10 Best Wrestlers Of 2023

2. Gunther

Gunther Cody Rhodes Bryan Danielson
WWE

Secondary titles became primary concerns in 2023, and Gunther's Intercontinental Championship run becoming the longest reign in company history summed up his and WWE's success with what has been an all-timer tenure.

Like the Number One wrestler on this list, Gunther simply doesn't have bad matches. And if he did, they'd be collector's items in their own right and worthy of mention on those terms. In the biggest stadiums and on red hot Raws, it remains dark arts stuff watching him work. Every opponent is forced to climb the same mountain but their differing attempts add unique character to every battle, even in defeat. An hour-long stint in the Royal Rumble was the acid test of this, and passing that with flying colours surely secured even more prestigious title runs at the top of cards following on from his history-making one in the middle.

Having swallowed up Match Of The Year plaudits for his singles bout against Sheamus in 2022, the two came together with Drew McIntyre to possibly sew it up again for 2023 at WrestleMania 39. Then a Chad Gable series climaxed with a lung-bursting title match that challenged the throne. Elsewhere, he took on everybody and anybody, gave them one of the best matches they'll have, and ploughed forward. Count Braun Strowman, Tommaso Ciampa, Butch, Otis and even Sami Zayn as just some of the beneficiaries/victims, alongside an Imperium group he continues to lead into choice trio and tag battles.

The exact number of people in WWE better than him matches the exact number of people he thought could make it there - zero.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett