50 Funniest Wrestling Moments Of 2023
25. 'Stone Cold' Dana Brooke
This is really harsh, but it's the booking that was funny. Poor Dana Brooke was by all accounts one of the most committed wrestlers on the WWE roster. She was said to have an intense work ethic and desire to improve, taking every opportunity available to supplement her learning at the Performance Center.
She could spend every waking moment there and never be as good as Steve Austin.
NXT's inexplicably acclaimed creative team decided to position her as Stone Cold by having her refuse to tap out against Cora Jade at Gold Rush. She didn't quite become a beloved anti-hero who evolved into the biggest drawing card in the history of the business after the fact.
"Tap! Tap! Tap!" the fans chanted.
24. Saraya Offends The Yanks
Saraya doesn't know what words you can't say in front of the pearl-clutching Americans. They do not like the word "c***", for one. It offends their delicate sensibilities. You can call people in marginalised communities c***s, just to be clear. But the average Joe, just sipping on his morning coffee as he looks at his freshly-cut lawn? Don't use those devil words about a (white) man living the American dream, you hear?!
Saraya didn't grasp that "t***" - basically a synonym of "a**hole" in England - is very offensive in the US. So, when she buried wrestling fans as "Neck-bearded, stinky t***s" back in March, she was fined by AEW.
This was hilarious. You can't say that Saraya!
You can do far worse and people will support you for it, but you can't say that!
23. Christian Cage Brackets General
"It has come to my attention that you have a father..."
Christian Cage was a sensational heel in AEW throughout 2023, a true high spot in a company that may have entered its downfall era. His obsession with burying people for their fathers dying on them was over-extracted dark roast coffee black. The utterly needless and unconscionable element of cruelty depicted him as the best, most effective heel in the industry - but it was also incredibly funny. He said the worst things imaginable just to watch people die inside.
Maybe watching things in slow-motion is amusing after all, provided it's a babyface's heart breaking.
22. Booker T Orders Takeout At NXT
Booker T might be the most uninterested commentator in wrestling.
Constantly going off on bizarre tangents, barely researching the names of the performers, and even building a face-to-face segment he compered around his own catchphrase, Vic Joseph is incredulous at his behaviour on a weekly basis. Back in May, Book couldn't even wait for the main event to finish before ordering takeout on DoorDash.
Even Jim Ross waits until the broadcast finishes before quote-tweeting 'BOOMER!' at the first set of breasts he sees on Twitter.
21. Von Wagner Winks
Von Wagner was David Flair-level eerie when he first debuted on NXT, eliciting a Michael Myers-style chill down the spine simply by standing there and not knowing what to do with himself. It was impossible to believe that he'd ever get over. There was more chance of Tony Khan getting through a sentence without saying the word "great".
Shawn Michaels, consistent with his silly yet inexplicably effective NXT show, stumbled upon a masterstroke: he decided to humanise Von as part of his character arc. So much more effective than it had any right to be, Von's revelation that he is so guarded an individual because he was bullied for the scarring that resulted from 15-hour brain surgery as a baby was a gut-punch.
Naff and melodramatic as it all was, it worked, and Von winking at the prospect of full intercourse was funny.
Von Wagner: oats getter was an amazing visual gag.