry with world champion MJF, ending with a championship victory for Joe. Joe did technically hold AEW championship gold for a short amount of the year, so he didn’t place as high as some may think he deserves.
6. Eddie Kingston
In what may be the best year of his career, Eddie Kingston has finally won a world championship in his home state of New York, and defended it with a great story of self belief throughout the Continental Classic. Eddie holds wins over Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and Claudio Castagnoli which instantly puts him on this list. Unfortunately, Eddie was inactive in AEW for the first half of 2023, so even with a perfect second half, he just barely missed the top 5.
5. Swerve Strickland
You knew he’d make it on this list, although his first half was a bit forgettable, his traction hit the big time when he started his feud with Hangman Page (who just barely missed the list at number 11). Swerve instantly became a main event star with fantastic matches in the Continental Classic, and what may be the most violent, intense match in AEW history against Hangman. His star power was further cemented with his interactions on screen with wrestlers like MJF, Samoa Joe, and Jon Moxley. It’s clear there are bigger feats in Swerve’s future, including potentially ranking even higher than the number five spot.
4. Christian Cage
Out work everyone, work everyone. Christian Cage has been a favorite of mine since I was young, and he has proven himself to be one of the greatest minds in wrestling with his sheer quality and longevity. With his help in forging Luchasaurus into an underdog in what will eventually be a great turn for him, to finally beginning to fulfill the potential of a main event level feud against Adam Copeland. His Patriarch character was an unnecessary evolution of his character, but one that paid off with huge crowd reactions and big storyline potential, Christian is proving himself once again as the most underrated contenders for greatest of all time.
3. Orange Cassidy
Consistent fantastic matches, consistent character with interactions and relationships with others that just make sense. His feud with Jon Moxley was the most standout, but the way his character broke down under the standards he held himself to despite his attempted stoicism is what proves OC has great character chops as well as being able to tell a brilliant story through wrestling. Orange elevated the International Championship, and that is a major deal for such a new championship.
2. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
Many of you may have instantly expected MJF in first place, but for good reason. MJF became a mainstream star in AEW, becoming its biggest anti-hero. MJF started the year with a potential AEW match of the year in an iron man match against Bryan Danielson. Maxwell then went on to feud with Adam Cole in a constantly evolving storyline with expected betrayals seeming to come, but instead the pure friendship continued. MJF, as mentioned previously, starred in the main event of All In, making history with his best friend Adam Cole baybay. I do believe his lackluster rivalry with Jay White as well as the match with Jay White weakened his potential for the number one spot, but this was indeed a history making run that made him the only man on this list below 30.
1. Bryan Danielson
Possibly the greatest of all time, Bryan Danielson continued proving all doubters wrong by having fantastic match after fantastic match all through 2023. He first proved he could still vie for a world championship whenever he wishes in a great feud with MJF, then joined the Blackpool Combat Club in some violent faction warfare, before proving himself as still being the best technical wrestler in the world in an ongoing feud with Zack Sabre Jr. Bryan has even elevated himself backstage, seemingly becoming Tony Khan’s right-hand man on multiple fronts. Bryan Danielson didn’t even need championships to make this list, but his wins against major stars like Okada, Eddie Kingston, Hangman Page, Ricky Starks, and more certainly help him maintain his stop on top of the mountain of professional wrestling. Bryan Danielson out wrestled every other character, maintained his American Dragon persona to keep his character flexible and entertaining to watch in every situation, and proved his charisma every time he spoke into a microphone. The American Dragon has everything a wrestler would ever need, and we are close to seeing the best full time run a wrestler has ever had end soon while it’s still at it’s peak.
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