10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2023 (So Far)

9. Bryan Danielson Vs. Rush - AEW Dynamite (February 8)

Rhea Ripley
AEW

One of the most intense matches in the history of North American television, this was a masterpiece that underscored how it simply isn't fair to virtually every other wrestler that Bryan Danielson exists.

He's not only so great at the technical game that an award was named after him, but he's better at brawling than his contemporaries who operate in that mode primarily. In this match, Rush and Danielson worked a sequence that you see in every other wrestling match. Far too many wrestling matches. They traded chops and forearms in the apron. This should have felt like a bastardised, two a penny moment, but it didn't. It felt like they were trying to pulverise one another, like they couldn't sanction the idea of giving an inch.

In an iconic image, filmed with NJPW-tier production values, Rush dumped a blood-soaked Danielson with a suplex from the apron to the floor. Meaty platelets of claret splattered over a ringside camera lens.

The match was as believable as modern pro wrestling gets, worked to a staggering degree. It was only when you saw Danielson didn't break Rush's orbital bone with a running dropkick into the barricade did you remember that this was a predetermined bit of fiction, the aim of which wasn't to maim one's opponent.

It felt ugly, hateful, real, as if they could not possibly be collaborating - the sort of match so special that Rush was immediately fan-cast as a potential heel World champion.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!