10 Worst Wrestling Matches Of 2023 (According To The Internet)
9. Bully Ray Vs. Tommy Dreamer (IMPACT Wrestling Sacrifice 2023)
Cagematch Rating: 3.02/10.
ECW nostalgia is increasingly difficult to promote in 2023, when the majority of the cult promotion's most famous hardcore practitioners are north of 50 with many, many decades on the bump clock. But nostalgia remains a powerful drug, even if the protagonists have worked literally hundreds of matches together.
The 'Busted Open' stipulation nodded to Dreamer and Bully's shared media duties. A bit silly, but not as silly as Tommy's spray tan - and certainly not as silly as the match itself.
While not as calamitous as most entries on the list, this kind of plodding, seen-it-all-before brawl is difficult to get excited about in 2023. Hardcore and adjacent stipulations are amongst the sport's most overdone. While Dreamer and Bully are legendary practitioners in the field, they, like the overwhelming majority in American wrestling today, did nothing unique or interesting with the weapons spots and other booking crutches. Ironically for Bully, there wasn't anywhere near enough heat or intensity to compensate either.
A sad reminder that these two used to be amongst the most believable brawlers in the sport, this was more a waste of time rather than awful.
And silly.