The WWE has always done exceptional documentaries. The new doc about the late great Windham Rotunda, better known to the world as Bray Wyatt, is about as exceptional as it comes.
Windham Rotunda shockingly passed away in 2023, something that no one expected or saw coming and it left a massive hole in the world of WWE. This documentary gives the story of Windham Rotunda from his early days to his final days inside the squared circle.
Narrated by the Undertaker, Becoming Immortal did not just focus on the positive moments of Windham’s life, but also the challenges that he faced as he worked his way through the world of sports entertainment. Though many said how difficult it was to work with him, everyone admitted what a creative genius Windham Rotunda was.
Comments from so many of Bray Wyatt’s contemporaries spoke throughout the doc, including Triple H, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Braun Stroman, Sami Zayn, Big E, LA Knight, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Alexa Bliss and Erick Rowan.
However, the most emotional moments are provided by Windham’s younger brother, Taylor Rotunda, known to the WWE audience as Bo Dallas, as well as other family members of Windham, including his father Mike Rotunda, uncle Barry Windham, his first wife Samantha and his second wife JoJo. The recollections of this group of people about the final days of Windham’s life were absolutely heart-breaking and brought tears to my eyes.
It was so clear how much Windham Rotunda was loved by everyone around him. Jason Baker, who was one of Windham’s closest friends, was one of the creative forces behind the masks and outfits for the character of Bray Wyatt. His insights into Windham Rotunda were very powerful as well.
Seeing some of the art Windham did during the time when he had been released from the WWE was amazing. It displayed such an amazing truth about how talented and creative Windham Rotunda was.
As a fan of Bray Wyatt, this was tough at times to watch, but I am very pleased that the documentary was shown. It is available on Peacock.
This was a tough year, because there were a bunch of great matches in 2023, but there was none that actually stood out as the obvious best match.
What makes a match of the year? There are several things. Obviously there is a great performance between competitors with some great in-ring storytelling, compelling near falls, and a great storyline surrounding it.
There can be a match that has all of those moments but the ending is not what I like, it can dampen the match. For example, almost every Roman Reigns match this year.
So, here are the top 15 WWE matches of 2023 according to EYG.
#15. Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijek (NXT Battleground). These two had great chemistry and seemingly killed each other. It started Ilja’s push in NXT.
#14. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Last Man Standing (WWE Fastlane). Shinsuke’s heel turn was great, as was his Japanese promos leading up to this. It was a great match with Seth going over.
#13. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa (Night of Champions). Sami and KO overcoming the Bloodline team with Roman was great. One of the peaks for Sami/KO.
#12. Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus Steel Cage (Payback). Two legends of women’s wrestling putting on a classic cage match with a couple of insane bumps. Great work by both.
#11. The Usos vs. Roman Reigns/Solo Sikoa (Money in the Bank). Jey Uso pinned Roman Reigns to win the Bloodline Civil War match. Some great storytelling.
#10. Women’s War Games (Survivor Series). Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Shotzi, and Becky Lynch face Damage CTRL in an exciting War Games match.
#9. Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes II (NXT No Mercy). Dragunov defeated Carmelo to win the NXT Championship and end his long reign.
#8. Men’s War Games (Survivor Series). Team Cody vs. Judgment Day. Notable for the return of Randy Orton and for Cody Rhodes to compete in the match his father invented.
#7. Gunther vs. Chad Gable (RAW). I really thought Chad gable had a chance to knock off Gunther. He lost, but that did not take away from this amazing confrontation.
#6. Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes (Wrestlemania 39). Roman shocked the world by defeating Cody Rhodes at the main event of night two of Wrestlemania (thanks to Solo, of course). Major twist in Cody’s story.
#5. Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus (Wrestlemania 39). Some have this as MotY, but I put it at #5. Yes, it was great. Best triple threat of th eyear.
#4. Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn (Elimination Chamber). Perhaps the most emotional match of the year as Sami battle Roman in Montreal. Sami battled as hard as he could, but succumb to the Bloodline’s cheating tactics.
#3. Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (Wrestlemania 39). Best women’s match of the year, lead to the crowning of Rhea Ripley as champion. Flair and Ripley put on a banger of a match.
#2. Damian Priest vs. Bad Bunny, Streetfight (Backlash). In Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny knocked off Damian Priest in one of the best celebrity performances of all time. Crowd reaction was insane.
#1. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens vs. The Usos (Wrestlemania 39). Sami and Kevin ended the record setting tag team reign of the Usos in the main event of WrestleMania Saturday. The end of a long term storyline that had been running on WWE TV for months.
The WWE had a really strong year in 2023. It was not that long ago that I had really cut back on my WWE intake, skipping Smackdown most weeks and feeling more disappointment than enjoyment.
Then, things changed. Vince McMahon stepped down and HHH took over creative. Sure, Vince still had his dirty hands in the product, but it was better. Then, the purchase of WWE by Endeavor led to Vince’s total removal and the product became even better yet.
