Throughout the first six months of 2023, we have seen no end to scintillating sporting moments. Manchester City became just the second team in the history of English football to win the coveted treble, emulating their cross-city rivals Manchester United, who achieved the same feat back in 1999. We have also seen Patrick Mahomes finally take over the mantle from Tom Brady and anoint himself as the best quarterback in the NFL, an honor he claimed when he led his Kansas City Chiefs to a second Lombardi Trophy in five years at Super Bowl LVII.
But in and amongst the glorious moments, there have also been some shockers. Chelsea’s fall from grace in the world of football immediately springs to mind. The Blues are widely considered one of the greatest teams on the planet and are two-time winners of the UEFA Champions League. This season however, they finished way down in 12th place in the Premier League, and they also suffered humiliating third-round exits in both the FA Cup and the League Cup.
But Chelsea’s demise was more of a year-long thing rather than one specific moment. So, with that being said, here are some of our favorite shocking sporting moments from the first half of 2023.
Roman Reigns Beats Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania
One thing that might come as a shock to many is that current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is one of many athletes who have starred in major movies, featuring alongside his real-life cousin Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. And while that appearance may have come as a surprise to many fans of professional wrestling, nothing will have stunned them more than what transpired at WrestleMania 39 back in April. At the marquee event at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the Head of the Table faced off against 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble Match winner Cody Rhodes in a main event for the ages.
Heading into the contest, however, many expected the challenger to get the victory, bookmakers included. Many online outlets made the American Nightmare a -450 favorite for the heavyweight clash. However, in the end, and with plenty of assistance from his Bloodline faction, it was the champion who managed to retain his title, much to the shock of the 82,000 fans in attendance in Inglewood.
Borussia Dortmund Bottle the Bundesliga on the Final Day of the Season
There were some scintillating title races in Europe’s elite football leagues last season. The Manchester City went toe-to-toe with an upstart Arsenal side in the battle to be crowned the champions of the English Premier League. It was a battle that Pep Guardiola’s Blues would eventually win, with a late collapse from the Gunners opening the door for Erling Haaland and co. to walk right through.
Over in Germany, there was a similarly enthralling title race, but for all the wrong reasons. Bayern Munich, winners of the last ten Bundesliga crowns in a row, battled it out with rivals Borussia Dortmund however, it seemed like neither side wanted to claim the Meisterschale. Throughout the campaign’s latter stages, both outfits were dropping points left, right, and center, and the result of that was that Die Schwartzgelben simply needed to defeat Mainz at home on the final day of the season to be crowned the champions of Germany.
It was a Mainz side that had lost their four games on the spin by a cumulative score of 13-3 however, the visitors well and truly spoiled the party. They headed to Signal Iduna Park as +1100 underdogs however, within 24 minutes, they were 2-0 up. Dortmund managed to drag it back to 2-2 however, a late Jamal Musiala winner in Cologne put Bayern in the box seat, and with BVB unable to find a winner, the title headed to Bavaria once more.
Cincinnati Bengals Rip Up the Script
The most recent NFL campaign was one for the ages, and the best news is a new season is just around the corner. The 2023 season gets underway on September 7th when the Kansas City Chiefs welcome the Detroit Lions to Arrowhead Stadium. Last term, courtesy of their almost identical records in the regular season, the Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills were expected to contest the AFC Championship game at a neutral venue.
The NFL had already begun selling tickets for the blockbuster encounter however, they hadn’t banked on Joe Burrow and his Cincinnati Bengals ripping up the script. Jackpot Joey and his teammates headed to Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium in the Divisional Round of the playoffs as underdogs, but they were about to well and truly upset the applecart. Josh Allen and his Bills had been the favorite for the Lombardi all season long and they were just two games away from a maiden championship, but it would all come crashing down.
With quarterback Burrow in full flow, he led his team to an astonishing 24-10 victory in New York State, leaving both the fans and pundits in attendance absolutely gob smacked. The result secured a second consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship game for the Ohio-based franchise, where they would meet the Kansas City Chiefs just as they did the year before. And in iconic fashion, Burrow said on live TV after the game that the NFL “better send those refunds.”
