The Yes Movement Tops The 2014 PWI 500

[Jack-Hammer]

According to a story at wrestlinginc.com, in what probably comes as no surprise to anyone that's been watching pro wrestling for the past year or so, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked Daniel Bryan #1 on its annual list of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the industry. The time period the magazine used for its evaluation was from July 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014 with the top 10 reading like this:

1. Daniel Bryan
2. Randy Orton
3. John Cena
4. AJ Styles
5. Kazuchika Okada
6. Bray Wyatt
7. Roman Reigns
8. Magnus
9. Adam Cole
10. Bully Ray

As I alluded to, it's no real surprise PWI ranked Bryan #1 considering his huge surge in popularity, the storyline involving him against The Authority and the major role he played at WrestleMania XXX.

I'm a little surprised to see Randy Orton as high on the list as he is, though it's not hard to see why he's in the top 10. His role in Bryan vs. The Authority precipitated Orton's heel turn, Orton became the first WWE World Heavyweight Champion, his feud with Bryan culminated at WrestleMania XXX just before taking part in Evolution's feud against The Shield.

John Cena being in the top 5 isn't surprising. He's the biggest star in pro wrestling and the magazine has ranked him in the top 5 every year since 2005, with the exception of 2008.

AJ Styles made a big splash in the past year. He parted ways with TNA after being the guy who many saw as the heart & soul of the promotion since its inception. Styles has gone onto find success in New Japan Pro Wrestling and is currently on day 146 of his 1st reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Okada's been a big deal for the past 2.5 years or so in New Japan. He won the G1 Climax in 2012 and 2014, he won the New Japan Cup in 2013, his second reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, which was ended by AJ Styles, lasted 391 days and is the 2nd longest run with the title since 2002.

Bray Wyatt's become one of the most interesting characters in wrestling. Wyatt's character is fresh, fun and his work on the mic has been second only, arguably, over the course of the past year or so to Paul Heyman.

Roman Reigns is someone I don't really agree with as far as a top 10 choice. Personally, I think Seth Rollins has made a much bigger splash since The Shield's break up than Reigns has.

Magnus is someone that I can see reaching the top 10, it's just a shame that his career looks to be in a downward spiral since dropping the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Eric Young back in April. He's a young, talented guy that has a ton of upside, but the last two thirds of 2014 haven't been a great time for him.

Adam Cole is another young guy with a ton of upside. I'll be surprised if WWE doesn't make a play for him at some point. Cole's run as ROH World Champion lasted a strong 275 days, so I can see why he made it this year.

Bully Ray is, in my eyes, the last guy to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship as a great champion. Ray's work in TNA throughout 2013 is, arguably, the best work of his career. I'd have ranked him higher than #10 personally, certainly above Roman Reigns and Magnus.

 

[chuckmdubya]

Agreed, Bully Ray is ranked way too low. He may be the best Pro Wrestler on the list, just not getting the respect that Bryan because he's TNA and older. Watching him on tv, you really believe he's a real life tough guy.

Another good choice is Wyatt. A good sports entertainer makes you believe his gimmick is real. And Bray makes you believe he could really be a cult leader.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Roman Reigns is someone I don't really agree with as far as a top 10 choice. Personally, I think Seth Rollins has made a much bigger splash since The Shield's break up than Reigns has.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated selected this year’s list by evulating all pro wrestlers between July 1st, 2013, and July 31st, 2014

That was from the WZ article, thus the misspelling. I'm not correcting their shit. Anywho, The Shield disbanded on June 2nd, 2014. I think Reigns' high spot comes from the time The Shield spent together. Reigns definitely had the bigger impact of the three during that time, having set the elimination record at the Rumble and scoring the majority of the winning pinfalls in Shield's matches. And even in the month or two following he woN the Battle Royal on Raw to enter the WWE WHC Ladder Match while the other two Shield members were in the MitB Match.

Pretty sure this list is in Kayfabe, beeteedub. Could be wrong but Miz topped it once and I doubt any internet wrestling site would give him that much praise out of kayfabe.

 

[Terry Silver]

Daniel bryan as number 1 is as bad as dean malenko in 1997.

I just dont get the appeal of this vanilla midget

 

[Shadowmancer]

Just as a rather Awesome aside, Grado was 500th, and all of the Twitter talk was about Grado being last and not the top 10.

