50 Funniest Wrestling Moments Of 2023

by Michael Sidgwick

5. Seth Rollins Is Held Back By...Michael Cole

Look, CM Punk's return was amazing (and also just funny in and of itself). WWE might as well have saved themselves some money and waited 24 hours to license Cult of Personality, since you couldn't hear a bloody thing after the sting. Just an all-timer of a moment. But in reaction to Punk's return, Rollins booted off and had to be held back by...Michael Cole. Seth was actually good craic here - he was working and willingly sent himself up by throwing a tantrum on purpose - but Cole? What's Cole going to do to stop someone from breaking free from his grip?

"You know, I was talking to CM Punk earlier today, and he told me he isn't worth it."

4. IYO SKY Vs. Taylor Swift

IYO SKY Bayley Dakota Kai Damage CTRL
WWE.com

At the WWE Fastlane press conference, Steve Fall - who is a delight and knows what these things are - got his headline. He asked a quite bizarre question of new WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY: do you want to wrestle Taylor Swift at WrestleMania?

IYO was nonplussed, and with a quite brilliant deadpan, simply asked "Are you crazy?"

Fall was mocked for it, but what else did people reasonably expect him to ask in that setting? It's an extension of the show. He's hardly going to ask Triple H if he felt any differently about his father-in-law after he learned that Johnny Ace had stirred his porridge.

3. QT Marshall Thought AEW Was Turning Into NJPW

QT Marshall AEW
AEW

It was revealed in November that QT Marshall - prelim heel, backstage format guy and in his own mind the next Steve Austin - had elected to leave AEW. His reasoning, per a report from Haus of Wrestling?

AEW was becoming too much like NJPW - which was funny, because if anything, AEW delved into NXT territory.

The promotion may have run the Continental Classic, yes, but the last time anybody else checked, NJPW hasn't booked any angles where Hiroshi Tanahashi spread peanut butter on bread and you were meant to act like it was the funniest thing you've ever seen.

HAHAHA! It's slower than usual!!1

2. Hulk Still Rules (At Weird Lying)

Hulk Hogan
WWE

For all his chat about turning down gigs with Metallica and narrowly losing out on starring roles in classic movies, Hulk Hogan was actually cast in a big one this year: M. Night Shyamalan's The Seventh Sense.

He smells dead people, you see.

Hulk Hogan went nuts again this year, revealing in an interview back in August that he could smell the stench of death on a terminally ill child that he completely invented at SummerSlam 1992, an event he did not work.

Something reeked of death at Wembley, but that was just Nailz Vs. Virgil. That and Kenny Omega not working a singles match.

1. Dave Meltzer Ruining People's Lives

It's sometimes a slog following Dave Meltzer on Twitter.

98% of the time, he argues with bots or demented WWE tribalists about star ratings. 1% of the time, he will tweet some incredible insight or historical tidbit that genuinely changes your perspective on things. The other 1% of the time, he argues with bots or demented WWE tribalists about star ratings, but it's really funny.

Sassy Dave is the best Dave.

Advertisement
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 current Undisputed WWE 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!