Top Matches I Watched in January 2023

Top Matches I Watched in January 2023

By Alex Kalil

WOW! What a start to 2023! NOAH and NJPW had a great series of shows. AJPW made the list for the first time in a long time. AEW had great match after great match! And WWE had one of the better Rumbles in a while. 2023 is looking to be a great year!

GHC Tag Team Championship Match: Satoshi Kojima and Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji at Pro Wrestling NOAH The New Year 2023: Just a hard hitting and physical match up. Both teams look to just batter each other silly. Kojima and Sugiura have the advantage when it comes to power and strength while KENTA and Marufuji have their speed and quickness to help them out. Nice back and forth all match with neither team really taking control most of the match. Everyone starts to level each other with hard shots and big bombs before Kojima is able to block a knee by Marufuji and nails him with two Western Lariats to get the win. ****

GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Kaito Kiyomiya (c) vs. Kenoh at Pro Wrestling NOAH The New Year 2023: Another banger from these two rivals! Both men start off trying to out-wrestle the other. Kiyomiya goes high risk early and gets cut off by Kenoh, who starts to target the midsection. Kiyomiya is able to make a comeback by throwing himself recklessly at Kenoh to even the match back up. From there, these two go all out! Kiyomiya hits a Shining Wizard and Tiger Suplex for big near-falls while Kenoh rattles him with knees, kicks and looks for the sleeper. Kenoh hits an insane Falcon Arrow off the top to the apron! A double stomp back in the ring only gets a 2 but Kiyomiya is hurt! Kenoh pushes the advantage but Kiyomiya fires up and starts bombing right back on his opponent. A missed head kick allows Kiyomiya to hit a nasty reverse rana and a modified Tiger Suplex. One final Shining Wizard ends it and gives Kiyomiya the win. ****1/4

WWE United States Championship Match: Austin Theory (c) vs. Seth Rollins at WWE Raw 1/2/23: A really good back and forth match. Rollins is able to control early by using Theory's frustration against him and using his speed to keep Theory off his game. Rollins keeps using his knees to rock Theory before Theory catches Rollins in the rope to cut him off and ground him. Nice heel work by Theory as Rollins tries to stay alive but hurts his knee and slows him down somewhat. Rollins tries to work through the injury while Theory looks for every shortcut to take back over. Nice moment as Rollins stops Theory from getting counted out and hits a one-legged Frog Splash for a big near-fall. Theory shoves Rollins into the referee and tries to steal the win but Rollins hits a Pedigree but his hurt knee prevents him from getting the pin right away. Theory tries to shove Rollins into the second referee but Rollins puts the breaks on. A low blow by Theory and he chop blocks the knee. A-Town Down by Theory ends it and allows Theory to retain. In the end, Rollins overused his best weapon and hurt himself and the heel took advantage of it ****

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (c) vs. Bishamon at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17: A nice back and forth tag team match. Bishamon looks to brawl and use their power on FTR, who try to use their tag team specialty to keep control. YOSHI-HASHI gets isolated and we get some nice heat on him before Goto gets the hot tag and runs wild. Lots of back and forth action as FTR hits big tag team moves but keeps getting the pin broken up. Goto finally lariats Cash out of the ring and Bishamon is able to hit Shoto after going for it all match on Dax to get the win. Good clean tag match that got the crowd super into it and had a nice finish to the match. **** NJPW World Television Championship Tournament Final Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ren Narita at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17: An excellent short technical match up. Sabre looks to work over Narita's limbs, specifically the arm while Narita looks to use his power and hits suplexes. Both men dish out hard shots at each other, which Sabre uses to sucker Narita in close to ground him and work over his limbs. Narita fires up and starts to fight back and the two trade pinning combinations. Sabre gets the best of the exchanges and finally locks the armbar in full and gets the tap out. Narita tried to wrestle his way and beat Sabre at his own game but Sabre was a step ahead on this night. **** IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Kenny Omega at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17: What a match! Ospreay comes in with something to prove and looks to use his speed to go right after Omega. Ospreay is able to get some shine in before Omega runs him into the guardrail and goes to work on the neck and back of Ospreay. Match becomes Ospreay fighting from underneath to survive while Omega uses his experience and knowledge to out-work Ospreay. Omega hits a crazy DDT into the top turnbuckle and busts Ospreay open badly! Omega is just mauling Ospreay, who is struggling to stay alive. Omega pulls out all the stops: V-Triggers, Tiger Driver, Croyt's Wrath all to punish Ospreay but he won't stay down. Ospreay is able to level Omega with Hidden Blades, the Oscutter and even a Styles Clash in the hopes of pulling off a win but none of those work! Omega is able to slip out of the Stormbreaker and nails a V-Trigger. Omega grabs the arms of Ospreay, who spits in Omega's face, and nails him with a Kamagoye! One-Winged Angel finally puts down Ospreay and Omega wins it! This was a perfect match! Omega was a vicious and violent heel and beat the hell out of Ospreay, who became the biggest babyface in the world here and did everything he could to win and prove himself to Omega and the fans. This was beautiful, violent wrestling and one of the greatest matches of all time! *****