Who else in Wrestling could make Madonna's Like A Prayer work as an entrance theme. And get the Scottish over 18's crowd to sing along with it.


As for the Top 10. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton make sense where they are, I think John Cena really should be lower but not by much. The only name that I think is a bit too high would be reigns, I think he should have been about 11th overall as I think others had better years.

 

[jmt225]

What the fuck did Randy Orton do to grab #2? Holy shit. I never take the PWI 500 seriously, but this truly baffles me. What reasoning whatsoever could anyone give why he's been the 2nd best pro wrestler this past year, kayfabe or non-kayfabe? It's simply not possible. His championship reign was awful and he play 2nd fiddle the entire damn time. He hasn't had one great match outside of a Triple Threat bout at 'Mania, and he hasn't done jackshit since then outside of one decent match with Reigns at Summerslam. The Authority hasn't even treated him like their main ace. First it was Batista, and now it's been Rollins the best few months.

This is coming from someone by the way who likes Randy Orton. I'm not trying to discredit the guy, but I just don't get it.

Bryan obviously is the right choice for#1. I also very much agree with AJ Styles high ranking. A lot of fans aren't paying attention since he isn't on television weekly, but this guy has been incredible since leaving TNA. I'd argue the only wrestler right now with a better aura about him is Brock Lesnar, and Brock's matches don't deliver like AJ's does. I could make the argument that AJ should be #2 on the list, Cena #3.

Lastly, Bully Ray being in the top 10 is an even bigger joke than Orton being #2.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

What the fuck did Randy Orton do to grab #2? Holy shit. I never take the PWI 500 seriously, but this truly baffles me. What reasoning whatsoever could anyone give why he's been the 2nd best pro wrestler this past year, kayfabe or non-kayfabe? It's simply not possible. His championship reign was awful and he play 2nd fiddle the entire damn time. He hasn't had one great match outside of a Triple Threat bout at 'Mania, and he hasn't done jackshit since then outside of one decent match with Reigns at Summerslam. The Authority hasn't even treated him like their main ace. First it was Batista, and now it's been Rollins the best few months.

This is coming from someone by the way who likes Randy Orton. I'm not trying to discredit the guy, but I just don't get it.

Well, arguablly, he was first WWE World Heavyweight Champion ever, beaten Cena cleanly for it. So he had huge accomplishment to make on the list. But yes, bit high place.

I can see why Reigns is there based on "The Shield" accomplishments but cant agree on Bray. Never saw appeal in him ever since he showed up and still dont see it.

And where the heck is Lesnar? He has beaten "The Streak" at Mania and cant make on the list.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Well, arguablly, he was first WWE World Heavyweight Champion ever, beaten Cena cleanly for it. So he had huge accomplishment to make on the list. But yes, bit high place.

I can see why Reigns is there based on "The Shield" accomplishments but cant agree on Bray. Never saw appeal in him ever since he showed up and still dont see it.

And where the heck is Lesnar? He has beaten "The Streak" at Mania and cant make on the list.

Lesnar didn't meet the minimum match requirement for qualification. You need something like 20 matches spread across 7 different months at a bare minimum to qualify for it.

 

[kadroan]

What the fuck did Randy Orton do to grab #2? Holy shit. I never take the PWI 500 seriously, but this truly baffles me. What reasoning whatsoever could anyone give why he's been the 2nd best pro wrestler this past year, kayfabe or non-kayfabe? It's simply not possible. His championship reign was awful and he play 2nd fiddle the entire damn time. He hasn't had one great match outside of a Triple Threat bout at 'Mania, and he hasn't done jackshit since then outside of one decent match with Reigns at Summerslam. The Authority hasn't even treated him like their main ace. First it was Batista, and now it's been Rollins the best few months.

This is coming from someone by the way who likes Randy Orton. I'm not trying to discredit the guy, but I just don't get it.

Bryan obviously is the right choice for#1. I also very much agree with AJ Styles high ranking. A lot of fans aren't paying attention since he isn't on television weekly, but this guy has been incredible since leaving TNA. I'd argue the only wrestler right now with a better aura about him is Brock Lesnar, and Brock's matches don't deliver like AJ's does. I could make the argument that AJ should be #2 on the list, Cena #3.

Lastly, Bully Ray being in the top 10 is an even bigger joke than Orton being #2.

