Wrestling’s 10 Biggest Missed Opportunities Of 2023

On paper, having WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus clash with Becky Lynch for a few months in the lead-up to SummerSlam 2023 looked like a solid and potentially wonderful idea.

Both women are undoubtedly stars.

They can go in-between the ropes with the best of them on their day.

And the story of a legend coming back to take the respect she felt she deserved for paving the way for the Four Horsewomen had the makings of something captivating, too.

However, the fact WWE clearly had SummerSlam in mind as the destination for the final chapter of this blockbuster feud ultimately resulted in weeks and months of too many uninspiring promos, and an overall program that felt like a two-month ride stretched out twice as long.

Then, in a move that simultaneously felt insulting and baffling, WWE pivoted away from a Lynch/Stratus climactic fight in Detroit - no matter what Levesque will tell you - in favour of giving them the Payback opening slot instead.

WWE had the opportunity to put on a SummerSlam that boasted three fairly high-profile women's fights, but instead decided to bump the biggest women's program in the company off a "big four" PLE, feeling that things like Roman and Jey's dull opera and a Slim Jim battle royal needed the minutes more on the night.