2023 in professional wrestling

2023 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of notable promotions
These promotions held notable events throughout 2023.

Notable events

 * January 6 – Vince McMahon returns to WWE as a board member after previously retiring in 2022.
 * January 10 – Stephanie McMahon resigns as co-CEO and chairwoman of WWE. Vince McMahon takes the title of executive chairman, while Nick Khan became the sole CEO of the company.
 * January 20 – Major League Wrestling signed a new broadcast deal with Reelz.
 * January 21 – Negro Casas and his wife Dalys la Caribeña depart from Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), making their surprise debuts for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide on the same day. This marked the end of Casas' over 40-year tenure with CMLL.
 * April 3 – WWE is sold to Endeavor, the parent company of the mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
 * April 24 & 25 – All Elite Wrestling's YouTube programs, Elevation and Dark, were canceled, respectively.
 * June 17 – AEW Collision premiered on TNT.
 * August 27 – All Elite Wrestling's pay-per-view, All In, broke the paid attendance record for a professional wrestling event, selling 81,035 tickets, distributing 83,131; however, the show's turnstile count (the number of tickets scanned on the night at the event) was 72,265.
 * September 2 – CM Punk's contract with All Elite Wrestling was terminated after a legitimate backstage confrontation with Jack Perry.
 * September 12 – WWE's sale to Endeavor is finalized, ending 69 years of family ownership by the McMahon family. WWE and UFC subsequently merged and operate as divisions of a new company called TKO Group Holdings.
 * September 15 – Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson makes first WWE appearance in four years.
 * October 21 – Impact Wrestling announced it would revert to its former Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) name, beginning with Hard To Kill on January 13, 2024.
 * November 18 – Will Ospreay officially signs with All Elite Wrestling, taking effect in February 2024.
 * November 25 – Randy Orton returns to WWE in-ring competition, after an 18-month injury layoff; CM Punk returns to WWE for the first time since January 2014.
 * December 23 – Thunder Rosa wrestles her first match since August 10, 2022, after a back injury; Hiroshi Tanahashi is appointed as the president and representative director of New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
 * December 26 – CM Punk wrestles his first WWE match since January 20, 2014.

CF

 * – DDT Pro-Wrestling
 * – Pro Wrestling Noah
 * – Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling
 * – Ganbare Pro-Wrestling

WWE

 * – Raw
 * – SmackDown
 * – NXT
 * – Unbranded

Raw and SmackDown
Raw and SmackDown each have a world championship, a secondary championship, a women's championship, and a male tag team championship. There is also a women's tag team championship, available to both brands.

Debuts

 * January 4 – Wakana Uehara (TJPW) and HIMAWARI (TJPW)
 * January 6 – Oba Femi
 * January 29 – Aiki
 * February 21 – Luca Crusifino
 * March 3 – Azusa Inaba
 * March 6 – Toga (TJPW) and Shino Suzuki (TJPW)
 * March 11 – Kelani Jordan and Karmen Petrovic
 * March 19 – Amu Yumesaki (Ice Ribbon)
 * March 24 – Trey Bearhill (NXT)
 * March 25 –
 * Hanako
 * Komomo Minami (postponed)
 * Sakura Aya
 * March 31 – Chi Chi, ZONES and Sunny (Evolution)
 * April 2 – Kizuna Tanaka, Oleg Boltin and Honoka (Wave)
 * April 28 – Houston Miller (NXT)
 * May 5 – Riara, Haru Kazashiro (TJPW) and Runa Okubo (TJPW)
 * May 12 – Tyson Dupont (NXT) and Tyriek Igwe (NXT)
 * May 13 – Beau Morris (NXT), Hayden Pittman (NXT) and Skylor Clinton (NXT)
 * May 14 – Chairo, Yuzuki, Kento Kiryu, Samus and Yohei Sato.
 * May 19 – Izzi Dame
 * May 28 - Ryoya Tanaka (Dragon Gate)
 * July 7 - Antione Frazier (NXT)
 * July 30 – Gable Steveson
 * August 19 – Andrzej Hughes-Murray (NXT)
 * August 22 - Layla Diggs (NXT)
 * August 26 – Asuka Fujitaki, Mifu Ashida, Nanae Furukawa, Yuuki Minami, Mayuka Koike and Yuu Hanaya (Ice Ribbon)
 * September 13: Wrestlers debuts on Netflix, documenting Ohio Valley Wrestling.
 * September 23 – Carlee Bright (NXT)
 * October 27 – Anna Keefer (NXT), Emma Maria Diaz (NXT) and Olena Sandovska (NXT)
 * November 11 - Lainey Reed (NXT)
 * November 17 – Yuzuki and Drake Stewart (NXT)
 * November 20 – Shoma Kato (NJPW)
 * November 21 – Katsuya Murashima (NJPW)
 * December 11 – Chris Danger
 * December 25 –
 * Sayaka Kurara
 * Rana Yagami