Orton's rating surprised me too. Yes, he put on good matches consistently but I can't say I agree on how they booked him to look so weak as champion.

They wouldn't book him to beat Bryan clean or The Big Show. He always needed help.

 

[Trill Co$by]

What the fuck did Randy Orton do to grab #2? Holy shit. I never take the PWI 500 seriously, but this truly baffles me. What reasoning whatsoever could anyone give why he's been the 2nd best pro wrestler this past year, kayfabe or non-kayfabe? It's simply not possible. His championship reign was awful and he play 2nd fiddle the entire damn time. He hasn't had one great match outside of a Triple Threat bout at 'Mania, and he hasn't done jackshit since then outside of one decent match with Reigns at Summerslam. The Authority hasn't even treated him like their main ace. First it was Batista, and now it's been Rollins the best few months.

This is coming from someone by the way who likes Randy Orton. I'm not trying to discredit the guy, but I just don't get it.

Bryan obviously is the right choice for#1. I also very much agree with AJ Styles high ranking. A lot of fans aren't paying attention since he isn't on television weekly, but this guy has been incredible since leaving TNA. I'd argue the only wrestler right now with a better aura about him is Brock Lesnar, and Brock's matches don't deliver like AJ's does. I could make the argument that AJ should be #2 on the list, Cena #3.

Lastly, Bully Ray being in the top 10 is an even bigger joke than Orton being #2.

Randy Orton was the opposite to Daniel Bryan all through the end of 2013 to WrestleMania, of course he deserves number 2.

Night of Champions 2013 - vs. Daniel Bryan
Payback 2013 - vs. Daniel Bryan
Hell in a Cell 2013 - vs. Daniel Bryan
Survivor Series 2013 - vs. Big Show
TLC 2013 - vs. Cena to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion
Royal Rumble 2014 - vs. Cena
Elimination Chamber 2014 - vs. Daniel Bryan, Cena, Cesaro, Christian, and Sheamus
WrestleMania 30 - MotY Candidate vs. Daniel Bryan & Batista
Extreme Rules 2014 - w/ Evolution vs. The Shield
Payback 2014 - w/ Evolution vs. The Shield

All of those matches were considered to be great matches and had the crowd invested. Randy Orton was in all of those matches, how does he NOT deserve number 2? Who in the wrestling world has even a shadow of a resume like that?

 

[jmt225]

Who considered those matches "great"? They were average at best. The matches with Big Show and Cena flat out sucked.

Orton was never the main guy on Raw throughout his championship run. Not one time. Remember when Punk won his first World Title on Raw? That's how Orton's championship run was treated. He was the definition of a transitional champion. He just held on to the belt until they thought Bryan (or Batista at one point in time) was ready to take it off him.

His entire championship run, Orton's storylines were built around HHH and Steph feuding with his opponents. Orton had very little to do with zanything. It was pathetically booked when you think about it.

Not to mention he hardly ever won a match cleanly.

I'm not faulting Orton for any of this. He didn't book the shit himself. But the fact is, he was one of the worst champions in recent memory, especially since he was the first 'WWE World Champion'. It doesn't matter that he was in the spot, you still have to do stuff of substance. The only thing memorable about that entire run was when he actually lost the title... and he technically didn't even do that since it was Batista who tapped out at 'Mania.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I see Kofi Kingston came in at number 59. Moving up in the world. He scored that sweet clean win on Orton on Raw a while back and continues to be the best part of battle royals. Goddamn it I want that man to be a main eventer.

I try not to put too much stock into PWI's lists until the WZ Tournament and I run to Wikipedia, but Orton being so high does make me scratch my head. He is still Randy Orton, and that name carries weight, but his last year was kind of meh all things considered. Transitional champions aren't always bad, look at Taker's first couple runs in the early 90s, but everyone knew he was just going to drop the title to Bryan. He has been nothing more than The Authority's lapdog for the better part of a year now. He wasn't the focus the Cena feud, he wasn't the focus of that awful Big Show feud, and The Authority got better reactions that he did when going against Bryan. His name value alone will always carry him to high spots on the list, but me thinks this year was too high.

Then again what the fuck do I know. I'm over here jobbing Kofi's knob.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Here is the full list for those that are interested.

