Syuri deserves her spot at the top of the 2022 PWI 150

Ranking lists in professional wrestling are a hotbed of madness. Regardless of how things shake out, there will be masses of people ready to argue for their own favorites, quickly turning the discussion into a toxic cesspool. On October 27, the 2022 edition of the PWI 150 women’s list was released to the public and Syuri sat at the top of the list. That was the signal for masses of wrestling “fans” to take to their social media accounts in an attempt to denigrate the abilities and performances of a woman who has consistently been one of the best in the game. Syuri deserved the number one spot and it’s hard to argue counter to that point.

Syuri topped the list for the first time in her career on Thursday. The top ten were as follows: Bianca Belair, Thunder Rosa, Becky Lynch, Jade Cargill, Jordynne Grace, Saya Kamitani, Charlotte Flair, Starlight Kid, and Taya Valkyrie.

Fans were out in droves to argue their claims for why their favorite performer should have been higher up on the list. Individuals came out to support Belair, who was number one in 2021, Rosa, and Lynch, while some others even pushed for performers like Alexa Bliss and Britt Baker to be higher in the rankings. While it is OK to advocate for favorites, that doesn’t mean one needs to denigrate the work that Syuri has done during the evaluation cycle, just because she performs in an organization that operates outside North America.

Looking at Syuri’s recent title runs show that she’s a force in women’s wrestling. If Kenny Omega was the belt collector, then Syuri deserved to have a stake in that name as she held three belts at once. She’s currently the World Of Stardom Champion but was also carrying the SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship and one-half of the Goddesses Of Stardom Championship up until losing the latter two in January. Dive into her 2022 catalog of matches that include some great showcases like her singles match against Tam Nakano in September or her match against Utami Hayashishita back in July. Her ring work speaks for herself and easily places her as one of the best in the world.

The right answer to seeing Syuri sitting at the top of the PWI 150 would be to seek out some of her work. Finding some of her best matches to better understand why she is getting such praise in an industry that is frequently dominated by content from WWE and All Elite Wrestling. It’s OK to step outside the comfort zone of the biggest promotions in the world.

There’s a wealth of talent in other organizations and Syuri isn’t the only name fans of professional wrestling should recognize. She deserves this place at the top of the 2022 rankings and if she continues to perform at this level she will be around for a long time.