So some of these choices were difficult this year. I should say that I do not watch AEW or other wrestling promotions. I have nothing against any of them, but I just feel like a WWE guy.
Male Wrestler of the Year: Gunther. A tough choice, but Gunther has been WWE Intercontinental champion all year and defended it regularly against all kinds of types of challengers. Runners-Up: Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, LA Knight
Female Wrestler of the Year: Rhea Ripley. She won the title at Wrestlemania 39 and has been the main star of the female division on RAW since. As a member of the Judgment Day, Rhea has been dominant. I would have liked more matches from her though. Runners-Up: Becky Lynch, Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair, Asuka, Charlotte Flair
Tag Team of the Year: Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn. One of the best storylines climaxed at Wrestlemania 39 when Owens/Zayn won the Undisputed Tag Team titles from the Usos. While their title reign was not as epic as their chase, Owens and Zayn were the best tag team for quite a while in 2023. Runners-Up: The Usos, Judgment Day, Pretty Deadly, The Creeds, the Brawling Brutes.
Manager of the Year: Paul Heyman. Or should I say ‘Wise Man’ of the year? Paul Heyman is the cornerstone of the Bloodline and the storylines. Runners-Up: MVP, Robert Stone
On the Mike: Cody Rhodes. So, what do you want to talk about? Cody did an amazing job telling his story on the microphone. Specifically, his work with Paul Heyman was special. Runners-Up: Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Becky Lynch, Kevin Owens, LA Knight
Feud of the Year: Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes. Three amazing matches from these two NXT stars over the NXT Championship. It lasted longer than some of the other feuds which is why it gets the nod. Runners-Up: Bloodline vs. Sami/KO, Judgment Day vs. Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins, Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar.
Underused Performer: Tazawa. Tazawa has just started to get a little TV time as a part of the Alpha Academy. He is really a stronger wrestler than he gets credit for. Runners-Up: Apollo Crews, Tegan Nox, Dexter Loomis, Xia Li.
Comeback of the Year: CM Punk. Geez, this was an easy one. His return at the Survivor Series was completely epic and shocking. Hell had to freeze over because this was never supposed to happen. Runners-Up: Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, The Rock, John Cena.
Celebrity of the Year: Logan Paul. Logan Paul became the US Champion and had a great match every time he stepped into the squared circle. He truly exceeded the idea of a celebrity in the WWE. Runners-Up: Bad Bunny, Pat McAfee, Snoop Dogg.
Heel of the Year: Dominik Mysterio. No one has more heat than Dominik Mysterio. When the crowd boos Dom, they mean it. And he can barely be heard. It never gets old. Runners-Up: Roman Reigns, the Judgment Day, Gunther, Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso.
Face of the Year: Cody Rhodes. Cody is the perfect face and he has been treated like one since his return to the WWE. Runners-Up: Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio, Becky Lynch, LA Knight.
Show of the Year: Smackdown. With the Bloodline drama, Smackdown was must see TV every week. While it has come down a bit since the peak around Wrestlemania, it is still the most compelling show on WWE. Runners-Up: RAW, NXT
Entrance Song:Seth Rollins. His song basically turned Seth face. The fans love to sing Seth’s song. Runners-Up: CM Punk,Cody Rhodes, LA Knight, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens.
Storyline of the Year: Bloodline/Bloodline Civil War. Still the standout of WWE TV. Honestly, it gave us Emmy worthy work on a weekly basis, touching us in our tum-tums. Runners-Up: Cody’s story, Nakamura’s heel turn, Cracks in the Judgment Day.
Best Broadcaster: Wade Barrett. He was so good that they promoted him from NXT to Smackdown. Wade is funny and enthusiastic. He is really excellent. Runners-Up: Corey Graves, Michael Cole, Pat McAfee.
Breakout Star: LA Knight. Yeah! He came from nowhere, via organic crowd support to a place where he is firmly entrenched in the main event scene. Runners-Up: The Creeds, Ilja Dragunov, Jey Uso.
Shock of the Year: CM Punk returns at Survivor Series. Nothing else comes close. There were rumors, but no one really believe it would happen. The internet was just getting ready to be angry over the no show, when “Cult of Personality” hit and the Chicago crowd, and everyone else lost their minds.
Faction of the Year: The Judgment Day. The Judgment Day runs RAW. That is pretty much true as the storylines have completely centered around them for most of the year. Runners-Up: Bloodline, Damage Control, Team Cody.
NXT Wrestler of the Year: Ilja Dragunov. Dragunov never had a bad match. He is so real. You can never go wrong with Dragunov. He may be the best seller in WWE. Runners-Up: Carmelo Hayes, the Creeds, Bron Breakker, Wes Lee, Dominik Mysterio.
Saddest moment: Bray Wyatt dies. Bray was out most of the year with an undisclosed injury. It was a horrendous loss when we heard that he had passed away. He is missed.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 