Cody Rhodes, Jon Moxley, "Hangman" Page, and others top the 2025 PWI 500

The PWI 500 may be the closest thing that professional wrestling has to the NFL Draft. “Experts” and talking heads are rolling out their big boards to talk about who is and is not in their top ten. Every year, the magazine drops its top 500 names in the business, and every year, fans break out in arguments about who deserves a spot and who doesn’t. Well, the same thing happened on Tuesday, September 23, when the 2025 edition of the list hit the online world.

The 35th Annual PWI 500 had ten names sitting at the top of the pile. Cody Rhodes, Jon Moxley, GUNTHER, “Hangman” Adam Page, Hirooki Goto, Jey Uso, Swerve Strickland, Seth Rollins, Mistico, and Will Ospreay make up the top ten. Do you hear that sound? That’s the masses gathering their torches and pitchforks, ready to ransack the PWI offices for people who are and aren’t on the list, and where they are ranked.

Before you join in, it is always important to remember that the PWI 500 is a list formulated mostly by opinions from the creators within the publication. Is it the end-all, be-all for lists and rankings? No, but its longevity gives it a place of consideration when talking about who has had a great year in the business.

Did Cody Rhodes have an excellent year? Of course, he’s the face of WWE and riding a career-defining run as the Undisputed WWE Champion. Were there low points in this run? Absolutely, look no further than the WrestleMania angle against John Cena.

All Elite Wrestling continues to put forth some of the best characters and matches in the business. Jon Moxley, Adam Page, Swerve Strickland, and Will Ospreay are all strong showings for the company and will probably remain on these lists for years to come, as long as the injury bug stays away.

Now, let’s talk about Jey Uso. Did Jey Uso have a big year? Certainly. Winning The Royal Rumble and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania are two massive moments, worthy of recognition. But Jey Uso is a beneficiary of WWE’s promotional machine throwing its weight behind one particular person. Does it mean he’s one of the top ten wrestlers of the year? No, but WWE couldn’t care less about that, instead focusing on generating buzz and revenue, which Uso proved he could do during this run.

Professional wrestling and sports entertainment are two sides of the same coin. They frequently run up against one another, causing wild debates throughout today’s online spaces. The PWI 500 is one of the biggest transgressors and the 2025 list will do just that.