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17: A really good back and forth match. Both men have their strategies going into the match. Okada looks to work his style match and set up for the Money Clip and Rainmaker while White looks to wear down Okada and use every trick he can to stay in control. A nice steady pace to the match as both men battle it out. Okada starts rolling and wears down White with the Money Clip. White tries everything to avoid the Rainmaker and stay alive and is able to counter the Rainmaker into the Blade Runner! Big kick-out for Okada! White hits his own Rainmaker on Okada and looks for the Blade Runner again but is hit with Okada's Rainmaker! Another big near-fall! White gets desperate as he kicks at Okada to keep him back and says Okada "won't take this from him" but Okada blasts him back. Okada hits his own Blade Runner! Cobra Flowsion and one final Rainmaker ends it and Okada is champion again! I loved the story of White panicking when he realized that he might not have the tools to beat Okada and was doomed to lose. Great stuff! ****

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks at AEW Dynamite 1/4/23: A really nice TV match. Starks uses his speed to out-wrestle Jericho early on while Jericho looks to use his experience and the JAS ringside to help him take control. Jericho gets some heat on Starks before Starks fires up and makes his comeback. Starks hurts his knee coming off the top and Jericho takes advantage with a Codebreaker and locks in the Walls of Jericho. Starks fights to the ropes but the referee is distracted and Starks gets hit with a bat to the face by Matt Menard at ringside. Referee checks on Starks and he's still alive! He rolls out of the hold and starts to fight back! Starks ducks a clothesline and nails a Spear on Jericho for the 3! Crowd was super into this match and for Starks' big comeback as he was able to overcome the odds and get the win. ****

AEW TNT Championship Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Darby Allin at AEW Dynamite 1/4/23: Another perfectly booked match between these two. Joe goes after Darby's friend in the crowd so Darby dives into Joe and throws his body at the big man before rolling Joe into the ring. Joe immediately grabs hold of Darby and tosses him around ringside to take back control in dominant fashion. Darby is able to use his speed to try and get a sleeper on Joe and do anything to stay alive so Joe starts trying to break Darby's legs in the most brutal way possible. Darby won't stay down and keeps looking for quick offense but Joe catches him in a choke just like last time. But Darby fires up again with Sting's chest pounding! He counters out of the choke by running Joe into the exposed turnbuckle! Joe is down! Coffin Drop! And a second one! Darby gets the win and is the new TNT champion! What a wild ride this was! Darby was all fire and fury and refused to lose again to Joe. Crowd went crazy for the finish. Great match in under 10 minutes! ****

Jon Moxley vs. Adam Page at AEW Dynamite 1/11/23: A hard hitting and physical match! Both men come out swinging and wanting to fight each other. Moxley gets the early advantage by targeting the head of Page. We get a great callback to their last match with Moxley hitting a Lariat out of the corner for a nice near-fall. Moxley gets some heat on Page before the Hangman makes a small comeback and starts firing back. Page goes for the Buckshot but is caught in a Death Rider for another big near-fall! Excellent back and forth as the two men start throwing bombs at each other before just going back to slugging it out. Page gets the better of the exchange and rocks Moxley. Pag finally hits the Buckshot Lariat and gets the win. Page gets a nice measure of revenge on Moxley by hurting him right back. Great heated match that felt big. ****1/4 Bryan Danielson vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Dynamite 1/11/23: An excellent back and forth wrestling match! Both men start off slowly trying to out-wrestle the other. Danielson quickly shows his ability to out-wrestle Takeshita while Takeshita has the power advantage. We get some amazing back and forth with Danielson looking to chip away and break down Takeshita and Takeshita looking to just beat down Danielson with big bombs. Takeshita goes for the Jumbo Knee but Danielson ducks it and hits a Running Knee of his own to get Takeshita on the ground for the stomps to the head. Danielson locks in the Regal Stretch to cap off the win. Fantastic match that highlighted both men's strengths and showed what Takeshita can do in the ring. Danielson was just one step ahead of him on this night. ****1/4