1-100

Spoiler

1.Daniel Bryan

2.Randy Orton

3.John Cena

4.AJ Styles

5.Kazuchika Okada

6.Bray Wyatt

7.Roman Reigns

8.Magnus

9.Adam Cole

10.Bully Ray

11.Hiroshi Tanahashi

12.Seth Rollins

13.Cesaro

14.Michael Elgin

15.Lashley

16.Batista

17.Shinsuke Nakamura

18.Dean Ambrose

19.Eric Young

20.El Terrible

21.Sheamus

22.Alberto Del Rio

23.Austin Aries

24.Big E

25.Jimmy Uso

26.Jey Uso

27.Kevin Steen

28.Suwama

29.Jeff Hardy

30.Prince Devitt

31.Samoa Joe

32.Kenta (Hideo Itami)

33.The Big Show

34.Luke Harper

35.Jay Lethal

36.Bobby Roode

37.Bad News Barrett

38.Jay Briscoe

39.Adrian Neville

40.Gunner

41.Akebono

42.Kane

43.Chris Sabin

44.Sami Zayn

45.Eddie Edwards

46.James Storm

47.Matt Hardy

48.Kurt Angle

49.Davey Richards

50.Ethan Carter III

51.Mr. Anderson

52.Satoshi Kojima

53.Ricochet

54.Dolph Ziggler

55.Chris Jericho

56.The Miz

57.Erick Rowan

58.Roderick Strong

59.Kofi Kingston

60.Rob Van Dam

61.Kyle OReilly

62.Johnny Gargano

63.Tesuya Naito

64.Joe Doering

65.Rusev

66.Seiya Sanada (Sanada)

67.Tommaso Ciampa

68.Rob Conway

69.Chris Hero

70.Karl Anderson

71.Mark Henry

72.Bobby Fish

73.Bo Dallas

74.Jack Swagger

75.Ryback

76.Nick Jackson

77.Takeshi Morishima

78.Christian

79.El Texano Jr.

