Professional wrestling is a monster of a medium that doesn’t actually decelerate for anybody and doesn’t precisely make itself open to outsiders. But the those who fall in love with it fall arduous. When these individuals are in your life and the holidays come round, this complicates this should you your self aren’t a wrestling fan (or worse, can’t stand it). Thank goodness for present guides.
I’m right here to supply a small beacon in the darkish should you’re interested by what items to get the largest wrestling nerds in your life. Or should you’re like me and are a big wrestling nerd, end up one thing good as a result of typically you neglect all the cool issues you may get to have fun your self as a fan. Because in response to Cody Rhodes’s theme music, we’re every our personal kingdoms. This is The Beat’s professional wrestling present information for 2023!
MERCHANDISE BASICS
Tickets and Merchandise
The biggest present you can provide any professional wrestling fan is undoubtedly tickets to a wrestling present and/or merchandise branded with their favourite wrestler. Simple, however there’s probably a great little bit of nuance to that. If you’re wanting for tickets, look for wrestling exhibits which can be happening nearest the particular person you’re getting the present for.
For the most half, it shouldn’t matter which promotion you even do that for, as most wrestling followers are followers of the craft of wrestling. But for those that have a desire of firms, you’ll be able to clearly search that firm’s occasions and work out after they’ll be coming shut by.
“Merch” is an all encompassing time period right here, however the finest sellers are at all times attire like t-shirts. But wrestling, like comics, loves to succeed in out throughout a number of varieties and may also embrace issues like motion figures and signed memorabilia (although we’ll have some separate information for issues like championship belts).
If you’re wanting for the WWE Shop, you’ll be able to click on right here. Gloriously, the WWE Shop has its personal present information if their large retailer is one thing you get misplaced and confused in.
Click right here to take a look at out there and introduced WWE dwell occasions. In wrestling phrases, “live events” is an umbrella time period that may embody just about any present, however normally refers to accommodate exhibits that aren’t televised. Tickets will normally be a lot larger for TV tapings or PPV/PLE occasions.
If you’re wanting for the AEW Shop, you’ll be able to click on right here. The AEW store is de facto only a subsection of ProWrestlingTees.com, which comprises basically all wrestling merch for everybody that isn’t WWE, so the choice there’s additionally extremely various.
Click right here to take a look at out there and introduced AEW dwell occasions.
Bray Wyatt and Jay Briscoe Merchandise
Windham Rotunda, higher recognized to the world as Bray Wyatt, tragically handed away in August 2023. The passing was sudden and shook the wrestling world to the core, as Wyatt had been a inventive pressure and one in all the most featured acts on WWE tv for over a decade. He was the first performer in WWE to die whereas being an lively wrestler since 2007.
Currently and for the foreseeable future, all proceeds from Bray Wyatt merchandise by way of the WWE Shop will go on to Wyatt’s surviving household: his spouse and 4 kids. Not solely is giving the present of Bray Wyatt a solution to pay tribute to a real genius in his craft, but additionally to offer on to the individuals who have been most essential to him. WWE additionally not too long ago launched a brand new wave of commemorative merch for him.
Similarly, Jamin Pugh, higher generally known as Jay Briscoe, abruptly handed away in a automotive wreck in January of 2023. A mainstay on the unbiased circuit for years and an icon of Ring of Honor, he and his brother Mark are legit candidates for biggest tag staff of all time. A t-shirt commemorating him continues to be out there on ProWrestingTees and in addition has 100% of the proceeds going to assist his household, together with his younger daughter who was in the car with Jay. The commemorative shirt is the finest promoting piece of wrestling merch on ProWrestlingTees this 12 months.
Bray Wyatt merch right here
Jay Briscoe commemorative shirt right here
Replica Championship Belts
Other than maybe luchador masks, there isn’t a extra iconic imagery related to wrestling than the silhouette of somebody holding a championship belt. Whether round the waist or in a hand, the championship belt is the final signal of respect from the followers, your friends, and administration that you’re somebody valued in the craft. Also, on paper, it means you set butts in seats. But greater than something, they simply look prime, dawg. Everyone seems to be like a god after they’re draped in gold.
Wanting your personal piece of iconic {hardware} is comprehensible sufficient and any wrestling fan would like to see them beneath a tree, however there’s a little bit of a caveat with them. Some could also be stunned to be taught that legit championship belt replicas are of wonderful high quality and may get fairly expensive, particularly should you get into customization.
They’re nice for older followers with the house to show memorabilia and in addition as a result of they’ve acquired legit weight to them and may be too heavy to hold round for smaller followers. You know they’re value the worth, nevertheless, contemplating they’re the similar replicas actual wrestlers hold on their partitions to commemorate their very own achievements.
