The 17 highest rated WWE superstars, according to fans

WWE has hundreds of superstars on its roster. Out of this bloated number, which ones are the cream of the crop? Debates will rage endlessly, but there is a good way to find credible answers to this question.

Cagematch.net is a long-running site where fans from all over the world can rate wrestlers, events, and matches. With thousands of users, each rating is a consistent cross-section of fan opinion.

Of the hundreds of active wrestlers listed on the WWE roster, only 17 have ratings above 9.0 on Cagematch. This is a list of those 17.

---

#17 Samoa Joe (9.07)

It's little wonder why Samoa Joe is so highly praised. Few would dispute that he's currently the best promo man in the company. He's bulletproof to WWE's bad writing and can make even the worst material interesting. Could anyone else have made reading from a storybook one of the best segments of the year?

While he's not the wrestler he once was, Samoa Joe is also still an intense in-ring competitor. He still has surprising agility for a man of his size and beats his opponents into submission with such an intense scowl on his face that he makes his matches feel as authentic as his promos.

Samoa Joe has not only succeeded, but done so with excess any time the company has put a spotlight on him. His upcoming match with AJ Styles at Super Showdown this Saturday should be one of the best matches the company puts on in October.

#16 Johnny Gargano (9.10)

If ratings were limited to just this year, Johnny Gargano would probably rank first. I strongly suspect that when we're looking back on the best matches of the year two months from now, Johnny Gargano will have taken part in at least three of the top five.

His feud with Tommaso Ciampa has been far and away the year's best and his character arc is one of the best stories WWE has ever told.

Johnny Gargano is taking a pause from Ciampa for now, but he's going to come back with a vengeance soon. He's always been a great wrestler (as his rating proves), but this year has seen him explode into one of the best in the business.

#15 Pete Dunne (9.17)

There's a reason Pete Dunne has been entrusted with a championship for nearly 500 days. He's one of the best talents in the business right now. Any time he gets put in a big singles match, it becomes a match of the year candidate with almost mechanical certainty.

As we saw yesterday, though, Dunne isn't just a great in-ring competitor. He's versatile and he looks intimidating despite his small stature in comparison to his peers.

Soon, we're likely to see Pete Dunne participate in a War Games match. Colour me excited!

#14 Sami Zayn (9.21)

Sami Zayn's glory days appear to be behind him, having been put in one bad angle after another since his "promotion" to the main roster, but there's a reason his rating is so high. He's been part of some of the most memorable matches of the decade.

Zayn's victory over Neville at NXT TakeOver: R-Evolution is still considered by many to be the best match in NXT history. His clashes with Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens are also fondly remembered.

Those memories don't fade with bad booking.

#13 Keith Lee (9.24)

Keith Lee hasn't done much in WWE yet, but there's a reason why he has such a high rating, and you've already seen part of it. Keith Lee combines the power of a super heavyweight with the agility of a cruiserweight. He's equal parts Braun Strowman and Ricochet? How is that even possible?!

By this time next year, Keith Lee will be one of the major stars in NXT. A run with the NXT or North American Championship is inevitable. With the yellow brand's presentation, expect his rating to only increase.

#12 Kevin Owens (9.25)

Like his best friend, Kevin Owens' glory days appear to be behind him. He too, has been part of one bad angle after another since his "promotion" to the main roster, including his run with the Universal Championship. Only the Festival of Friendship gave us a taste of Owens at his best.

It's unclear where his direction will take him on Raw, but many will recall his NXT and independent days with fondness.

#11 Shinsuke Nakamura (9.30)

This rating will no doubt surprise many, including me. Nakamura's WWE run has been considered underwhelming by a whole lot of fans (and his recent ratings reflect this), but his credibility from New Japan has undoubtedly enabled him to accrue such a high rating.

The current United States Champion needs a feud for his title at the moment. His heel turn has reinvigorated him in many ways, particularly as far as his character goes, but he needs the benefit of better booking to go with it.

#10 Kassius Ohno (9.31)

This is a rating that will no doubt surprise many, but even now, Kassius Ohno remains a great worker. There's a reason why the yellow brand puts him in the ring with the people they want to build up. They know that he'll make them look good. Matt Riddle is going to be the next to benefit.

#9 Cesaro (9.33)

Cesaro has been regarded as one of the most underrated wrestlers (by the company) on the roster for years now. There's a reason why. Whenever he's been given the chance to perform, even now, he takes the ball and runs with it.

