The Best of 2023

December 25, 2023

The Best of 2023

First of all, happy holidays to those of you who celebrate! I'm not particularly festive, but I can't say I'm immune to sticking on some Mariah Carey and prancing around with a Christmas hat after a tipple or two.

Anyway, it would be an understatement to say that this year's had its ups and downs. For now I want to focus on some of the highs, such as the start of this blog! I set up Clinches and Quandaries at the tail end of August, just over 4 months ago. Somehow this blog has been viewed almost 7,000 times since then. I want to thank everyone who has given this blog a read; it's nice to know there are people who enjoy reading whatever I've got to say. If you get the chance please follow me on X/Twitter.

Rambling aside, the main focus of this post is the top 5 matches that were released this year (in my opinion). Everyone's tastes are different, of course, but I would highly recommend these matches to anyone regardless of their interests. Not everything here has been featured on the blog before in any capacity mainly because I have poor time management skills. Hopefully that changes next year.

Men's Furious Catball Fight - Doom Maidens Wrestling

Released only this month, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me why this match is here. I mean holy shit, it's my favorite match ever. It's got hot guys, sweat, roughness, passion, and high energy throughout. Diablo and Joe are basically conjoined for the entire runtime of this match, it's sensational. The catball element is an interesting stipulation that I hope to see a lot more of in 2024. Doom Maidens Wrestling doesn't focus on MvM matches very much. If this video is anything to go by, they have a lot of untapped potential. Here's hoping that changes. If you're interested in reading more about the match, check out my full review here.

Conquers 30: Slow Agony 2 - Wrestlingmale

Released in February, this match set a very high standard for Wrestlingmale productions this year. It's managed to stand the test of time, and in my humble opinion, is one of the studio's best works. I'm not the only one who thinks this. According to a blog post by Etienne himself (Wrestlingmale's head honcho), Conquers 30 is the site's best selling match of 2023. It's the ninth best selling product of all time which is no mean feat considering that there are over 300 matches in their wheelhouse. It's unique among first-to-cum-loses matches in the way that it starts with Aryx and Stefan, two of underground wrestling's hottest men, bound together in a mutual bearhug position. I actually wrote a short piece on it here among some other great first-to-cum-loses matches. Conquers 30 was also reviewed over at Ringside at Skull Island.

110 Legacy: Three-Way Chain Match - UK Wrestling Hub

Full disclosure: I bought this match via their Watchfighters hence the watermark. Anyway, UK Wrestling Hub had a stellar 2024. There are a few matches I could've posted instead of this one (literally anything featuring Blake, Rich King, T-World, or Kayden Keller), but I've chosen this February release purely for its uniqueness. Three big men chained to each other, all trying to beat and choke the shit out of each other? Sign me up! Bo Bearly, Grizzly Jim, and Leon Cyrus do a great job of mixing classic pro elements with the chaos of getting themselves tangled up every so often. It's a highly entertaining watch that was full of twists and turns. More of this in 2024 please! If you want to read a more thorough review then check out my post here.

Brody Merritt Gauntlet Match - Weekend Wrestling

There's something about Brody Merritt. He typically fills out a jobber role in other Weekend Wrestling productions, facing off against Brendan Byers and Mo Manson before this match. Brody suffers well, but I love seeing him heel. He does a fair amount of it here, facing off against Riff Simmons, Jack Dillon, Dick Clayton, and finally Shockwave. Once he defeats one opponent he moves onto the next without a break. I won't spoil much of the match here, but Brody really shows off how great he is on both sides of the coin in this July release. Of the talent on Weekend Wrestling's roster (and there's a lot of fantastic wrestlers on there) he is probably my favorite.

Kayden Keller Krushes Krush - Krushco

There are a number of Krush matches I could've substituted here, but this one has just pipped the posts purely for the alliteration. Kayden Keller and Krush was not a match up I'd ever pictured but I am incredibly grateful happened. Posted to his website and WatchFighters in October, this match sees Krush take on Kayden, who has a few dirty tricks up his sleeve in the form of a chloroform rag. Krush videos are characterized by a brutality and ferocious intimacy that is rarely matched, so it was nice seeing a lot of that turned onto him this time around. Make no mistake, Krush absolutely puts up a great fight here, but much like with Brody Merritt in the entry above, it's nice seeing him take on both sides.

Honorable Mentions

There were plenty of matches released this year that were an absolute treat. I won't review these matches properly in this post (perhaps another dedicated one next year), but I had to mention them because they are amazing. Again, there were so many videos I could list, but I'll limit myself to five for brevity's sake.

Krush vs Matt Larsen - Krushco (via WatchFighters)