G-REX Championship Match: El Lindaman (c) vs. Kaito Ishida at GLEAT Ver. 5: A very fast paced and quick match. Lindaman goes right after Ishida and drops him with two big suplexes. Ishida tries to fight back and go after Lindaman's leg to set up the Ankle Lock but Lindaman's power keeps Ishida from controlling for too long. Lindaman goes after the arm of Ishida with submission as well as throwing the man around. Ishida tries to find an opening to get the win with a quick flash pin but it looks like Lindaman has this match in the bag. Ishida is able to grab hold of the Ankle Lock and locks it in deep! Lindaman fights for the ropes time and time again but Ishida keeps pulling him back into the center of the ring and Lindaman has to tap! Lindaman was the stronger and better wrestler all match but Ishida knew how to lock the Ankle Lock in so deep that even the superior wrestler had to tap to it. ****

Impact Knockouts Championship vs. Career Match: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Mickie James at Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill 2023: A very good match with James fighting to save her career. James comes in all fired up but Grace is just too powerful for her. James has to rely on her speed and experience to try and counter Grace's power. Some great back and forth as James goes for all her biggest and best shots to put down the champion but nothing seems to work. James looks for the MickDT but can't hit it multiple times due to again, the power of Grace. Meanwhile, Grace is all over the veteran and never looks too much in danger. James is able to block and counter Grace's biggest bombs and keeps herself alive before finally hitting the MickDT for a huge near-fall. James' covidence is rattled by this and Grace looks to choke her out but James fights back! James avoids Grace who runs into the ringpost which rocks her enough for James to hit a MickDT for a third time and get the win. Excellent job of showing the veteran having to use her wits and skills to outmatch the better wrestler. ****

Bryan Danielson vs. Bandido at AEW Dynamite 1/18/23: An excellent back and forth match. Both men start off feeling each other out and trying to out-wrestle the other. Danielson is able to get the advantage with his wrestling while Bandido is able to use his impressive strength to battle back. Some fantastic action as Bandido pulls out every trick he has but Danielson is able to keep countering out of the killing blow. Danielson is able to find an opening and nails Bandido with a Running Knee to get the win. Bandido had an amazing showing here but Danielson was again one step ahead of his opponent. ****1/4

AEW TNT Championship Match: Darby Allin (c) vs. KUSHIDA at AEW Dynamite 1/18/23: A great wrestling match! Both men start off trying to mat-wrestle each other and look for holds. KUSHIDA is able to take advantage by going after Darby's arm and setting up for the armbar. Darby tries to battle back with his quick offense but KUSHIDA is able to keep getting the armbar back in. Darby starts getting desperate with his offense and takes more and more risks to try and take over. A huge top rope dive to the outside is countered into another KUSHIDA armbar! KUSHIDA gets Darby back in the ring and locks in the Hoverboard Lock. Darby fights to escape and is able to slip out. Darby gets the Last Supper on KUSHIDA and pins him! Darby was on defense all match but was able to counter KUSHIDA just long enough to get a pinning combination on him deep enough to get the win and retain. Great stuff! ****

Pit Fight: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Kenny King at Impact Wrestling 1/19/23: A unique and fun match. Both men start off feeling each other out. Bailey has the edge with his strikes while Kenny has the power advantage. A really good story all match of Bailey wanting to beat Kenny in a straight up fight while Kenny looks to use the environment to take advantage and hurt Bailey. Some great back and forth action with both men trying out submission work as well: Kenny going for the knees and Bailey going for the arm. Bailey goes high risk only to be caught by a knee from Kenny. Back in the ring, Kenny looks for a knee bar to end it but Bailey gets a chair and cracks Kenny. Bailey unloads a series of strikes on Kenny's head but he stays alive. Bailey places the chair on Kenny's head and delivers one final kick to his head to get the knockout. Nice finish that highlighted Bailey's need to be more vicious and violent to get the win. ****