Retirements

 * January 14 – Jinny (2015–2023)
 * February 7 – Booker T (1986–2023)
 * February 21 –
 * Keiji Mutoh (1984–2023)
 * Nosawa Rongai (1995–2023)
 * March 9 – Daisuke Harada (2006–2023)
 * May 14 – Himeka (2017–2023)
 * August 19 – Drew Parker (2012–2023)
 * August 26 – Tyrus (2006–2023)
 * September 28 – Takuho Kato (2018–2023)
 * November 12 – Saki Akai (2013–2023)
 * December 28 – Riko Kaiju (2020–2023)

Deaths

 * January 10 – Black Warrior (born 1969)
 * January 17 –
 * Jay Briscoe (born 1984)
 * Rickin Sánchez (born 1935)
 * February 2 –
 * Lanny Poffo (born 1954)
 * Kenny Jay (born 1937)
 * February 6 – Charlie Norris (born 1965)
 * February 11 – Erich Froelich (born 1937)
 * February 12 – Billy Two Rivers (born 1935)
 * February 14 – Jerry Jarrett (born 1942)
 * March 15 – Jeff Gaylord (born 1958)
 * March 17 – Sean Patrick O'Brien (born 1988)
 * April 2 –
 * Max Crabtree (born 1933)
 * Bushwhacker Butch (born 1944)
 * April 24 – Don Luce (born 1938)
 * May 9 – Kristen Mitchell (born 1987)
 * May 17 – Superstar Billy Graham (born 1943)
 * May 18 – Ron Doner (born 1935)
 * May 22 – Peggy Lee Leather (born 1959)
 * May 28 – Brian Dixon (born 1947)
 * June 3 – Beverly Shade (born 1936)
 * June 7 – The Iron Sheik (born 1942)
 * June 30 – Droz (born 1969)
 * July 11 – Mantaur (born 1968)
 * July 25 – Tommy Seigler (born 1938)
 * July 31 – Adrian Street (born 1940)
 * August 14 – Rich Landrum (born 1946)
 * August 21 – Abe Jacobs (born 1928)
 * August 23 – Terry Funk (born 1944)
 * August 24 – Bray Wyatt (born 1987)
 * September 6 – Adnan Al-Kaissie (born 1939)
 * September 8 – Brett Sawyer (born 1960)
 * September 12 – Bart Sawyer (born 1965)
 * September 17 – Emile Dupree (born 1936)
 * September 29 – Joyce Grable (born 1952)
 * October 1 – Russ Francis (born 1953)
 * November 4 – Rob Rage (born 1982)
 * November 23 – Absolute Andy (born 1983)
 * December 10 – Frank Wycheck (born 1971)
 * December 11 –
 * Emily Matson (born 1981)
 * Osamu Kido (born 1950)
 * December 25 – Jim Breaks (born 1940)
 * December 29 –
 * Kurtis Chapman (born 1997)
 * Killer Khan (born 1947)