Post by Peep's Naitch on Sept 5, 2015 10:40:50 GMT -5
The Bible of Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, has released its annual mea culpa of the wrestling year of its ranking of the best 500 pro wrestlers in the world in the period from 7/1/14 thru 6/30/15. And that dubious honor goes to... Current WWE World/US heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. Shouldn't be a surprise, as he bulldozed his way from obscure member of the Shield, to the best heel in the company (and arguably the business). Here is the top ten, in order:
1) Seth Rollins
2) John Cena
3) AJ Styles
4) Roman Reigns
5) Shinsuke Nakamura
6) Randy Orton
7) Jay Briscoe
8) Rusev
9) Alberto El Patron
10)Kevin Owens
Seth Rollins absolutely nailed this year, from his breaking free from the Shield, to the Face of the WWE angle as the cornerstone member of the Authority, to his Money In The Bank win and subsequent WWE World title victory at WrestleMania, has been THE star of this company all year, unseating last year's #1, Daniel Bryan, in the process. Bryan just couldn't stay healthy to have anywhere near the impact of the year he had last year. And that could be telling as he still hasn't competed in a ring in months.
John Cena, the WWE Franchise player, appeared in the PWI 500 in 2nd, his 12th consecutive Top 10 finish (3rd in 2014, 1st in 2013). For those that think he can't wrestle, you have to see the multitude of great matches he had this year, his feud with Kevin Owens and his US Title Open Invitational was what proved that he can go with the best, even breaking out a brand new move, the Springboard Stunner.
AJ Styles moved up a spot to 3rd after being 4th last year. His move to New Japan and ROH showcased why he is still Phenomenal. Roman Reigns had a great year that was threatened by fan discourse after the perceived force-fed nature of his push to the main event at WrestleMania. He overcame that with his great showing vs Brock Lesnar.
Jay Briscoe deserved his spot after winning the ROH World Title and holding it for over 9 months.
Rusev would have been ranked higher with his workrate and memorable matches and his US Title run and long undefeated streak that lasted until Cena ended his reign at 146 days and gave him his 1st pinfall loss at WrestleMania.
Kevin Owens rounds out the Top 10; he has been in the top 10 before (10th in 2013), but since he debuted on WWE TV this year, he made a splash, winning the WWE NXT Title and holding it for 143 Days, during which he had the best debut on the main roster a wrestler can have, winning his debut on Raw with John Cena.