The 6 Best WWE and AEW PPVs in 2023 So Far

WrestleMania 39 delivered some of the biggest moments of the wrestling year, but was it the best wrestling show in 2023?Credit: WWE.com.

Halfway into 2023, wrestling live events have rarely been better. Whether they be WWE premium live events or All Elite Wrestling pay-per-views, the biggest shows have been incredible across the board.

It is likely the streak will only continue as WWE will soon deliver SummerSlam 2023 while AEW is gearing up for the one-two punch of All In and All Out 2023.

Even if those shows are great though, it will be tough to match up to a great first half of the year.

Elimination Chamber into WrestleMania 39 into Backlash into Night of Champions is one of the single best streaks of WWE events in the company's history. The Bloodline and Roman Reigns made those nights special.

AEW delivered some of its greatest matches between Revolution and Forbidden Door 2023. MJF, Jon Moxley Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson and more have delivered career great performances.

These are the six best major shows WWE and AEW have produced in 2023.

Before getting to the big shows, these are the PLEs and PPVs that could not quite match up.

WWE Royal Rumble 2023

Before WWE hits its stride, Royal Rumble was a surprisingly mixed night of action. The Rumble matches were both very good and the closing Bloodline segment was unforgettable.

However, this show also featured an incomprehensible Pitch Black match and a very forgettable Raw Women's Championship match between Bianca Belair and Alexa Bliss.

WWE Money in the Bank 2023

This show nearly made the list, but it was a marked step down from the WWE PLEs that preceded it. The Bloodline main event and some strong Money in the Bank ladder matches made this a good night, though the rest of the card let down a hot UK crowd.

AEW Double or Nothing 2023

Double or Nothing started out clunky, especially the regrettable Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho, but it stepped up big time down the stretch. The Four Pillars Fatal-4-Way was near perfect while Anarchy in the Arena was memorably brutal for the second year in a row.

NXT Vengeance Day, Stand & Deliver and Battleground

WWE NXT has gone through a rebuilding year, rehabilitating the brand's image after a disastrous NXT 2.0 rebrand. However, the PLEs cannot stand up to the standard of the main roster shows.

That is not to take away from some of the great matches. Wes Lee vs. Dijak, Lee vs. Dragon Lee vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh and Dijak vs. Dragunov were all top-level matches from future main roster talent that could steal the show for years to come.

WWE first brought premium live events to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in April 2018. The early years of the deal with Saudi Vision 2030 delivered strange gimmick nights that never quite lived up to the other events in the year.

WWE Night of Champions 2023 was on a different level to those past shows. Focusing on the stories WWE had built over the past year, each match meant something to the future product.

In particular, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa was a dramatic final chapter for The Bloodline story with the former Honorary Uce.

The show also featured a workhorse battle of Seth "Freakin" Rollins and AJ Styles, a first-time-ever clash of Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus and the unforgettable sequel drama of Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar.

The main reason the show could not compete with the rest of the shows this year was the undercard. Gunther vs. Mustafa Ali was fun but predictable. Bianca Belair vs. Asuka was never able to spark the crowd. Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya was too short to matter.

Still, it was a night to remember with a fully invested crowd in Jeddah that brings a unique energy to every WWE PLE no matter the quality.

A unique atmosphere can make a wrestling show, and the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico may have been the single most memorable atmosphere for any wrestling event in 2023.

The fans were completely engaged in the action, and it made every match feel special. The card did not deliver all hits, but this event did have some of the best matches of the year.

Iyo Sky truly arrived in a memorable title opener with Bianca Belair. The fans in attendance were ready to see her dethrone The EST, but it was not to be on this night.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Omos delivered more than expected. Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed vs. Bobby Lashley was a fun sprint to keep the energy up.

The crowd embraced Zelina Vega as the underdog against Rhea Ripley, though she didn't last long against The Eradicator.

The crown jewel of the night was Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest. A 25-minute San Juan Street Fight in front of a crowd that was completely enraptured by the music mega star, this was a classic all its own.

The night ended with the top stories in wrestling, The Bloodline and Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar, though the night was at its most special with Bad Bunny in the ring. That was where this show shined brighter than anything else in the year.

While many moments could be labelled as a definitive turning point for The Bloodline in 2023, no singular match was more important than Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn in Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,

This was the dramatic story and emotional climax of The Head of The Table's title reign, facing the man that had in many ways revitalized fan interest in his angle.

