PWI 500

01 SETH ROLLINGS

HEIGHT: 6'1''

WEIGHT: 217

YEARS PRO: 11

2018 RANK: 5

PATH TO NUMBER 1

88 IN 2008

17 IN 2009

19 IN 2010

53 IN 2011

46 IN 2012

35 IN 2013

12 IN 2014

01 IN 2015

08 IN 2016

16 IN 2017

05 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. With the help of a low blow, slayed the “Beast,” Brock Lesnar, at WrestleMania 35, and in doing so captured his first WWE Universal championship.
2. Lasted 43 minutes—and outlasted 29 other competitors—to win the 2019 Royal Rumble match and earn a guaranteed world title opportunity at WrestleMania.
3. Pinned AJ Styles after hitting his signature stomp to retain the Universal championship in his first pay-per-view title defense, at Money in the Bank.
4. Teamed with fellow Shield member Dean Ambrose to beat Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre and win the Raw tag team championship for the fourth time on the October 22 edition of Raw.
5. Defeated Dolph Ziggler at 2018’s SummerSlam to earn his second Intercontinental championship.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 1

Four years after last topping the “PWI 500,” Rollins returns to the number-one spot, riding a wave of outstanding performances in the ring and a string of impressive victories … Despite losing the Universal title shortly after the evaluation period, Rollins remains entrenched in the main-event scene, and a second run with the championship seems inevitable … With his Shield partner Roman Reigns sidelined with leukemia, Rollins seized the opportunity to fill the role of WWE’s top guy—a role many fans believed he long deserved … Has embraced all that comes with being WWE’s standard-bearer, including defending his employer from criticism—even from his former partner, Dean Ambrose … Went public with his relationship with Raw’s other top star, Becky Lynch—making “Secky” the ultimate WWE power couple … Despite being seen by some fans as the face of corporate wrestling, the Crossfit connoisseur practices an athletic and intensely physical wrestling style that, arguably, would fit in better in AEW, NJPW, or the independent scene than it does in WWE.

02 DANIEL BRYAN

HEIGHT: 5'10''

WEIGHT: 210

YEARS PRO: 19

2018 RANK: 91

PATH TO NUMBER 2

206 IN 2001

89 IN 2002

61 IN 2003

77 IN 2004

76 IN 2005

16 IN 2006

17 IN 2007

13 IN 2008

27 IN 2009

44 IN 2010

15 IN 2011

04 IN 2012

11 IN 2013

01 IN 2014

14 IN 2015

NL IN 2016

NL IN 2017

91 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. Ended AJ Styles’ 371-day WWE championship reign in winning his fifth world title on the November 13 edition of Smackdown.
2. Successfully defended his WWE championship against Styles, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, and Kofi Kingston inside the Elimination Chamber in February—entering first and eliminating Hardy and Kingston.
3. Retained his WWE championship in a rematch against former champion Styles at December’s TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs event.
4. Won a triple-threat match against Kevin Owens and Ali to hold on to his WWE championship at March’s Fastlane event.
5. Partnered with Rowan to beat the Usos and capture the vacant Smackdown tag team championship on the May 7 edition of Smackdown.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 2

He may call himself “The New” Daniel Bryan, but in his first full year back after a three-year retirement, Bryan very much looked like the “American Dragon” of old—putting on wrestling clinics in the ring, and racking up championship gold along the way … Began the evaluation period in a bitter feud with longtime rival The Miz, with whom he traded victories … Even got to team with his wife, Brie Bella, in a winning effort against The Miz and his wife, Maryse … