What a start to 2023!

With 2023 underway the professional wrestling world has had quite an explosive start with NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17, NOAH’s dream match of Great Muta vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and the ever evolving news with WWE. So I am going to cover the high points of this exciting start to what is shaking out to be an unpredictable year for wrestling.

Muta vs. Nakamura at NOAH The New Year 2023: For fans of Great Muta, Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese wrestling or all the above you got a dream match long overdue as part of Great Muta’s last matches and gave us fans a tease of WWE and the forbidden door. The match set off 2023 with a bang as this back-and-forth battle was incredible that ended poetically when Nakamura took Muta’s infamous mist via a kiss and use it to win the match.

Wrestle Kingdom 17

The Debut of Mercedes Moné: Wrestle Kingdom did not disappoint with their Wrestlemania event, which means some surprise returns or debuts which in this case was debut that wasn’t well kept with Mercedes Moné (FKA Sasha Banks) finally showing up in NJPW after being off WWE TV for most of 2022. The debut was met with criticism that was deserved with the interaction with NJPW women’s champion Kairi (FKA Kairi Sane) setting up their big match for the title in February. A bit of a rocky start but there are high hopes with this run for NJPW and Moné more importantly.

Tama Tonga vs. Karl Anderson (Neverweight Title Match): The forbidden door was opened on the WWE side again with Bullet Club’s OG member Karl Anderson was set to defend his Neverweight title that he had prior to coming back to WWE would defend it against his former Bullet Club member Tama Tonga. The match did not disappoint as both men put on solid good matches and in the Tama Tonga beat Anderson to become champion and hopefully start a potential impact run but did gain attention of WWE which has been long overdue.

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW World Championship): This was the main event but had a tough act to follow with the talk of the show, but White vs. Okada was absolutely good. For the fans that regularly follow NJPW were not surprised but new viewers were possibly introduce to a great match and great wrestlers that belong anywhere, in the Okada came out victorious and the new world champion with White leaving us with the question of is he staying in NJPW or is he heading to US for a more major run at one of the two promotions (AEW & WWE)? Guess we shall wait and see.

Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW United States Heavyweight Championship): But we get to the talk of the event, front runner of match of the year and instant classic between champion Will Ospreay and returning challenger Kenny Omega. The build and anticipation for the match delivered and was everything you expected it to be between these two stars. Hard hitting, fast moving, constant flowing match is basically impossible to describe so go out of your way to find the match (Maybe through Surfshark VPN and the amazing code RIGHTHOOKPOD to get 83% off your order plus 3 months free) Omega’s return is victorious and becomes the new United States champion hopefully setting up a rubber match in the future.

Well, I have to transition from the exciting part of the new year to the wild and unpredictable aspect to start 2023 with the WWE who is in control, what is next and guess who is back?! Well, the retirement wasn’t too long as Vince McMahon returned to WWE after retiring this past summer due to some mounting allegations. McMahon decided to come back in December to facilitate a potential upcoming sale of the company, but the news was not well received to say the least.

From shareholders, to wrestlers, employees, and the fans were immediately concerned with the news of him returning which was slightly heightened with the sudden stepping down and resignation of Stephanie McMahon compacted with Vince basically running a coup to regain chairman position. With potential buyers spanning from Comcast, Fox, Amazon, and SAUDI ARABIA has everything the WWE has done throughout the months going up in smoke and derail everything Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan and Triple H build and were constructing before the return.

This is still unfolding as we speak and there’s a lot of unknown parts happening but pay attention to what comes next and be prepared for anything because everything is on the table when it comes to the future of WWE. What an incredible start to the new year right? Buckle up folks.