Warning: you could or might not must defend stated championship at any dwell occasion you attend.
Price Range: $200-$600
WWE Championship Belt Replicas: Click right here
AEW Championship Belt Replicas: Click right here
The Acclaimed Merchandise
Out of all of AEW’s homegrown or authentic stars, it’s tough to argue that the faction of The Acclaimed has had the most success. Currently the AEW World Trios Champions as of this writing with their “Daddy” Billy Gunn, the staff of Max Caster and Anthony Bowens are amongst the finest merchandise sellers in the complete wrestling world.
That’s why regardless that I’ve a piece for mentioning all merch in normal, The Acclaimed want a little bit of a particular spot of their very own since their “Scissor Me, Daddy A**” shirt was the single finest promoting piece of wrestling merchandise on the planet in 2022 and nonetheless sells like gangbusters this 12 months. Even although they’ve form of cooled off as an act this 12 months, giving some help to the staff who had complete stadiums of grown males chanting “Oooooh, scissor me, daddy!” is the least I can do.
The Acclaimed at ProWrestlingTees.com
VIEWING
Tickets to see The Iron Claw
An A24 biopic based mostly on the extremely tragic story of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty is cash and Oscar bait simply ready to occur. Releasing December 22, 2023 in the US, The Iron Claw encompasses a solid containing Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, and even present and longest reigning AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
The final time a movie of this magnitude on the topic of wrestling was in the mainstream might have been 2008’s The Wrestler. Any wrestling fan, younger and outdated, ought to see this film to take in an extremely essential story in the historical past of American wrestling. Granted, I nonetheless marvel if it’d be finest to see one thing that you recognize isn’t going to end up nicely for everybody concerned round the happiest time of the 12 months, however any wrestling fan is aware of it’s about the story and never the vacation spot I assume.
(Fans in UK must wait till February 2024, so you’ll be able to nonetheless pre-order, however have to attend a wee bit longer)
Cameos
The largest facet wrestling has going for it towards each different medium is the integration it has with viewers participation. To considerably seize that feeling, you’ll be able to ship the wrestling fan in your life a Cameo of one in all their favourite wrestlers! With Cameo, you’ll be able to pay a payment to personalize a video message from quite a lot of celebrities straight to whoever you’d like. If you recognize a fan in your life would simply go tizzy listening to Danhausen say their identify, this can be a good present.
The worth vary is just about throughout the place as a result of it relies upon totally on the particular person you want to get the brief video from, however notable names embrace Mick Foley ($149), Bret Hart ($150), Jake “The Snake” Roberts ($125), Britt Baker ($250), Mercedes Mone ($222), RJ City ($45), Danhausen ($50), Matt Hardy ($110), and Shayna Baszler ($70).
You’ll have to know somewhat bit about your wrestling fan’s tastes, nevertheless, and when in doubt, lookup a wrestler or persona to verify there isn’t any motive anybody wouldn’t desire a video from them.
Wrestling athletes on Cameo
Ultimate Muscle The Complete English Dub Blu-Ray
Got a wrestling fan in your life who completely loves shonen anime? Those two fanbases cross over a lot as a result of wrestling is the closest live-action artwork kind to anime itself (I postulated about this phenomenon years in the past) and with regards to Japanese wrestling, they’re virtually the similar factor. Bonus factors if that fan in your life is a millennial and acquired into anime in the early 2000s.
Perhaps the most outstanding wrestling anime of all time to make it over right here is Ultimate Muscle. Known in Japan as Kinnikuman Nisei, the collection is a (non-canon) sequel to the Shonen Jump basic Kinnikuman collection that by no means actually made it stateside. Ultimate Muscle follows the son of the biggest wrestler alive and his fellow graduates, as they attempt to make their means and carve their very own legacies in a world in which ball is life and that ball is wrestling. The solely factor extra plentiful than cartoon wrestling chaos is the sheer quantity of fart jokes. Fun trivia truth – that is the franchise that impressed Samoa Joe’s ending transfer, the Muscle Buster.
Among the large wave of anime dubs that made it over right here in the early 2000s, Ultimate Muscle is taken into account a extremely respectable 4Kids dub from a studio notorious for their dubbing mishaps. The complete English dub was rescued from export oblivion and eventually got here to Blu-ray in May 2023.
Ultimate Muscle on Blu-ray seems to be out there at Amazon and CrunchyRoll.
