10 Most Improved Wrestlers Of 2023

3. Kris Statlander

Kris Statlander
AEW

Since landing in AEW at the end of 2019, Kris Statlander had always been steady and showed plentiful potential, but that potential was never fully maximised due to the two major ACL injuries suffered barely two years apart. Also, truthfully, it did seem like there was always a certain ceiling to Stat's admittedly fun Galaxy's Greatest Alien schtick.

Booping people on the nose is entertaining and will always get a pop, but would it necessarily have you in genuine contention for championship gold? Possibly not. Returning to action with a new, more serious, focused persona at Double or Nothing back in May, Statlander handed Jade Cargill her first ever loss and took the TBS Title.

That match in and of itself was less than one minute and didn't exactly scream babyface behaviour- taking advantage of an already-weakened Cargill fresh off beating Taya Valkyrie - but the New Yorker has become one of the mainstays of AEW programming in the time since then.

Since becoming a no-frills, straight-up ass-kicker, Statlander made for a great fighting champion, is a natural babyface who you can't help but root for, and in terms of match quality has consistently delivered at a high level.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.