Rhea Ripley sits atop PWI 2023 Women’s 250 list

Rhea Ripley’s run in WWE was enough to capture the top spot in the PWI Women’s 250, even as fans debate her place compared to her peers. 

Pro Wrestling Illustrated dropped the Women’s 250 for 2023 and the list was topped by none other than WWE Women’s World Champion, Rhea Ripley. The list featured a diverse set of women across multiple promotions, but there are still those debating the listing, as it tends to happen every year.

The official top ten for the 2023 list includes the following:

• Rhea Ripley
• Giulia
• Bianca Belair
• Jamie Hayter
• Tam Nakano
• Athena
• Deonna Purrazzo
• Willow Nightingale
• Kamille
• Jordynne Grace

The women’s list features talent from WWE, All Elite Wrestling, IMPACT, Ring of Honor, Stardom, and NWA.

Ripley at the top of the list raised some eyebrows among followers of women’s wrestling. While Ripley stands at the top of the Monday Night Raw women’s division, she hasn’t factored much into women’s wrestling – instead much of her time is dedicated to the storyline surrounding The Judgement Day. She won the championship that would become the WWE Women’s World Title back at WrestleMania in an epic match against Charlotte Flair, but since then she’s defended the title only five times against three different challengers.

Compare that to an individual like Athena. She’s held the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship for 313 days and has 16 defenses under her belt. She’s put together fantastic matches against the likes of Leyla Hirsch, Kiera Hogan, Miyu Yamashita, Willow Nightingale, and more. Many fans are pointing toward that run as reason enough to recognize her as the top champion and performer in women’s wrestling today.

Giulia and Tam Nakano have claims to the top spot as well. Giulia defeated Nightingale for the NJPW Strong Championship and is still one-third of the Artist of Stardom Champion with Mai Sakurai and Thekla. Nakano is carrying the World of Stardom title that she snatched away from Giulia back in April, but she has only three defenses of the title to date, including the unification match against Mina Shirakawa.

Debate in professional wrestling is always going to be a thing and the PWI lists play directly into that. Hopefully, women’s wrestling continues to carve out more of a space in the industry because there are several talented performers in the major organizations and independent companies around the world.