Estimated price: $45-$55
Subscription Services
Like all different realms of leisure, the soul of wrestling streaming has been divided throughout a number of platforms. It is feasible to offer the items of subscription providers, nevertheless, although some are simpler than others. It additionally requires figuring out what your present receiver is into, however general, it’s by no means a horrible thought to wish to give the present of accessibility to much more hours of wrestling content material.
Peacock+ is the finest bang for your buck and the most costly. It permits entry to every thing that was on the former WWE Network. This contains each previous WWE PPV and Premium Live Event, earlier episodes of RAW, Smackdown!, NXT, WWE Main Event, WCW, ECW, and even choose indie content material. There’s additionally a number of docuseries and authentic exhibits (various in high quality). It does have a horrible interface, nevertheless, so should you’re in the temper for one thing tremendous particular, it could take some time to seek out it. As of this writing, it has a primary $5.99 tier and an advert free $11.99 tier. As with most huge streaming conglomerates, this may after all change at any given level in time.
Fite TV had a subscription tier that’s solely for gaining access to each AEW PPV for one handy package deal, however it isn’t going to be renewed into subsequent 12 months. Still, Fite TV has a subscription to observe most AEW PPVs, in addition to a buttload of indie content material for $7.99 a month. As basically the sister promotion to AEW at this level, Ring of Honor has the Honor Club subscription which permits entry to all ROH content material, even tons from what’s thought of the “golden era” of 2005-2009. Honor Club is $9.99 a month. Impact Wrestling, which is able to quickly rebrand to its former identify of TNA Wrestling, has Impact Plus for $7.99 a month.
If you’d like to offer the present of sturdy model and worldwide aptitude, New Japan Pro Wrestling additionally has an internet service that’s $9.99 a month American cash for entry to each present that they do as nicely. NJPW World is obtainable as a web site and as an app on Apple and Android gadgets, in addition to televisions like Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
If you wish to give the final area of interest wrestling present and provides entry to the most credible wrestling journalism on the market, there’s Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online, manned by Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez. Their all-access subscriptions begin at $12.99 a month or $34.99 each 3 months.
READING
Memoirs and Autobiographies
The present of studying extra about your favourite wrestlers and the world they dwell in is at all times welcome, matter how lengthy you’ve been a fan. There are virtually as many wrestlers who’ve written memoirs as there are wrestlers with podcasts, and virtually all of them are value looking at for the authenticity of those bodily storytellers lending their craft to the written phrase.
At that, wrestling bio audiobooks are additionally fairly big, so should you or somebody you like doesn’t possibly have the time or behavior of sitting down and studying, they’ll at all times pull it up on the go. In some circumstances, the wrestlers themselves inform their very own tales. Notable examples of such are Mox, the memoir of AEW’s Jon Moxley, as soon as generally known as Dean Ambrose in the WWE, and Under the Black Hat, written and skim by “JR” Jim Ross, maybe the most iconic commentator in wrestling historical past.
Both Chris Jericho and Mick Foley have a number of memoirs to cowl the sheer longevity of their careers. The first memoirs in their respective careers are thought of their finest – A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex for Jericho and Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks for Foley. In truth, Foley’s first autobiography set the normal for practically each bio after it. Notable latest releases embrace There’s Just One Problem by former WWE author Brian Gerwitz and the upcoming Becky Lynch memoir Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl.
If there’s one memoir/tell-all I’d prefer to single out right here, it’s The Mighty LWF by CM Venom. Written by the former tag staff companion of megastar CM Punk, The Mighty LWF tells the story of the promotion that gave Punk his begin in professional wrestling from the perspective of his friends. That and the way a few of Punk’s actions in the previous two years have been foreshadowed for many years, it’s an interesting examine somewhat indie fed that would after which in the end couldn’t.
Headlocked Comics
Run by writer Mike Kingston, Headlocked Comics focuses on the story of Mike Hartmann’s odyssey to turning into knowledgeable wrestler. In addition to those tales, Headlocked has loads of tales penned (and typically drawn) by skilled wrestlers themselves, significantly in their Tales from the Road collection. It’s one in all the solely publications to have any form of deal with wrestling (the just one?) in the west and persistently pumps out tales that earn the stamp of approval of individuals in the wrestling enterprise.
You can comply with Headlocked on socials for after they announce Kickstarter campaigns or conference appearances. For every thing else, try their on-line retailer for again points and con exclusives.
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz
Yep, we’re gettin’ in the weeds with this one. A finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the winner of the 2011 Obie Awards for Best New American Play (suppose the Tonys, however for indie performs), The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a uncommon theatrical piece that breaks down the politics surrounding skilled wrestling.
