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While there are plenty of world-class American stars on the WWE main roster, there is also a parade of international names who have been on fire since signing on the dotted line with the company. Some took a while to get going and others are unbelievably underrated, but either way, they’ve all earned themselves a place on our list. Aren’t they lucky?
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We’re by no means suggesting that these 10 are the only ones of note, but let’s face it, they aren’t exactly going to care one way or another. Still, in an age where many fans are fed up with the state of the booking on a week to week basis, we should still be happy that we get to see such elite athletes performing so regularly.
With all of that being said, here are WWE’s 10 best international superstars - in our opinion.
#10 Peyton Royce
It would’ve been easy to put Billie Kay in here for some people, but to us, Peyton Royce has proven herself to be the breakout star of The Iconic.
They’ve both got great attributes and it seemed as if Kay would be the bigger name for a long time, but Royce has evolved in every single way imaginable. She’s got a great look, she’s solid on the mic, and her in-ring work is improving as time goes on.
She may not be the complete package yet, but given her age, it’s scary to think what she’s going to be capable of in a few years time.
Alongside Billie, she seems to be doing the whole Bella Twins act even better than Brie & Nikki did, which is quite the compliment given how underrated the sisters actually are. She’s not the best on the roster, but if Carmella can win the title, then so can Peyton.
#9 Sheamus
The Celtic Warrior Sheamus has had a rough time in the last few years, depending on who you speak to. The Irishman is a multi-time world champion and will probably be a WWE Hall of Famer one day, and yet, it still feels like the company could’ve done more with him.
Sure, he hasn’t always been the best option available, but he’s an extremely well-rounded competitor who has been able to put on some high-quality matches for years now.
Alongside Cesaro he seems to have reinvigorated his career in the tag team scene, where he’s been able to showcase what he can do from a character standpoint and in the ring. Before he’s done we’d love to see him get another run in the main event scene, but given his current trajectory and age, that doesn’t seem all too likely.
#8 Rusev
While it’s easy to say that Rusev experienced the peak of his career back in 2015 when he entered WrestleMania 31 on a tank for his United States Championship match against John Cena, we actually think his best moments are still to come.
While he’s been underutilised over the last twelve months or so, his Rusev Day act has blossomed into something beautiful - and now, the fans are ready to see him being given more opportunities.
Alongside Aiden English and Lana, Rusev seems to be experiencing a career revival which is something that has been long overdue.
He’s always seemed to possess the skill-set required to succeed as a big bad foreign heel, and we saw that play out on television in late 2014 and early 2015. Now, however, they can’t afford to just repeat the same old storyline, and they need to do something different if they want to keep him fresh.
#7 Becky Lynch
The Lasskicker Becky Lynch was once seen as the weakest member of The Four Horsewomen, but now, you could argue that she’s well above Bayley in the pecking order and is starting to catch up with Sasha & Charlotte.
She has a great look, she’s witty, and most importantly, she’s a lot of fun to watch in the ring. They seem to finally be interested in doing something with her on SmackDown Live, which hasn’t been the case for a long time.
After initially winning the Women’s Championship on the blue brand back in 2016, it felt like Lynch was going to be used as the face of the brand moving forward. Unfortunately, the rise of Alexa Bliss put a pin in those plans, but despite all of that, she’s never allowed her game to drop and the word complacency doesn’t seem to be one that she can fathom.
#6 Shinsuke Nakamura
Putting Shinsuke Nakamura at number six on this list is going to cause a lot of controversy for some people, but we need to be brutally honest here and analyse his WWE run from a logical perspective. Over in Japan, Shinsuke was known for being The King of Strong Style because of his fantastic matches as well as his larger than life persona.
Alas, he hasn’t quite been able to adapt that to the WWE main roster in the same way, and you could even argue that the second half of his NXT run wasn’t all too inspiring either. Nakamura is still a tremendously talented guy and his current heel run has done wonders for his career, but he’s protecting his body by working this current style and we can respect that.
#5 Finn Balor
Finn Balor is an impressive guy in more ways than one, but he hasn’t quite been able to recover from his injury that he sustained back at SummerSlam 2016. We aren’t talking about how he’s recovered physically, either, because he managed to come back relatively quickly by the time the Raw after WrestleMania 33 rolled around.
However, while he may be over with the fans, WWE management doesn’t seem too interested in thrusting him into a featured spot just yet.
He’s certainly proven what he can do in the ring and nobody is denying how talented he is, but perhaps it’ll take another six months or so before he’s able to really break into the upper echelon. After all, Seth Rollins seemed to be stagnant for a long period of time, and in the span of just a few weeks, he had completely reignited his babyface run.
#4 Cesaro
It’s funny to see how a lot of fans have gone from calling Cesaro underrated to overrated in such a short space of time, and it’s not really based on what he’s doing in the ring.
His partnership with Sheamus may not be what everyone wants to see from him, as we all know what he’s capable of as a singles star, but he’s still been able to have an impressive level of success as a tag team wrestler on the main roster as of late.
The Swiss Superman’s strength speaks for itself, and at various points throughout his WWE run, he’s left us with open mouths as we sit there and think “is this guy even human?”. He doesn’t seem to age despite having been with the company for over five years now, and he shows no signs of slowing down. We may never get a Cesaro world title run, but that doesn’t mean we should stop believing.
#3 Asuka
As the highest-ranked female on this list, you can understand how highly we think of Asuka. The Empress of Tomorrow seems to just ‘get it’ when it comes to her in-ring persona, and the WWE Universe seems to have accepted her as one of their own.
She completely dominated the competition down in NXT, and despite losing her unbeaten run at WrestleMania 34 to Charlotte Flair, she doesn’t seem to have lost too much momentum.
She’s set to challenge Carmella for the SD Live Women’s Championship, and it genuinely feels like her coronation is imminent. Asuka isn’t someone who ever would’ve been seen as a breakout star, and yet here we are.
Every single time she comes out to the ring it feels special, which is a rare commodity to have with a performer who is on the road week after week throughout the year.
#2 Kevin Owens
Canada counts as international to us, guys.
Kevin Owens was always going to be someone who was capable of changing the game one way or another ever since he debuted on NXT by attacking his best friend Sami Zayn. Since that moment, he has done everything in his power to climb up through the ranks of WWE - and for the most part, he’s had an unbelievable level of success.
The Prizefighter is a former Universal, Intercontinental & United States Champion, and he’s only just getting started.
His comedy work is finally being given a chance to breathe on Monday Night Raw, and despite his somewhat poor run post-WrestleMania 33, he’s managed to bounce back in a big way. Don’t be surprised to see him back in the world title scene sometime soon.
#1 Sami Zayn
As he has done on a handful of separate occasions throughout his career, Sami Zayn pips his best friend Kevin Owens to the number one spot as our favourite international superstar on the WWE main roster.
When he was a babyface, Zayn was better than just about anyone in the ultimate underdog role, with his collection of matches with Braun Strowman being a particular highlight.
Now, however, as a whiny heel, Sami has taken his game to a whole new level. He seems to have experienced an injection of life which few could’ve anticipated because he seemed like a guy who would be impossible to boo.
Alas, alongside Owens, he seems to be the master of picking up heat from the crowd, and when the two eventually turn on each other somewhere down the line, it’s going to be a thing of beauty.
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