2023 is almost over! WWE has done some of the best booking in the past year; from the entire Bloodline saga to Dominik Mysterio’s change to Prison Dom, there’s no shortage of great moments that have taken place in WWE. Of course, those great moments can’t happen without the wrestlers who bring the whole professional wrestling world to life. Notable names like Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns, and Becky Lynch know how to hold their own, but some surprising talents emerged as true superstars in 2023. Check out the five names on the main roster that made a surprising impact.

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Dominik Mysterio

Is this entrant really a surprise? Prison Dom is easily the best thing that’s happened to the WWE star’s career. When Dominik first came onto the main roster in 2019, there was clear potential with the second-generation star as he had good matches with the likes of Seth Rollins. However, he was severely lacking a true character. His entire babyface run was a forgettable one because of this.

However, turning heel in 2022 did wonders for Dominik. He doesn’t seem as awkward as he once did. Plus, he has a natural charisma as a heel. Giving him the Prison Dom gimmick elevated his act even further. He's incorporated a lot of the Eddie Guerrero “Latino Heat” gimmick into his character. It fits naturally for him and Dominik has easily done some of the best character work of his career. 

He can be funny, serious, and a douchebag with ease. It also helps that he has such great chemistry with Rhea Ripley. It’ll be interesting to see how he does if he turns back into a babyface. But for now, he remains one of the most entertaining heel acts in the company. 

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Jey Uso

Both of the Usos had drastically stepped their games up since joining the Bloodline. Now Jey showed strong potential during his surprise run of matches against Roman Reigns back in 2020. But he’s been sidelined as a supporting character after losing his I Quit to Roman. 

Jey had to step up massively this past year. A big part of that is his storyline with Sami Zayn. The growing friendship forced Jey to show different sides of his character, and it all seemed so natural for the former WWE Tag team Champion. Honestly, some of Jey’s best moments were mainly in the ongoing Sami Zayn storyline.

That isn’t to say that didn’t carry forward once he turned on Roman. Again, he stepped up to the big dog and never felt out of his league standing toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns. Granted, no one ever brought the notion that Jey was beating Reigns at Summerslam. However, that was no fault of his own. Jey’s future as a singles star is bright. 

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LA Knight

It’s not particularly surprising that LA Knight is so over. For some reason, Vince saddled him with a stupid gimmick that hindered his potential. Knight is far from the great wrestler on the roster, but his charisma and mic skills are on another level. He brings back an attitude era vibe that feels organic and stands out from everyone else on the roster. Knight deserves to be on top as he’s been a strong talker since his days in TNA/Impact Wrestling. It’s a shame that he didn’t get to wrestle in his hometown at WrestleMania, but hopefully, there’s something big planned for Knight at the big show in 2024.

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Chelsea Green

Chelsea Green has always been talented. Going back to her Impact Wrestling days, her stint as Laurel Van Ness was fantastic. Unfortunately, the injury bug got the better of Green during her first run in the company. Thankfully, she was given a second chance and her “Karen” act is great.The only issue is that Green loses way too much. 

As entertaining as the heel gimmick is, it hasn’t gotten over much because she’s essentially branded as a jobber. It’s a shame that Green and Piper Niven just dropped the tag belts. These two had untapped potential as a duo and could’ve really elevated the tag belts as long standing heel champions. Hopefully Green is treated better in 2024, as she’s just too good to be a comedy jobber. 

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Solo Sikoa

Sikoa was forced to show more emotion in 2023, especially during the entire “Civil War” saga between the Bloodline members. Admittedly, he didn’t particularly “wow” during his promo against Cena, but it’s a minor nitpick as the guy has main event potential written all over him. 

He feels like a genuine and imposing threat whenever he steps into the ring because the company has done such a great job protecting him. It appears that something bigger is on the horizon for Sikoa. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he gets the Ironman treatment in the rumble (if he enters). Hell, I can see Solo vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 40. As long as he can keep up his strong performances then he’ll excel to the top pretty quickly.