A new year is a fresh start for everyone; a new year means new energy and new objectives, and 2023 looks to be a special year for AEW for multiple reasons.
2023 is the last year of the current TV deal AEW has with Warner Bros. Discovery. All directions point that WBD will renew AEW’s contract for a bit longer, it makes all the sense in the world considering AEW’s ratings exceeding the initial expectations TNT had at the beginning for AEW. Dynamite and RMPAGE had brought good TV numbers for TNT and TBS, so the future of AEW looks secure, especially with WBD looking to produce more content focused around AEW. Even if AEW is not to continue with WBD, their ratings are so strong that proposals from other stations look to have AEW programming are an option too.
This year looks to be a special one of the always controversial AEW women’s division, especially if we consider the possibility of Mercedes Varnado (Sasha Banks) making the jump to AEW; If Mercedes Varnado jumps to AEW, this could be the game-changing signing people have been waiting for the AEW women’s division, but we still don’t know if Varnado will actually wrestle in an AEW ring any time soon. Overall, 2023 looks to be a year full of potential for the women’s division in All Elite Wrestling.
MJF is going to be one of the main focuses of AEW in 2023; last year we saw the moment everyone waited for and MJF became AEW world champion for the first time, now he has to prove to everyone why many consider him not only the future of AEW but the present, The other pillars of AEW (Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin & Jungle Boy) could be next in line as potential world champions in AEW, in particular Darby Allin. Jungle Boy Jack Perry could have a run as TNT champion down the line too this year, especially since he is the only pillar to not hold a singles championship in AEW.
AEW could be pushing more of their young talent in 2023. AEW has so many young wrestlers ready to make the next step, and 2023 could be the year AEW gives some of these guys a chance; a perfect example are Top Flight but injuries and bad luck have stopped any momentum they had last year, but as mentioned before, a new year means new opportunities and a fresh start.
2023 will be an interesting year for the hyped AEW video game Fight Forever. Fans for years have been waiting for this game and the latest footage shows potential for what this game will be. Fight Forever promises to be a spiritual successor to the universally claimed No Mercy game, especially if we all remember that Fight Forever is being developed by the same studio.
NJPW and AEW last year hosted their first ever show together in the historical Forbidden Door show, and after the success that show had its very likely we’ll see another Forbidden Door show in 2023, and even a Forbidden Door-esque show taking place in Japan with other promotions as well. This could lead to AEW and STARDOM finally finding common ground and start a working relationship but all this is speculation.
As we can see, 2023 looks like a year full of possibilities for AEW in a lot of fronts for them. Let’s see how everything plays out for them.
