10 Best Wrestlers Of 2023 (So Far)
6. Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley's on such incredible form in 2023 that she'd be number one on this list if anybody else in her orbit were being booked (and working) to a similar standard.
The Judgment Day's toughest member since the moment she joined, Ripley built on a staggeringly impressive second half of 2022 by going coast-to-coast in the Royal Rumble to punch her ticket for WrestleMania 39. A genius seller who understands how her character should approach differing physical obstacles, she made her 23:35 against Charlotte Flair at the 'Show Of Shows' look as tough as the 1:01:08 she spent in the January classic, and stole the show from underneath the epic Bloodline main event drama on the 'Grandest Stage'.
Believably dominant in contrast to the muddled way her character was initially handled on the main roster, there was a measured quality to her thrilling squash wins over Zelina Vega and Natalya at Backlash and Night Of Champions respectively, and her partnership with Dominik Mysterio continues to be one of the most endearingly appalling things in all of wrestling.
A multi-tool player in a division with too few serious contenders, Ripley will surely follow recent trends and hold the SmackDown Women's Championship for a long long time. An impending feud with Becky Lynch could be legacy-defining stuff if it reaches its peak.