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With 2023 coming to an end, WWE fans are starting to look back on which stars have been the MVPs of the past 12 months.
While he has been the face of the company for quite some time and has also held the Undisputed WWE Universal Title for more than 1182 days and counting, Roman Reigns has rarely featured in the ring this year, with him working a more part-time schedule.
In 2023, The Tribal Chief has defended his title nine times, with five taking place at premium live events and four at house shows.
With such a low number, we are going to take a look at three champions whose stats far outweighed Reigns' in 2023.
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#3. Mami makes more WWE history
One performer who has established herself as one of the biggest stars in the company this year has been Rhea Ripley. The matriarch of The Judgment Day got 2023 off with a bang as she won the Royal Rumble match and then went on to win the SmackDown Women's Title.
Her title was then renamed to the Women's World Championship after she switched to Monday Night RAW during the annual draft. During her reign, she has taken on top names like Zoey Stark, Zelina Vega, Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler.
As the Women's World Champion, Ripley has put her title on the line 33 times, with seven of those defenses airing on TV or at a premium live event, followed by 24 at WWE house shows as well as two dark matches.
Speaking with Sporting News, Ripley was asked how it felt to win the title against Charlotte Flair back in April at WrestleMania 39. The Eradicator stated:
"I feel like I’m just scratching the surface - I’m the type of person that never really thinks that I’m good enough and I feel like there’s always something to do and more to accomplish. I have done some really cool things and I have made a lot of history… but I’m not done yet and I haven’t hit that wall. I want to take over this company and I want to see how far I can get. Wrestling does move very quickly, but I have had time to look back on that night and just take it in and realize how special it truly was. That whole day was such a rollercoaster of emotions to me." [H/T Sporting News]
#2. The Ring General continues his reign
Like Roman Reigns, another top name who has made history as champion is the Intercontinental Champion Gunther. In 2023, the Austrian became the longest-reigning IC Champion of all time, with his current reign standing at 542 days and counting.
As champion, the leader of Imperium has faced many worthy challengers, including Chad Gable, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Ricochet, Rey Mysterio, Mustafa Ali, and Braun Strowman.
Having held the gold for quite some time, many wonder if he will drop the belt and go for the World Heavyweight Title. However, while speaking on The Masked Man Show, Gunther said he would never voluntarily drop the championship:
"No, no, that's not going to happen. I can break every streak in the world, I would still not trade it in. God willing, I will be the World Champion at some point and I will have earned it. It will not be a hand out. That's important to me. I would never drop the Intercontinental Championship on purprose. That's not going to happen." [H/T Fightful]
In 2023, Gunther has defended his title 43 times, with 31 occurring at WWE house shows and 12 other times at premium live events or on television.
#1. The Visionary stands above the rest
With Reigns working a part-time schedule on SmackDown, WWE introduced a new world title on RAW to give performers on the red brand a goal to aim for.
The first and current holder of the title is Seth Rollins, who won the World Heavyweight Championship in May against AJ Styles at Night of Champions.
While some see his title as a secondary strap to Reigns' Undisputed WWE Universal Title, Rollins sees things differently. During a recent interview with My Love Letter To Wrestling, The Visionary stated the title was introduced to accommodate WWE's stacked and talented roster.
"We need to have a World Heavyweight Champion on the men’s side to represent that level of competition. I think we’re going to put in the work to build this title to be as big as any championship in wrestling. And we’re not naive and think that we don’t need to put in that work. We know that it needs to happen, but we’ve got the roster, and the guys and the crew who are willing to put in the time to make it feel as big as it is." [H/T SEScoops]
Despite only winning the title in May, Seth has defended the big gold belt 45 times, with nine taking place on a premium live event or television and the other 36 from WWE house shows.
