Despite wrestling’s status as one of the few forms of sport or entertainment that see worldwide participation, it often seems as though American wrestlers are at the forefront of the industry.
To stand among the best today, is a tall order with great wrestlers from all over the world like The Bollywood Boyz, Zach Sabre, Jr. and Shinsuke Nakamura, to name a few. These 10 Americans are at the front of the line as the best from their home nation.
Honorable Mention(s) – Randy Orton/Bayley
Despite battling the injury bug most of the year, Randy Orton is always one of the best wrestlers on the planet, and for him to not be on this list is ridiculous. The newest member of The Wyatt Family is one of the greatest superstars of all-time and the third-generation Superstar, only seems to get better as his career continues.
Meanwhile, Bayley is clearly one of the best in the Womens’ Division and a date with Charlotte in a title match, can’t be too far out in the future for a Superstar that has been a huge hit with fans of all types. Bayley has a huge upside and the looks to climb the ranks in the future.
#10 Brock Lesnar
While the Beast Incarnate may only participate in a handful of matches a year, any time he does so, it’s an attraction that either sees an entire WWE Network card built around it, or it’s the main event on one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year.
This is all for a very good reason, as Brock Lesnar is one of the most dominant figures and legitimate tough men in professional wrestling history. He would be much higher on the list if he competed more often. While his in-ring appearances are limited, Brock knows how to make it count when he does lace up his boots.
#9 John Cena
Despite clearly being in the twilight of his career and dealing with nagging injuries, the 15-time world champion can still hit the ring and bring the house down with some of the best in the business.
While some suggest he’s been carried, they are ignoring the fact that Cena has made great strides to improve as a performer, expanding far beyond his old “five moves of doom.” With solid matches recently against Dean Ambrose and a whole series of match of the year candidates against AJ Styles, it’s hard to argue Cena is not deserving to be on this list.
Whether people love him or hate him, they still come to see him.
#8 Sasha Banks
While highly prone to injury over the last year, Sasha Banks is one of the best wrestlers in WWE right now, male or female. Despite what some would call an underwhelming main event match at Hell in a Cell with Charlotte, the fact that WWE chose her, as one of the first two women to main-event a WWE pay-per-view, should speak volumes.
Since WrestleMania, she has been one of WWE’s most beloved and most entertaining figures in the ring. There is no denying Sasha has been instrumental in ushering in a new era of women’s wrestling where the athletes’ skills match their looks.
#7 Dolph Ziggler
The former Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Champion has been one of the best Superstars on WWE’s roster year in and year out, since debuting in the company longer than a decade ago. Win or lose, Dolph’s in-ring style screams the definition of leaving it all in the ring.
The man is fantastic at getting you behind him to the point, where it is a kick in the gut to see him lose and gratifying to see him finally triumph over the odds. WWE seems to have found a winning formula in his recent feud with The Miz, with both men seeming to bring out the best in one another and reviving the careers of a few past stars as well.
#6 The Miz
2016 is arguably one of the best years of The Miz’s career, laying claim to the Intercontinental Championship for most of that year and bringing relevancy back to the belt and himself.
Miz has always been great at getting you to hate him, and pairing him with Championship gold has always been a success, because it gives you even more of a reason to want to see him get beat.
The belt isn’t the only gold Miz brought back this year. The reintroduction of his wife, Maryse, as a manager has only solidified his successful run. He even brought back The Spirit Squad for his feud with Dolph Ziggler.
When he’s an arrogant jerk with a title and a hot wife standing in the way of a beloved underdog like Ziggler, who wouldn’t keep tuning in, hoping to see him get his just dessert?
#5 Charlotte Flair
A common downfall of 2nd and 3rd generation stars introduced as the offspring of WWE legends is that they are by default eclipsed by their parents’ legacies. Charlotte takes this stereotype a smashes it to pieces.
She uses her father’s name, the offshoot of his music and even his iconic “Woo!”. For crying out loud, she even took his legendary figure-4 leg lock and made it even more impressive. We haven’t even gotten to the fact that she’s an amazing in-ring competitor and inherited every bit of her dad’s charisma.
A key player in the revolution that has changed how women are perceived in WWE, Charlotte has made waves for the entire division alongside fellow ‘Four Horsewomen’ Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley. With or without the title, Charlotte has been involved in the top matches of the women’s division for the better part of the last two years.
It should be no surprise that the woman, who symbolically brought WWE out of the ‘Diva Era’ ranks so high on this list.
#4 Seth Rollins
Despite sitting out for most of the first half of the year recovering from a November 2015 knee injury, The Architect picked up right where he left off, inserting himself right back into the championship picture, since returning at Extreme Rules in May.
Since then, he won the WWE Championship from Roman Reigns, was the number one overall pick in the WWE draft and was in the match to determine the inaugural Universal Champion at SummerSlam against Finn Balor. Presently he has been feuding with Kevin Owens in Raw’s main event picture.
#3 Samoa Joe
2016 has been an earmark year for the long-time star, spending most of the year embroiled in feuds with two of the biggest names in wrestling, Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura, over the NXT Championship.
This year has seen Joe gain the championship from Balor and also defeat him in the first Steel Cage match in NXT history, in the early half of the year, before taking part in what could well be the match of 2016 with Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover Brooklyn II.
Samoa Joe has spent the year showing WWE and NXT fans why he has long been considered one of the best talents in professional wrestling.
#2 Dean Ambrose
Even before getting what fans consider a long-overdue world title run, Dean Ambrose spent most of 2016 in the main event.
This included a short feud with Triple H, a match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, and a match of the year candidate, opposite AJ Styles and John Cena at No Mercy in October. Ambrose was also undoubtedly the most loved star of the first half of the year leading up his victories at Money in the Bank.
Ironically, he would probably be number one this year if not for…
#1 AJ Styles
…The Phenomenal AJ Styles. It’s been a long time since someone has ascended the WWE ladder as quickly as The Phenomenal One has. Since his surprise debut as the #3 entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble, Styles has been on a rocket to the moon, quickly establishing himself amongst WWE’s elite.
He is one of few men to claim victory over John Cena in a rivalry, which he did this summer en-route to winning the WWE Championship from Ambrose in September.
While the 18-year veteran has already had several landmark years through his illustrious career, 2016 stands out, due to the emphatic introduction he gave himself to the WWE audience. His presence in WWE has delivered several dream matches against some of the company’s most legendary stars and promises the potential for several more.
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