While the former Honorary Uce couldn't dethrone Reigns, he made it competitive in the kind of match he was never supposed to be in.

This was not the only big match of the night, though. Both Elimination Chamber matches were exciting showcases of the top talent in WWE.

Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Bálor and Rhea Ripley was far better than anyone could have expected as The Glamazon and The Eradicator especially showed out.

The only dud was Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley, but that was at least a brief part of an otherwise action-packed night in front of a raucous Montreal crowd.

While AEW didn't hit with every PPV this year, the company started strong with Revolution 2023. The overall card was strong, but it was especially a few matches that are genuine match-of-the-year contenders right now.

MJF vs. Bryan Danielson was always certain to be a special match given the talent involved, but the two pulled off an incredible feat by making a one-hour Iron Man match exciting.

With multiple twists and turns and an unforgettable home stretch, this is one of the best matches to last over an hour in wrestling history.

For those that are willing to stomach the more brutal side of wrestling, Jon Moxley and Hangman Adam Page delivered an unforgettable display of violence in a Texas Death Match.

The third match that truly delivered was the battle of The Elite and House of Black for the AEW Trios Championships. It was an 18-minute sprint, never slowing down for a second and ending with an emphatic victory for House of Black.

The rest of the card was nearly universally solid, though Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks was not the best opener with this card and Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe went too long.

It was a night where the highs far outweighed the lows, creating a standard for AEW that the company has still yet to meet this year without help from another company.

WrestleMania 39 will go down in history as one of the best WrestleManias of all time, but it was so close to making a genuine argument as the absolute best.

Night 1 of WrestleMania was nearly perfect outside of an uncharacteristic down performance from John Cena in the opener.

The men's tag team Fatal 4-Way that ended with Street Profits on top was a pure energy sprint. Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio was a star-making match for Dirty Dom. Logan Paul continued an incredible in-ring hot streak, working with Seth "Freakin" Rollins.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs. The Usos may be the best match of the year for WWE. Some may argue though that Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley that same night was even better.

Night 2 though was not able to live up to the energy of Saturday's show.

Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus was the third match-of-the-year contenders at WrestleMania, but it far outshone the rest of the night's card.

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos was more spectacle than match in just four minutes. The women's tag team Fatal 4-Way was unspectacular showcase of strong talent. Bianca Belair vs. Asuka was a solid bout but not able to live up to the example set by Charlotte and Ripley.

The Miz and Snoop Dogg took up too much air time, especially after Shane McMahon's unfortunate appearance and injury. Finn Bálor was busted up badly in his Hell in a Cell match with Edge, causing the match to slow to a crawl.

More than anything though, the main event defined the night. Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes was a spectacular match with a frustrating and unnecessary swerve ending where the champion retained. It left a sour taste for fans at the end of a largely exciting event.

Not everything was a hit, but the WWE roster wrestled every match knowing they were competing at The Showcase of the Immortals. That commitment made this still the highlight event of 2023 for WWE.

When AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling work together, the result is magic. Forbidden Door 2023 was everything the first show promised to be and more with dream matches and unforgettable performances.

The sold-out Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada was rocking throughout the night for every performance. A four-match Buy In set the tone as each match improved upon the last before the PPV was officially under way.

The opener was far from perfect as MJF had to work around the physical limitations of Hiroshi Tanahashi, but they delivered a solid match. Every match thereafter improved upon that foundation.

CM Punk brought it all to bare in honoring the legendary Satoshi Kojima throughout their physical match. Orange Cassidy, Katsuyori Shibata, Zack Sabre Jr. and Daniel Garcia delivered constant high-energy action over 13 minutes.

The Elite vs. Blackpool Combat Club 10-man tag team match was phenomenal, the second best match of the night while weaving together the stories of the various competitors.

Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada brought everything they could to a physical match between titans of the industry, The American Dragon kept it all together, even after breaking his arm with 10 minutes left in the match.

No match though could beat the dramatic near-forty-minute battle of Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay. It was an unreal experience watching two of the best to ever do it show exactly what makes them special. This is the kind of match that creates wrestling fans.

The rest of the card delivered solid memorable action for a raucous crowd that wanted to see all the top stars in both companies. It was a special night and left room for even more great matches in the future between these companies.