The play follows Mace Guerra, a lifelong Latine wrestling fan who has change into a jobber and meets up with a younger Indian man to try to kind a tag staff act. Unfortunately, the inventive executives can’t see them as taking part in something aside from terrorists that the viewers ought to hate simply because they seem international. This is all whereas continuously butting heads with the largest draw in the promotion, Chad Deity. An over-the-top-piece about racism, backstage politics, and poisonous masculinity, it’s a must-read (or hell, only a must-know-it-exists) for individuals who want to see and discover wrestling past simply the wrestling medium. Or, at finest, deal with it as glorious Muhammad Hassan fanfiction.
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity script could be bought from bookshop.org, Amazon, or Concord Theatrical, the latter of which sells a number of variations together with giant print. It’s additionally someplace you’ll be able to inquire about buying the rights to placed on the play should you or anybody you recognize so select.
GAMING
World Wide Wrestling RPG
A tabletop sport created by Nathan D. Paoletta, World Wide Wrestling RPG is an unimaginable sport that permits you to create and function play as your personal wrestler and dwell your finest grappling fantasies to try to make it to the prime, week by week. Currently, it’s in its second version which incorporates the authentic sport and its “International Incident” enlargement, which launched an array or lucha libre choices to the already dynamic line-up. It’s an ideal addition to any sport night time, particularly in order for you a special taste to a few of the extra in style tabletop RPGs on the market. It’s additionally low funding, as you don’t even actually need any supplies aside from the rule guide and character sheets.
This could be excessive bias or religion in a product I’ve examined myself, however I’ve each performed and GM’d periods of World Wide Wrestling RPG and may confidently say this sport slaps. Obviously wrestling followers will get an absolute kick out of it, however even non-wrestling followers with imaginations may have a grand time in a fight and character pushed world, particularly because you’ve acquired to handle your character’s actions outdoors of the ring and off-screen, too.
Estimated Price: $15 for print + PDF (Order from ndpdesign right here)
WrestleQuest
There are few online game genres extra in style or time consuming than RPGs. Much like World Wide Wrestling RPG above, there’s a fairly area of interest market for making use of wrestling to RPGs, however it’s one which has been craving for one thing for a very long time. Part of the motive why WWF No Mercy and Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain are so fondly remembered by wrestling followers is due to their branching paths and replayability in their virtually RPG-like story modes. What should you had a complete online game solely devoted to that?
Enter WrestleQuest, a sport that harkens again to the golden period of the RPGs from the Super Nintendo period. Here, you’ll take your character and go from rookie to celebrity as you journey throughout the world and as a substitute of taking sword and defend, you’ll good your powerbombs and piledrivers to topple evil. A sport that’s actually one in all a form, it’s out there on nearly each platform and stuffed with references and cameos that wrestling followers of all ages and intensities will get pleasure from. It was launched simply this previous summer season 2023.
WrestleQuest is obtainable on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Estimated Prince: $29.99
AEW Fight Forever & WWE 2K23*
This 12 months, wrestling followers have been a tad spoiled as a result of we acquired not one, however two choices in the online game division from the largest firms in the US. The WWE 2K collection has been a yearly installment (with the exception of 2021) and gives the finest general wrestling gameplay on the market. It’s the finest solution to play each star in the WWE at present, and the creation suite and on-line potential to obtain different followers’ creations means you may get much more stars.
WWE 2K23 is that this 12 months’s installment. This 12 months offers an enormous improve to the return of final 12 months’s GM Mode, the place you get to compete to create the finest present on the market and handle a roster of superstars to stardom. The sport got here out in spring of 2023 and already has a great little bit of DLC and possibly continued help by way of the Royal Rumble in January.
AEW Fight Forever lastly launched this 12 months after a number of months of delays and to distinction the simulation model of the WWE 2K video games, is extra in line with an arcade-y model of gameplay. Taking a number of inspiration from the legendary WWF No Mercy from the N64, AEW Fight Forever sacrifices graphical energy and sensible motion for extra cartoonish motion.
It’s additionally the solely means to this point to formally play as your favourite AEW stars (and even some who aren’t there anymore like CM Punk). The beloved GM Mode is absent from this title, nevertheless, because it was launched as a separate cell sport, however that’s now not out there on any app retailer. Since this title isn’t supposed to be a yearly launch like the 2K video games, it seems to be like it’ll get help for not less than just a few years.
There is an (*) on this entry that’s for a few issues. One is that AEW Fight Forever, whereas an ideal thought for followers of AEW, didn’t precisely get the highest marks when it got here to assessment scores. Obviously, your outcomes might fluctuate on what you get pleasure from, however that’s one thing to think about. The different bit is that whereas WWE 2K23 makes an ideal present for now, the subsequent sport in the collection normally releases round Wrestlemania every year. That means should you get it for somebody this Christmas, it could solely have three to 4 extra months of help and you could be higher off ready for WWE 2K24.
