Winter Slam (2023)

The 2023 **Winter Slam** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). It was held for wrestlers from WCCW's Battle Zone and Intensity brand divisions. The event took place on December 17, 2023, at the George M. Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska and attracted 6,856 fans.

The card comprised a total of nine matches, with seven airing on pay-per-view and two airing on a special "Fire & Ice" edition of *Sunday Night Heat*. In the main event, Goldberg defended his World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles.

## Production

### Background

Winter Slam was first established by WCCW in 2023 as a replacement for December to Dismember. The event will serve as the culmination of a weeklong tour of Alaska dubbed the "Winter is Coming" tour.

### Storylines

The event included matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WCCW's writers on the Battle Zone and Intensity brands, while storylines are produced on WCCW's weekly television shows, *Tuesday Night Battle Zone* and *Friday Night Intensity*

At Halloween Havoc on October 29, Kevin Owens defeated Seth 'Freakin' Rollins in a Trick or Street Fight thanks, in part, to a distraction by Sami Zayn which infuriated Rollins who proceeded to attack Owens following the match. On the November 3 episode of *Intensity*, a rematch was scheduled for Wrestling World Cup: Pittsburgh but an attack from Rollins left Owens sidelined for three weeks with injury. On the November 28 episode of *Battle Zone*, Kevin Owens made his return where he called out Seth Rollins for forcing him to miss Wrestling World Cup: Pittsburgh. On the December 2 episode of *Intensity*, Owens would make his in-ring return in a match against Ivar of the Viking Raiders. Prior to the match, Owens attempted to leave the arena but Rollins showed up to force him back into the ring.

On the December 2 episode of *Intensity,* Edge came out to the ring after Cody Rhodes's match where the two had a stare down. On the subsequent episode of *Battle Zone*, Cody Rhodes interrupted Edge's promo and demanded an explanation for Friday's events. Edge explained that he'd been watching Cody for a while and felt he was the only man at WCCW worthy of challenging for his WCCW World Championship. The two had a non-title match scheduled for the December 13 episode of *Battle Zone* but Edge attacked Rhodes with a spear on the December 9 episode of *Intensity,* with Edge delcaring he would see the "American Nightmare" in Anchorage.

On the December 2 episode of *Intensity*, Becky Lynch came out to the ring after Rhea Ripley's title vs. title match against Xia Li to declare herself the next challenger for the belt, but was interrupted by Charlotte Flair who demanded a rematch following her loss at Breaking Barriers on November 19. Lynch then attacked Flair while Ripley fled to the backstage area. A week later a match was made official between Lynch and Ripley and set for Winter Slam. It was later announced on the December 15 episode of *Intensity* that Flair had suffered a legitimate injury during the assault and would be sidelined for at least the next nine months.

## Event

### Pre-Show

The event kicked off with the preshow airing on ESPN on ABC and the ESPN+ streaming service as a special "Fire & Ice" edition of *Sunday Night Heat*. The opening match was a singles match between rivals R-Truth amd Johnny Gargano. R-Truth squashed Gargano in less than three minutes.
The second and final match to air on *Sunday Night Heat* was the featured bout: a tag team #1 contender's match between Country Dominance and Storm & Nox with the winner going on to compete for the WCCW Women's Tag Team Championship. Gisele Shaw and Toni Storm started the match off in the ring with Shaw dominating the opening stages. A quick series of strikes led to a one count. Shaw tagged Mickie James into the match who was met with a stiff right arm by Storm who used the opportunity to tag in Tegan Nox. Nox managed to knock James down for a two count but was broken up by Gisele Shaw who unloaded an assault of strikes on Nox, allowing James to then pin her for the victory.

### Preliminary matches

The broadcast kicked off with a Hardcore match for the WCCW Hardcore Championship between defending champion Sting and Jeff Hardy, filling in for an injured Kenny Omega who was originally scheduled for the match. Hardy quickly took advantage of the hardcore rules, grabbing a ladder and a table and throwing them into the ring before Sting attacked him from behind with a baseball bat. Back in the ring, Sting put Hardy in the Scorpion Death Lock but he managed to break the hold and retaliated by unleashing a number of chair shots to the champion. Hardy then set up the table and set it ablaze which he then whiplashed Sting into, shoving him face first into the flames. Hardy followed this up with a DDT through the burning tables and a Swanton Bomb off the top of a ladder for a three count victory and to earn the WCCW Hardcore Championship for the second time.

The second match was a Falls Count Anywhere match between rivals Ruby Soho and Sonya Deville. Both women started the match off slow, feeling each other out but Deville quickly turned the tempo up with a series of strikes for a one count. Sonya then grabbed a steel chair from under the ring but Soho managed to rip it away before she could use it and threw it to the ground, choosing to hit Deville with a DDT instead. Soho then stomped Deville multiple times for a two count and began attacking her with a kendo stick which Deville managed to wrestler away from her. Deville then hit Soho with a Spear for a two count but she managed to kick out. Frustrated, Deville turned her back to Soho who hit a Flying Elbow from the top rope for the pinfall victory.

Up next was the WCCW World Trios Championship #1 contender's match between The New Day and Latino World Order, with the winner going on to face Hurt Business 2.0 at FX Fight Night VI. Rey Mysterio and Xavier Woods started the match off in the ring with Mysterio immediately using his size to his advantage, performing high flying attacks from the top rope. The Latino World Order would utilize quick tags to keep the assault on Woods; Cruz Del Toro and Mysterio both earned two counts before Woods managed to tag in Big E. With Joaquin Wilde and Del Toro distracting Woods and Kingston on the outside, Mysterio hit the 619 on Big E followed by a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory.

The fourth match to air on pay-per-view was the Last Man Standing WCCW World Championship #1 contender's match between Seth 'Freakin' Rollins and Kevin Owens. Rollins attacked Owens on the entrance ramp forcing the referee to call for the bell early and the match begun. Owens then whiplashed Rollins into the steel steps before picking them up to attack him again. This led to a four count but Rollins answered. Back in the ring, Owens hit Rollins with a Neckbreaker followed by a Stunner, leading the ref to counting to eight before Rollins made it back to his feet but was immediately met with a second Stunner for a seven count. Rollins answered the count and turned the offense on, hitting Owens with a barrage of strikes before hitting the Pedigree followed by a Curb Stomp, sealing Owen's fate who was unable to answer the referee's ten count.

The fifth match saw "The Man" Becky Lynch take on Rhea Ripley for the Undisputed WCCW Women's Championship. "The Man" wasted no time attacking Ripley, immediately dropping her to the canvas with a Reverse DDT for a two count. The two then traded suplexes, Ripley hitting one on Lynch before Becky answered with two of her own. Ripley then got Lynch in the Prison Trap but Becky managed to escape twice and take back control. The fight spilled out to ringside where Ripley sent Lynch into the steel steps. With both women distracted, neither noticed the referee's count and the match ended in a double countout, much to the crowd's displeasure.

Up next was the co-main event between the Rated "R" Superstar Edge and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes for the WCCW World Championship. At the opening bell, Edge attempted to roll up Cody for a one count then unloaded a barrage of fists followed by a boot to the stomach. On the outside of the ring, Cody managed to land Cross Rhodes on Edge and then threw him back into the ring for a two count. Edge kicked out and landed a Spear on Rhodes for a two count of his own. For a while, it looked like Cody might win, hitting the Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes sequentially late into the match but a distraction from Beth Phoenix at ringside set Edge up for a fourth Spear, earning him the pinfall victory and allowing him to retain the belt.

### Main event

In the main event, the returning AJ Styles took on Goldberg for the WCCW World Heavyweight Championship.