Even when not given a singles run, he's been part of the reassertion of the importance of tag team wrestling in the company over the last couple of years. This year's hiccup in the tag team division was no doubt due to bad booking involving him and his absence from television for much of the summer.

Expect him to be part of a show-stealing match in Australia this Saturday.

#8 Asuka and Daniel Bryan - tie (9.35)

Despite the horrendous booking she's suffered since WrestleMania, Asuka remains popular. There's a reason why. She still steals the show. Her match with Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania remains the best women's match of 2018 so far, and her encounter with Sasha on Raw is up there as well.

In everything from her explosive moveset to her unmistakable look and charisma which need not be spoken, Asuka excels. It's no wonder she's the highest rated woman on the main roster.

---

Daniel Bryan, on the other hand, is the year's miraculous comeback story, and everyone is thankful for it. Bryan is explosive in the ring, intense on the microphone, and has a persona that's impossible to dislike. His return promo remains the best segment in WWE this year.

He hasn't yet had a true match of the year candidate since his return, but hopefully that will change in Australia this Saturday, where he and The Miz will battle to determine the next contender to the WWE Championship.

#6 Kairi Sane (9.36)

Aside from Daniel Bryan's return, Kairi Sane's victory for the NXT Women's Championship was the most cathartic moment of 2018.

Not a soul in Brooklyn was on her opponent's side in that match, because Kairi Sane is arguably the purest babyface on the roster.

Her inherent lovability smashes through language issues. She's charismatic enough to do anything and still be loved for it. Who else could look as silly as she does wearing a pirate getup to the ring and still get so over?

Everyone will be holding their breath at Evolution, hoping that Shayna Baszler doesn't get the title back. That tension should make for one of the best matches this month.

#5 Kurt Angle (9.42)

Kurt Angle is far from the athlete he was in his prime, but he's still listed as an active wrestler on the roster. His matches from the 2000s remain some of the most beloved classics in company history. With SmackDown's 1000th episode approaching rapidly, his Iron Man match with Brock Lesnar in 2003 comes to mind first as the blue brand's best ever.

Kurt Angle is supposedly taking some time off to train for an in-ring return. The fact that he's still as beloved as he is even as a shell of his former self attests to how fond the memories of his greatest moments are.

#4 AJ Styles (9.47)

AJ Styles has been entrusted with the WWE Championship for so long for a reason - there's nothing in this business that he's bad at. That, combined with a level of in-ring skill that still sees him regarded as the best in the world by many, has cemented his place as the highest rated full time male superstar in the company.

Styles had a slow first half this year, but his second half has seen him get back into form, starting with the finale of his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura, he then followed that up with standout matches against Samoa Joe and Andrade "Cien" Almas.

His blowoff match with Joe this Saturday should be one of October's best matches.

#3 The Undertaker (9.53)

He's a shell of his former self, but Undertaker's matches from 2005 to 2014 defined a decade. His matches before that, while not quite as high in calibre, were still innovative and created memories which will last forever.

With possibly the greatest gimmick of all time in addition to those matches and memories, it's little wonder why The Undertaker has accumulated such a high rating.

The Undertaker will be in action this Saturday, and while we shouldn't expect it to be a great match, people are eager to see what he does next.

#2 Io Shirai (9.54)

Talk about a good signing. Right out of the gate, WWE has acquired one of the highest rated wrestlers in the entire world. We saw only a hint of this last Wednesday and it still blew us away.

Booked properly, Io Shirai is going to take the NXT women's division to a level not seen since the days of the Four Horsewomen very soon.

Accumulating her high rating during her Stardom days, expect it to grow even higher with WWE's presentation.

#1 Shawn Michaels (9.61)

OK, so, technically, Shawn Michaels isn't an active wrestler. He's listed as a "legend." Nevertheless, with his return to the ring seemingly imminent, it wouldn't be wise not to list him here.

Michaels is considered WWE's greatest in-ring performer ever, having the match of the night in just about every WrestleMania he's ever taken part in.

With all of that and his charisma, his founding of DX, and every other accolade, there's little reason to be surprised he's WWE's highest-rated performer.

His 2018 self won't be what he was 10 years ago, but even a reduced Shawn Michaels, unless something truly surprising happens, should still be a force to be reckoned with.