80.Matt Jackson

81.Christopher Daniels

82.Stardust

83.Yuji Nagata

84.Goldust

85.Robbie E

86.Kazarian

87.R-Truth

88.Matt Cross

89.Drew Gulak

90.Jun Akiyama

91.BxB Hulk

92.Curtis Axel

93.Matt Taven

94.AR Fox

95.Tyler Breeze

96.Mark Briscoe

97.Rey Escorpion

98.Doc Gallows

99.Kenny King

100.MVP

101-200

Spoiler

101. Sin Cara

102. Damien Sandow

103. Michael Bennett

104. Rey Mysterio Jr.

105. Jessie Godderz

106. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

107. Kota Ibushi

108. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

109. Abyss

110. Alex Shelley

111. Mephisto

112. Lance Archer

113. Tyson Kidd

114. Alex Koslov

115. Rhino

116. Kushida

117. Rocky Romero

118. Bad Luck Fale

119. La Sombra

120. Adam Pearce

121. Yamato

122. Manik

123. Konnor

124. Devon

125. Takao Omori

126. Diamante Azul

127. DJ Z

128. Viktor

129. Tomohiro Ishii

130. Naomichi Marufuji

131. Go Shiozaki

132. Crazzy Steve

133. Rich Swann

134. Masada

135. Low-Ki

136. Justin Gabriel

137. Corey Graves

138. Dragon Rojo

139. Luke Hawks

140. Colt Cabana

141. Masato Tanaka

142. Fandango

143. Bram

144. Adam Rose

145. Daisuke Sekimoto

146. Gedo

147. Volador Jr.

148. Jimmy Jacobs

149. Daga

150. Jado

151. Samuel Shaw

152. Jamin Olivencia

153. Zack Ryder

154. Naruki Doi

155. Blue Demon Jr.

156. Koehi Sato

157. Biff Busick

158. ACH

159. Fenix

160. BJ Whitmer

161. Cima

162. Diego

163. Shinya Ishikawa

164. Fernando

165. Takashi Sugiura

166. Knux

167. Kalisto

168. Harashima

169. The Great Khali

170. Mojo Rawley

171. El Mesias

172. Tigre Uno

173. The Romantic Touch

174. Katsuyori Shibata

175. Chuck Taylor

176. Jax Dane

177. Heath Slater

178. Cedric Alexander

179. Titan

180. Rockstar Spud

181. Monster Pain

182. Masakatsu Funaki

183. Kenny Omega

184. Matt Morgan

185. Xavier Woods

186. Togi Makage

187. Bull Dempsey

188. Caprice Coleman

189. Carlito

190. Kahagas

191. Hernandez

192. Jigsaw

193. CJ Parker

194. Ryusuke Taguchi

195. Shingo Takagi

196. Drew McIntyre

197. Taigi Ishimori

198. Christian York

199. Atsushi Kotege

200. Trent Barreta

201-300

Spoiler

201. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

202. Papadon

203. T-Hawk

204. Steve Richards

205. Steve Corino

206. Silas Young

207. Aiden English

208. Uhaa Nation

209. Minoru Suzuki

210. David Starr

211. Tiger Mask IV

212. Shelton Benjamin

213. Tadarius Thomas

214. Mohammed Yone

215. Simon Gotch

216. Scorpio Sky

217. Brodus Clay

218. JT Dunn

219. Akira Tozawa

220. Ryouji Sai

221. Ultimo Dragon

222. Jimmy Susumu

223. Kongo Kong

224. Marcus Anthony

225. Chris Masters

226. Apolo

227. Jeff Jarrett

228. Jinder Mahal

229. Ricky Reyes

230. Titus ONeil

231. John Skyler

232. D-Lo Brown

233. Vordell Walker

234. Shane Hollister

235. Kenou

236. Jay Bradley

237. Hayato Fujita

238. Darin Corbin

239. Hajime Ohara

240. Mike Mondo

241. Darren Young

242. Ray Gonzalez

243. Rush

244. Jushin Thunder Liger

245. Mistico Nueva Era

246. Jesse Neal

247. Brian Meyers

248. Tony Nese

249. Pepper Parks

250. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

251. Paul London

252. Hirooki Goto

253. Tyson Dux

254. Masaaki Mochizuki

255. Joe E Legend

256. Bill Collier

257. Sonjay Dutt

258. Matt Cage

259. Wes Brisco

260. Jesus DeLeon

261. Joey Ryan

262. VSK

263. Dr. Wagner Jr.

264. Brian Kendrick

265. Cody Deaner

266. Jason Gory

267. Danny Havoc

268. Enzo Amore

269. Faade

270. Virus

271. Bushi

272. Tye Dillinger

273. Jack Evans

274. Baron Corbin

275. Douglas Williams

276 DJ Hyde

277. Gran Akuma

278. RJ Brewer

279. Homicide

280. Arik Cannon

281. Colin Cassidy

282. Roy Knight

283. Player Uno

284. La Par-K

285. Eddie Kingston

286. Chessman

287. Ethan HD

288. Icarus

289. Jason Jordan

290. Hanson

291. Stupefied/Player Dos

292. Zak Knight

293. Steve Anthony

294. Trevor Lee

295. Ryan Eagles

296. Asylum

297. TNT

298. Colin Delaney

299. Matt Riviera

300. Tommy Dreamer

301-400

Spoiler

301. Matt Burns

302. Jocephus

303. Byron Wilcott

304. Robert Anthony

305. Caleb Konley

306. BLK Jeez

307. Alex Colon

308. Raymond Rowe

309. Chris Angel

310. Zack Sabre, Jr.

311. Adam Page

312. Tim Donst

313. B-Boy

314. Lou Marconi

315. Shane Haste

