Pro Wrestling Illustrated April 2023

OVER THE LAST 12 months, the wrestling industry has seen countless exciting developments and unpredictable shifts. Duty-bound, we at Pro Wrestling Illustrated have done our best to provide insight for our discerning readers. We’ve often found ourselves making educated guesses about what might happen next. In 2022, that last part of the job has proven especially difficult. Writing this month’s column—just two days before we close up shop for a long Christmas weekend—I’m struck by the wealth of almost unthinkable stories we saw this year. From Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE to Vince McMahon leaving his longtime role as de facto industry head, Tony Khan buying Ring of Honor to CM Punk spending all of his goodwill in a single press conference, those events are revisited in this issue. Originally, I…

IF THE RUMORS are true, a set of former superstars returning to WWE—ironically, some of the names found on the company’s massive talent-release lists a couple of years ago—stand poised to reinvigorate the Raw, Smackdown, and NXT rosters in 2023. As the New Year gets underway, these wrestlers are primed, seasoned, and ready to go. Miro: The former Rusev has been missing from AEW as of late. According to Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer, AEW President Tony Khan had approached Miro about a storyline leading to Full Gear, which Miro reportedly rejected because he didn’t like the idea of taking a loss. This is setting up an awkward recurring theme in AEW—stars with an eye toward returning to WWE under the new Paul Levesque regime, unwilling to risk their market worth…

LAST YEAR, WE began our “Year In Review” section by acknowledging the admittedly impressive elephant in the room—All Elite Wrestling nearly sweeping our annual reader-voted awards. This year, with the WWE product having made steady improvements, there is no need for such an acknowledgment. Indeed, the “Big Two” U.S. promotions are quite evenly matched this time around, with AEW claiming winners in six different categories and WWE just narrowly taking the race with seven. In two other categories, we have winners who, while not technically under an exclusive contract, are most associated with IMPACT Wrestling. Though they didn’t bag any awards this time, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stardom both received more votes than they have in recent years—indicating that our readers were watching (and enjoying) a wider variety of in-ring action…

THE SON OF two-time former ECW champion Taz, Hook already had legacy and wisdom on his side. Add to that training by Cody Rhodes, Pat Buck, and QT Marshall, and the second-gen grappler seemed destined for greatness from the get-go. “The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil” officially debuted in December 2021, a year after first appearing alongside Team Taz with his dad, Brian Cage, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Ricky Starks. Though grouped with a team of talented wrestlers boasting decades of experience between them, Hook had stood out among the faction and almost instantly garnered a large following of fans demanding AEW “Send Hook.” Only competing on televised AEW programming, Hook’s undefeated streak started with a win over Fuego Del Sol, then continued throughout the year with wins over the likes of Serpentico, JD Drake,…

DESPITE SADLY BEING released at the top of her game, Rose enjoyed the best 12 months of a WWE career spanning six years. Slotted in tag competition for a majority of 2021 on the main roster—and nearly lost in the mix—Rose joined the NXT Women’s division in late-2021 and quickly ascended its ranks. Following her NXT Women’s title win over Raquel Gonzalez (Rodriguez) in October 2021, the former Tough Enough contestant spent nearly all of 2022 as champ. Rose proved to be a fighting champion, boasting 10 successful televised defenses against talent like Zoey Stark, Dakota Kai, and Alba Fyre (along with numerous defenses at NXT house shows). At September’s Worlds Collide event, Rose defeated stellar athletes Meiko Satomura and Blair Davenport to unify her title with the NXT U.K. Women’s…

2021 LOOKED BLEAK for Valkyrie, then Franky Monet, who only wrestled six matches in her five active months with WWE. Fans who’d followed her decade-plus career knew the native Canadian wasn’t being used to her full potential. In November, WWE released her. But “La Wera Loca” wasted no time reminding the industry she was an extraordinary talent with plenty to offer. Taya Valkyrie hit the ground running as soon as her non-compete period ended, immediately returning to her old stomping grounds of AAA to contend for a shot at the Reina de Reinas championship. In April, the three-time former champ got her opportunity to make it an even four. Valkyrie defeated Deonna Purrazzo for the Reina de Reinas title at IMPACT’s Rebellion PPV, starting a reign that would carry through the…