10 Most Shocking 2023 Wrestler Transformations

10. Juice Robinson

When Juice Robinson arrived in AEW last year, it felt like a parody of a move.

Did...did Tony Khan have a problem? Did he have an actual shoot addiction to signing new names?

Nobody asked AEW to sign Juice Robinson, realistically. Tony Khan, after buying ROH, literally had enough talent to fill two rosters - and still couldn't accommodate some of the most promising acts on the planet. Juice wasn't just one signing too far; he walked into the most stacked roster of all time when he had hardly set the world alight in the 2020s. He didn't do much in New Japan Pro Wrestling, really, after the disastrous Lifeblood stable put paid to his time in ROH. In an indictment of sorts, he threatened retirement in early 2022, and while he was working, brother, it didn't come as a major surprise. He was nowhere near as dialled-in as he was playing the awesome throwback babyface of 2019. His start in AEW was poor.

He contrived to wrestle two bang-average efforts with Jon Moxley and Darby Allin: two of the best TV match guys in the company's history. Earlier this year, he set about getting over with one, simple trick:

He went crazy.

The Juice Robinson of 2023 was hilarious, captivating meme fodder. Delighting in echoing everything Jay White said, thrusting his hips at...nothing, and generally making an assortment of strange, why-are-they-funny noises, Juice was a scenery-chewing wonder who added an extravagant amount of colour to AEW's midcard. He pulled off being off his nut. That is virtually impossible in wrestling. So many try and fail. He also wrestled what many consider to be the single greatest tag team match in TV history, which was a far cry from somehow not having a good match with Darby.

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