316. Tim Storm

317. Psycho Clown

318. Sylvester Lefort

319. John McChesney

320. Devon Moore

321. Ricky Mandel

322. Mason Ryan

323. Corey Hollis

324. Jake Crist

325. Mikey Nicholls

326. Ruckus

327. N8 Mattson

328. Dave Crist

329. Necro Butcher

330. Jake OReilly

331. Negro Casas

332. Harlem Bravado

333. Dash Wilder

334. La Mascara

335. Elias Samson

336. Lance Bravado

337. Anthony Darko

338. Guerrero Maya Jr.

339. Ace Hawkins

340. Shane Strickland

341. Lucky tHURTeen

342. Sushi

343. La Mascara Dorada

344. Phil Monahan

345. Chris Wylde

346. Chase Owens

348. Shocker

349. RJ City

350. Adam Thornstowe

351. QT Marshall

352. Jack Pollock

353. Jag Hartley Jackson

354. Steve Boz

355. Bad Bones

356. Azrieal

357. Kincaid

358. Ethan Page

359. Josef Von Schmidt

360. Luster the Legend

361. Gregory Iron

362. Brandon Espinosa

363. AJ Istria

364. Gideon Malice

365. Kyle Sebastian

366. Bobby Shields

367. Josh Alexander

368. Mighty Ursus

369. Sylvain Grenier

370. Colin Cutler

371. Matt Tremont

372. Timothy Thatcher

373. Breaker Morant

374. Danny Duggan

375. Hakim Zane

376 Bobby Sharp

377. Hellcat

378. Chasyn Rance

379. Cheech

380. El Barbaro Cavernario

381. Joey Kaos

382. Dru Onyx

383. Averno

384. Chance Prophet

385. Houston Carson

386. Kao Storm

387. Marko Estrada

388. Lince Dorado

389. Greg Anthony

390. Ahtu

391. Michael Barry

392. Zach Gowen

393. Aaron Epic

394. Lance Anoai

395. Mike Rollins

396. Dave Dutra

397. Ricky Martinez

398. Arik Royal

399. Jr. Kratos

400. Milo Beasley

401-500

Spoiler

401. Americos

402. Alex Vega

403. Rhett Giddins

404. Napalm Bomb

405. Lil Cholo

406. Rob Sweet

407. Cloudy

408. Acid Jaz

409. Rik Luxury

410. Andrew Everett

411. Marshe Rockett

412. Kwan Chang

413. Matt Saigon

414. Willie Richardson

415. RD Evans

416. Oliver Grimsly

417. Jeckles the Jester

418. Andrew Davis

419. Buxx Belmar

420. Johnny Vandal

421. The DBA

422. Willie Mack

423. Franky the Mobster

424. Nick Ando

425. Mike Bailey

426. Tommy Mack

427. Massive Damage

428. Mathieu St-Jacques

429. Joe Ettell

430. Orlando Christopher

431. Brutal Bob Evans

432. Billy Blade

433. Sonny Scarboni

434. Thomas Dubois

435. Dylan Drake

436. Jay Freddie

437. Pat Guenette

438. Jack Gallow

439. Kaimana

440. Gabe Saint

441. Vinnie Scarboni

442. Shane Matthews

443. Ron Falco

444. Hornet

445. Johnny Goodtime

446. Alan Steel

447. Doyle Day

448. Chris Richards

449. Scott Parker

450. Mikael Judas

451. Chris Cruze

452. Johnny Yuma

453. Chris Cooper

454. Primo Scordino

455. Jeremy Prophet

456. Ashley Sixx

457. Joey Allen

458. Phil Atlas

459. Sexxxy Eddie

460. Handsome JF

461. Tony Carbonie

462. Brandon Thurston

463. Mike Posey

464. Josh Hess

465. Steve Stasiak

466. The Stro

467. Blackjack Phoenix

468. Chief Attakullakulla

469. Peter Avalon

470. Joey Knight

471. Jaimy Coxxx

472. Rip Impact

473. Chrisifix

474. Josh Movado

475. Jimi the Hippie

476. Greg Excellent

477. Robin Knightwing

478. Jaxon Jarvis

479. Brandon Scott

480. Cheeseburger

481. Kevin Bennett

482. Dalton Castle

483. Joe Brody

484. Silent Warrior

485. Chip Stetson

486. Tim Zbyszko

487. Kenny Doll

488. Chris LaPlante

489. Jeff Cobb

490. Johnny Adams

491. Barry Hardy

492. Diafullah Dobashi

493. Marc Hauss

494. Kratos

495. Chris Perish

496. Mr. Juicy

497. Nathan Avery

498. Wolf Danger

499. Dickie Bronson

500. Grado

Did this to make discussion about the list easier for people to discuss positioning. Its an interesting list but it still has questions that are unanswered. Like why are the young bucks split by 4 places? How bad a year must you of had if you are on either the WWE or TNA rosters and are below the Great Khali?

 

[jmt225]

God, why did I bother looking at the full list?

Will someone please explain to me how Nick and Matt Jackson aren't at least in the top 20? These guys held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles, ROH Tag Team Titles, and the PWG Tag Team Titles simultaneously for a good part of the year, while consistently putting on the best tag matches in the entire sport. Ridiculous they didn't get more respect from these hacks.

Also, why is Alberto Del Rio is the top 25? He was a jobber all year before being released.

