50 Funniest Wrestling Moments Of 2023
30. Jeff Jarrett, General
AEW probably took it a month or two or several too far, but Jeff Jarrett was fantastic value for some of his AEW run. He knows how to draw heat at a pantomime level, and his black comedy timing was sensational. There's just something wonderful about how he thrust his arms back and forth in celebration seconds before the wronged babyface kicked out at 2.9.
His gleeful "My plan has worked!" body language was pure slapstick joy.
29. Skits Are Bad, But Cruelty Is Funny
The comedy stylings of Better Than You, Bay-Bay were received very much subjectively, becoming the defining discourse of 2023, but their mutual hatred of Tony Schiavone informed a delectably cruel sight gag at the expense of poor Tony Schiavone. They each recognised Puf - in a gym trying to work on himself lol - and, with perfect synchronicity, said "TONY SCHIAVONE!" when they shared an epiphany of who he reminded them of.
Not big, not clever, but the visual image of Schiavone's face AI-imposed over Puf's was not not funny.
28. OVW Guy Has Lofty Ambitions
f**k me, man! You cant say this with a straight face. pic.twitter.com/F6NjysFR41
— IANdrew Dice Clay (@IANdrewTheGiant) September 13, 2023
The brains behind OVW, as a talking head of the Wrestlers Netflix series, had quite the take on his promotion. WWE, AEW. That's shallow blockbuster fare. OVW is the thinking man's league.
In comparing OVW to, of all films, 'The Squid & The Whale', he picked the ideal movie to make a thoroughly pretentious point. He could only have come off worse had he said "We're going for a sort of Donnie Darko meets the Butterfly Effect vibe".
Pretending that OVW is Infinite Jest and not some drivel sub-indie: and you thought the "WWE is cinema" takes were bad.
27. Nathan Frazer Is Very Fast
Cor Blimey!
In a decidedly unfunny moment, Nathan Frazer on August 29 almost broke his neck when running the ropes because the momentum he generated was off the charts. WWE made it a "thing" the next week. Frazer vowed to never slow down, and to convey this, he rushed to the ring complete with a naff motion blur effect. WWE tends to do things with a very literal bent, and their response to "Nathan Frazer might be too fast for his own good" was "Let's repackage him as Sonic The Hedgehog and make him run as fast as he can with the lights turned down".
In a dishonourable mention, Frazer was also repackaged as John Oliver with his pre-taped talk show 'Hard-Hitting Home Truths'. That's how you get an electrifying 25-year-old prodigy over: make him look he's presenting GB News!
26. A Vintage Hangman Page Lower Third
Hangman Page hasn't enjoyed a great 2023 overall, as high as he's peaked.
After a superb programme against Jon Moxley, he took a while to get involved in the Elite Vs. Blackpool Combat Club programme, and then virtually disappeared after the Blood & Guts finale. He didn't feel quite himself, which informed the meta premise of his feud opposite Swerve Strickland. He wasn't present.
He did however remind people of the Hanger of old - the endearing self-deprecating guy who you wanted to believe in because he needed you to - with a hilarious lower third ahead of the June 14 main event Dynamite. As the Hung Bucks made their way to the ring as simply 'the Elite', the graphic read:
"Used to be known by a sexually suggestive and anatomically misleading name"
"Mine's big, and it ain't made out of plastic" CM Punk was reported to have said in response.