PWI 500: The List Wrestling Fans All Fake To Hate
It’s that time of the year, as the PWI 500 is set to be released. After learning about the top ten there’s going to be room for heated wrestling debate; which is always the final point.
Whether you agree or not, Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a major publication in the world of professional wrestling. Whether its news, interviews or rumors, PWI provides something for fans that are willing to immerse themselves into the outlet. Each year the company releases the PWI 500, a ranking of the top 500 wrestlers in the industry.
This year’s list was recently released and as with any other, there’s debate as to who is ranked wear and who is subbed from the publication as a whole. In looking at the Top Ten, there’s certainly room for debate to who was listed and who was snubbed.
The top ten for this year’s PWI 500 falls as follows:
- Kenny Omega
- AJ Styles
- Kazuchika Okada
- Brock Lesnar
- Seth Rollins
- Braun Strowman
- Roman Reigns
- Cody Rhodes
- Tetsuya Naito
- The Miz
That’s quite an intriguing group to see. The top ten is filled with names from the WWE and New Japan – and as the top two promotions in the industry, that’s understandable. But the order of said list and the inclusion of one name, Brock Lesnar, seems to be the point of contention for many who take the list very seriously.
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First there’s Lesnar. The PWI rankings run from July 31, 2017 to June 30, 2018. During that time, Lesnar has had 9 matches as the WWE Universal champion. That is far and away the lowest number for nearly any wrestler on the list of 500, let alone in the top ten.
Yes, he’s one of the biggest names in the combat sports and entertainment world; but should his relative absence disqualify him from such a prestigious list that includes some of the best workers in the industry today?
The answer to that question should be a resounding “yes.”
Then there’s the rest of the group. While the other nine men make sense, are they in the right order? Rollins has been one of the most consistent performers in the WWE today and to many, the best on their roster. Should he be the top ranked name from the promotion?
What about Okada and Omega? Should they simply be number one and number two this year? They’ve been the standard bearer for professional wrestling as a whole. Everything Okada has touched the last few years has been near gold; earning multiple stars and accolades across the industry. Last year he was ranked number one and it’s understandable that finally dropping the IWGP title to Omega pushed him out of that slot and placed the Canadian firmly at number one.
Whether you agree with the PWI 500 or not, it’s always a captivating time in the professional wrestling industry when the list is released each year. Who was snubbed? Who should have been number one? Who was ranked too high? All of these questions will spark intriguing conversations across the social sphere.
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The list is presented in kayfabe and to be honest, everyone acts like they are too cool to care, but the pro wrestling world cares. At the end of the day this is a point of recognition for what these wrestlers do each time they step in-between the ropes and how well they portray their characters outside of the ropes.
One can’t pass a day without seeing a Twitter argument break out about who is the “best” in the professional wrestling industry. Regardless of which side you may fall on, the PWI 500 is a fun tool for debate and analysis as to how we recognize the great wrestling action we see, week in and week out.