Freddie Prinze Jr. Names WWE And AEW Stars As His Wrestlers Of 2023
Before we officially turn the page to 2024, former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. looks back on 2023, specifically as it relates to professional wrestling. On a recent episode of "Wrestling With Freddie," Prinze Jr. and co-host Jeff Dye presented their inaugural WWF Awards, in which each host revealed their personal winners for several metaphorical award categories. Categories for the WWF Awards included Female Wrestler of The Year, Male Wrestler of the Year, Tag Team of the Year, and more.
Regarding the selection for Female Wrestler of the Year, Prinze Jr. announced WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley as his pick. "There's speculation of maybe a little WrestleMania [match] with [Rhea] and Becky Lynch. I think she even wins that match. That's how over she is. She didn't have a moment like Becky with the bloody nose and standing in the crowd that made her. It's been a slow, long development of a story that was written for her. There was no accidental stuff that happened, like a busted nose. It was all scripted, acted, executed, and then she has to be a solid wrestler in the ring, or the crowd's going to call BS right away. She has all those things and a bag of chips,' Prinze said.
As it pertains to the Male Wrestler of the Year, Prinze bestowed this acknowledgment onto another WWE performer – WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. When analyzing Rollins' work this year, Prinze applauded "The Revolutionary" for his promo deliveries and in-ring accomplishments. And even though he may not be particularly fond of Rollins' over-the-top sense of fashion, Prinze says it doesn't matter, because Rollins is just "that damn good."
In the category of Tag Team of the Year, Prinze chose two-time AEW tag team title holders FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood), whom he regarded as "solid champions" who can also provide stellar performances in both tag team and singles competitions.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling With Freddie" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.