TEW 2020
If the wrestling fan in your life is enamored with the thought of reserving a complete wrestling federation in an much more controllable system than the restricted nature of the WWE 2K video games, how about a complete universe the place every thing can work the means you need? Introduce them to TEW 2020, a text-based wrestling reserving simulator for the PC. If you’ve been round since the early days of rasslin’ on the web, TEW is an evolution of what was as soon as referred to as EWR.
These forms of video games wouldn’t have any actual form of graphics aside from static photographs, so that you don’t want any form of fancy pc set-up to play them. Almost each a part of these video games is customizable so you’ll be able to guide the means you need for no matter firm you need. The sport relies in its personal universe, however there are numerous fan made mods on the market so you’ll be able to guide your dream fed from no matter 12 months you need with the purpose of constructing your organization the better of the finest. Personally, I’ve been taking part in a real-world mod and reserving 2005 ROH and it’s been an absolute delight.
Perhaps even higher information, nevertheless, is that every one variations of TEW and EWR launched previous to TEW 2020 are basically freeware. So should you want to discover copies of video games like EWR 2002 or TEW 2016, they are often downloaded freed from cost and nonetheless have lively modding communities. The main variations between every sport are largely extremely small issues associated to how they calculate rankings. Word to the smart, although – these video games are finest performed with keyboard and mouse and TEW 2020 isn’t out there through Steam or Epic. You’ll must go on to the distributor to buy it.
Distributor Grey Dog Software additionally publishes Comic Book Universe, a completely customizable superhero and supervillain simulator that would curiosity anybody who is aware of that The Beat exists.
Estimated Price: $34.95 (semi-frequently goes on sale for ~$20)
Click right here to go to Grey Dog Software’s retailer.
Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1, and/or Tekken 8
The indisputable fact that there are numerous, many skilled wrestlers who’re in the combating sport neighborhood actually shouldn’t be a shock. They form of go hand in hand. In truth, a part of what helped construct the neighborhood and fanbase for wrestlers like The Elite have been their penchant for crossovers between wrestling and video video games.
The bedrock of the WWE’s gaming channel, UpUpDownDown, is rooted in combating video games. So it ought to go with out saying that many people who find themselves followers of wrestling are additionally big followers of combating video games. Luckily, 2023 has been a banner 12 months for the combating sport as all the heaviest hitters have had video games come out this 12 months (or extraordinarily quickly).
Street Fighter 6 launched in summer season 2023 and has a brand new mode that lets you craft your personal profession and really take the battle to the streets to construct your rep and legacy. Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks are monumental followers of the Street Fighter video games to the level that Omega’s doubtlessly most well-known transfer, the V-Trigger, is known as after a particular Street Fighter sport mechanic. Perhaps most stunningly, Zelina Vega, beneath her actual identify of Thea Trinidad, additionally stars as a commentator for the in-game fights.
Street Fighter 6 is obtainable on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
The oddly named Mortal Kombat 1 is a soft-reboot of the Mortal Kombat video games and launched early fall 2023. A re-imagining of the Mortal Kombat mythos, Earth’s champion and comparatively new god Liu Kang creates his personal universe the place maybe a few of the most fearsome enemies in the common timeline can maybe have their tales retold on the similar facet, resulting in Mortal Kombat 1.
Mortal Kombat 1 is obtainable on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. However, bear in mind that the Nintendo Switch port has gotten a few of the lowest rankings for any sport that has launched in 2023 as a consequence of shoddy graphics.
Tekken 8 doesn’t launch in 2023, however it does launch in January 2024. This installment guarantees to lastly give us the showdown between cursed sons Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama all whereas bettering on what was in all probability the hottest combating sport in the earlier era, Tekken 7.
There’s a laundry checklist of wrestlers who swear by the Tekken video games – Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, The Usos, Ricochet, Karrion Kross, Shelton Benjamin, Samoa Joe, Miro, Zelina Vega, Mikaze (WWE costume designer and husband to Mercedes Mone, the former Sasha Banks), and a whole host of others. If you wish to give the present of beating your favourite wrestler in a combating sport, you’ll need them to get began early.
Tekken 8 is open for pre-order on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It shall be launched on January twenty sixth, 2024.
Let us know if there’s any wrestling or wrestling adjoining merch we should always add or if there’s something on this checklist you’ll get for your personal stockings!
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