Fuck this list, and fuck me for even caring the slightest bit about it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

God, why did I bother looking at the full list?

Will someone please explain to me how Nick and Matt Jackson aren't at least in the top 20? These guys held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles, ROH Tag Team Titles, and the PWG Tag Team Titles simultaneously for a good part of the year, while consistently putting on the best tag matches in the entire sport. Ridiculous they didn't get more respect from these hacks.

The only reason I pay attention to the PWI 500, the PWI Awards or Dave Meltzer's WON Awards is to discuss them. Looking at the entire list, there are some definite head scratchers. For instance, the hell is Batista doing all the way up at #16 when all he did was show up during WrestleMania season, get booed out of the buildings, job out to Daniel Bryan & The Shield then leave. Eric Young may well go down as the TNA World Heavyweight Champion fans took the least serious out of any champion as the company was doing some of the worst numbers since the failed Monday Night Experiment during his run. Cesaro, a great in-ring guy, and while he's put on some great matches, he's lost damn near 90% of them and shouldn't be all the way up to #13. He's ranked even higher than Batista without making a fiftieth of the impact.

I agree that The Young Bucks should be higher, but top 20? I can't really see that. Part of the problem you see with title runs on the indie scene is that it's not at all uncommon for months & months to go by in-between title defenses. The Bucks were IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions for 224 days and defended them a total of 6 times. Their third run as PWG World Tag Team Champions lasted a whopping 561 days, a full 1.5 years, but they defended the straps a total of only 5 times. From a strictly kayfabe perspective and comparing that to the regularity of title matches American fans are used to seeing in WWE or TNA, it's easy to have a 200, 300, 400 or more day reign as a champion if you only have one title match ever 3 or 4 months.

Still, the fact that they held 3 tag team titles from 3 top promotions simultaneously is impressive and warranted higher rankings than #76 and #80.

 

[Broski_of_the_week]

This list is ******ed. Minoru Suzuki in the 200's whilst Zack Ryder is 150-ish. Also Big E at 24???? How? Just How?!

 

[HeyYo]

LOL,Rany Orton absolutely sucks. He is boring as all hell. Overrated is an understatement. He is channel-changer supreme and PWI ranks him at #2. Crazy.

 

[Shadowmancer]

LOL,Randy Orton absolutely sucks. He is boring as all hell. Overrated is an understatement. He is a channel-changer supreme and PWI ranks him at #2. Crazy.

Ignore your personal feelings on the guy, look at it objectively, He beat John Cena in the Unification match. He was Champion prior to that even ignoring the other parts about why he was champ. He went into Wrestlemania the Champ, and he didn't get pinned or submit. He was in the main event scene so that puts him up there anyway.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Orton was never the main guy on Raw throughout his championship run. Not one time. Remember when Punk won his first World Title on Raw? That's how Orton's championship run was treated. He was the definition of a transitional champion.

Agreed, but it made me think back to a 4-school track meet in high school. Two of the teams were favored to battle it out for the top spot. In each race, they alternated winning, and coming in 3rd or 4th in the races they didn't win.

School #3 didn't win a single race.....yet, by taking 2nd place in just about every heat, they wound up winning the meet by compiling more overall points than the two favored schools......all this with school #3 not taking first place in any individual race.

School #3 is Randy Orton. He's always there, always dangerous, always either at the top...... or hanging near the top. Even as a transitional champion, he's still one of the few who actually wins the title. When he isn't champ, he's still the focus of something....either the Authority or a wrestler poised to ascend to championship level who needs to go through Orton to get there (ex. Roman Reigns at Summerslam)

Randy is coming in second but always finishing in the money. That's what the folks who compiled this list are figuring when they list him as #2, imo.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The biggest story of this and the one WWE should be paying MOST attention to is Bray Wyatt's amazing improvement from #115 to #6. That is an indicator of how good he is, what they have and why they should not be messing this up as they seem to want to right now... but from the sheer feat of that look at it from Windham Rotunda's point of view...

He was the reject from the New Nexus, told he "didn't have it" by Vince, Trips stayed his hand and gave him a 2nd chance... he has had injuries, supposed failiures but at #6 he has surpassed the highest ratings of both his dad (IRS) and legendary uncle Barry Windham within 2 years of being on the WWE main roster and a VERY respectable 73 for Bo as well. I would imagine there are very proud man hugs going in that home right now...