KONGO vs. LIJ Best of Five Series Match #4: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shingo Takagi at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena: A hard hitting match between these two. Shingo is able to control early on with his power and speed before a knee to the mid-section knocks the wind out of him and gives Nakajima an opening. Really enjoyed the way the match played out, Shingo being a hammer and Nakajima being a chisel. Nakajima works over Shingo and looks to chip away at the beast while Shingo keeps firing up and fighting back. Awesome spot with Shingo catching a kick and then a slap by Nakajima to hit Made in Japan out of nowhere. In the end, Shingo is able to survive the kicks and strikes to hammer Nakajima and hit Last of the Dragon to get the win. ****

KONGO vs. LIJ Best of Five Series Match #5: Kenoh vs. Tetsuya Naito at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena: A very even back and forth match between the two leaders of their stables. Naito toys and plays with Kenoh early on only for Kenoh to stomp Naito's guts and go to work on him with kicks, knees and stomps. Naito is able to out-wrestle the striker and goes to work on Kenoh's neck. The match becomes the two battling it out to see who can keep the match in their wheelhouse. Nice moment of Kenoh going high risk only to miss and hurt his knee. Naito is able to take advantage and hit Destino for a near-fall. Valentia and another Destino seals the win for Naito and his team in a very fun match. ****

AJPW World Tag Team Championship Match: Kento Miyahara and Takuya Nomura (c) vs. Yuma Aoyagi and Naoya Nomura at AJPW New Year Giant Series 2023 Night 5: A great tag match with a really well told story. The champions are able to take control in the opening minutes. The challengers try to battle back but Kento quickly shuts it down and retakes control for his team. The story all match becomes Kento being the difference maker for his team and saving Takuya anytime he starts to get worked over. While Yuma and Naoya are more even, Yuma is still the only one that is able to go toe to toe with the Ace, Kento and have a chance. The match becomes a great back and forth battle before Kento and Yuma go at it and Yuma locks in a submission for a close near-fall. Takuya tries to make a save, like Kento did for him, but he is quickly double teamed and taken out. Somehow, Kento is able to battle back again and create an opening for him and Takuya to hit a Knee/Roundhouse Kick combo for a big near-fall on Yuma. Kento goes for the killing blow but Yuma blocks it and goes for any flash pin he can to get the win. The two start throwing bombs at each other and Yuma is able to rock Kento enough to finally get a pin on the champion! Kento was the biggest threat all match and somehow Yuma was able to put him away! Excellent build-up to their match at a later date and a great match here. ****1/4

Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal at AEW Dynamite 1/25/23: A pure and simple wrestling tribute to Jay Briscoe. Mark comes in hot and looks to be a wild man all over Lethal, who tries to keep things slow and a straight up wrestling match. Some fun back and forth all match before we get into the crazy high spots. Mark hits a Blockbuster on the floor and a Froggy Bow through a table! Back in the ring, Lethal fights to block the Jay Driller so Mark just batters him with lariats before finally hitting his brother's move, The Jay Driller and getting the win. A great tribute to a great man. RIP Jay Briscoe. ****

Adam Page vs. Wheeler Yuta at AEW Rampage 1/27/23: A fun TV match to further the story between Page and Moxley. Yuta starts off quick and uses his wrestling IQ to try and out-wrestle Page. Even with all that, Page is able to keep shutting down Yuta's momentum with his power. Good back and forth action from both men as they try to use their best skills to keep the match in their control. Loved Yuta, seemingly, having a counter for Page's Buckshot only for Page to out-smart him and catch him with it. Page decides to send a message to Moxley though and hits a Paradigm Shift to finish it. ****

Royal Rumble Match at WWE Royal Rumble 2023: A really fun Rumble that had nice storylines all the way through the match. Gunther and Sheamus start the match and replay their feud with each other. More and more people enter before Drew McIntyre enters and he and Sheamus team up to take control. Brock Lesnar enters and cleans house! But Lashley is next and he eliminates Lesnar! Dominik takes his father, Rey out before he even enters. Judgement Day all enter and dominate the match before Edge returns! Edge eliminates Priest and Balor but both men are able to help Dominik get rid of Edge. Braun and Omos go at it. Ricochet and Logan Paul have a crazy mid-air collision. Cody Rhodes makes his return and enters last. It comes down to Gunther and Cody as the last two. They have an excellent back and forth before Cody is able to counter a powerslam into a Cross Rhodes and dumps Gunther out! Cody is going to Mania! What a moment! ****