PWI 500 reveals top ten Wrestlers of 2017 

PWI 500 is Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s annual attempt to rank the top 500 wrestlers in the world. There are always arguments that arise every year among hardcore wrestling fans regarding the rankings. The wrestlers are ranked according to their in-ring ability, kayfabe, win-loss records, championship won, feuds, quality of opposition and a wrestler’s prominence within their promotion.

This year’s ranking window stretched from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017. As usual, WWE superstars dominated a majority of the rankings. However, PWI still included some NJPW megastars. Some fantastic superstars like Will Ospreay, Kushida and Tetsuya Naito just missed the top ten; they were ranked at 21, 20 and 12 respectively.

Leave your comment below on what you think of this list. Now, let’s take a look at who made the top ten.

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#10 The Miz

The Miz has been one of the most consistent performers in WWE for some time now. Whether it’s in the ring or on the mic, The Miz has definitely come a long way. He has been on a stellar run as Intercontinental Champion until losing the belt to Roman Reigns.

The Miz has raised the title’s prominence through some compelling rivalries with Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and General Manager Daniel Bryan. To be honest, I’m not surprised The Miz made the list. The A-lister has been one of the most entertaining performers to watch on WWE television.

#9 Bobby Roode

Bobby Roode was NXT’s franchise player for much of 2017. Roode debuted for NXT in August 2016 and became a huge star within the developmental brand almost instantly.

"The Glorious One" went on the capture the NXT Championship from Shinsuke Nakamura this January. Bobby Roode has been a huge star around the world ever since his days in TNA.

#9 Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe debuted on January 30th episode of RAW, attacking Seth Rollins and aligning himself with Triple H. Prior to that, Joe was a dominant force in NXT and even held the brand’s main championship for a few months before making it to the main roster. Even on the main roster, Joe was quickly pushed to the top, feuding with Rollins, Balor, and Brock Lesnar, earning himself a Universal Championship match in the process. Though Joe lost that match, his dominant run in NXT and WWE has earned him a place at number 8.

#7 Dean Ambrose

At the start of this year’s PWI window, Ambrose was the WWE Champion. However, Ambrose lost the title to AJ Styles at Backlash in September. Ambrose never managed to regain the title. On January 3rd episode of Smackdown Live, Ambrose managed to defeat

The Miz, winning his second Intercontinental Title in the process. Ambrose held the title for 152 days before losing it to The Miz. Nevertheless, this year has been a rollercoaster ride for the lunatic fringe, but Ambrose has still managed to wiggle his way into the seventh spot.

#6 Shinsuke Nakamura

Within four months of his NXT debut, Nakamura captured the brand’s top title. However, his reign was short-lived. He left NXT as a two-time NXT Champion. The King of Strong Style debuted on April 4th episode of Smackdown Live interrupting The Miz and Maryse.

Nakamura then feuded with Dolph Ziggler. His biggest win came on August 1st episode when Nakamura defeated John Cena to earn himself a number one contender match for the WWE Championship. Since then, Nakamura has earned himself two WWE Championship matches. Though he lost both those matches to Jinder Mahal, Nakamura still remains one of the top babyfaces in the company.

#5 Kenny Omega

Kenny Omega burst onto the NJPW scene in August 2016 by winning the G1 Climax tournament to earn a shot at Kazuchika Okada’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He was unable to win the title, but Omega has put on stellar performance throughout the year and has become one of NJPW’s biggest draws.

Omega made history by becoming the first-ever IWGP United States Champion. All this has earned himself a spot at number 5. To be honest, I don’t agree with this ranking. Kenny Omega, based on the 6-star matches he has put on consistently, he should be in the top 2. In my opinion, he is the best wrestler in the world today.

#4 Roman Reigns

Though Roman Reigns finished first in last year’s ranking, he has slipped down to number four due to a number of high profile losses. Despite this, he remains the most consistently pushed wrestlers on the roster and even held the United States Championship for 106 days.

Moreover, most of the WWE’s programming seems to revolve around Roman Reigns these days. So it's clear that we can't blame them for including him in the top-5.

#3 Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens has been on an impressive run this past year, he won the Universal Championship and managed to hold the belt for an impressive 188 days before losing it at Fastlane.

Following that, he embarked on one of the best feuds of the year with Chris Jericho and ended up winning the United States Championship twice. His skills, both on the mic and in the ring have also improved over the past year. Hence, Kevin Owens finds himself in the third spot.

#2 AJ Styles

You just can’t prepare a list of top 10 wrestlers in the world without including “The Phenomenal One”, AJ Styles. Though Styles fell out of the WWE Championship race following his loss to John Cena, he moved into the United States Title division, where he has been one of the best in-ring performers.

AJ Styles is also widely regarded as the face of the blue brand since the early post-draft days.

#1 Kazuchika Okada

Okada is now the first Japanese wrestler to ever top the PWI 500. For most of you who don’t know, Okada is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion and has held the belt for 432 days. He is widely regarded as the cornerstone of NJPW’s success. Being considered as NJPW’s franchise player for well over a year, Okada has had stellar matches throughout the year. Okada has successfully defended his title against every challenger.

The Kenny Omega Vs Kazuchika Okada trilogy may be the best trilogy of all time. I didn’t expect to find anyone else ranked at number one than Okada. For those of you who have never watched Okada and Kenny Omega wrestle, you are missing out on something really special.