10 Best Wrestlers Of 2023 (So Far)
2. Gunther
Secondary titles are primary concerns in 2023, and Gunther's Intercontinental Championship run is already the greatest of all time even if it falls short of The Honky Tonk Man's longevity record.
It almost definitely won't, though. WWE are on the home straight with that now, and 'Der Ring General's work has done the heavy lifting passing the days in ways Roman Reigns can only dream of by comparison.
Like the Number One wrestler on this list and certain former Intercontinental Champions, Gunther simply doesn't have bad matches anymore. And if he did, they'd be collector's items in their own right. It's dark arts stuff watching him work too - he forces his opponents into attempting to climb the same mountain but their differing attempts add unique character to every battle. An hour in the Royal Rumble was the test of this, and passing that with flying colours presumably assured him of even greater title runs when this one eventually comes to a close.
Never was this any more pronounced than in his WrestleMania 39 Triple Threat victory over Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. Having swallowed up Match Of The Year plaudits for his singles bout against 'The Celtic Warrior' in 2022, the Champion doubled down on the violence with double the hard-hitting opposition. McIntyre's similar style was the perfect accompaniment, but just when twice the raw power looked enough to demolish the Gunther edifice once and for all, he showed the guts and guile of a future headline babyface lurking beneath the heel exterior.
And speaking of future headline babyfaces...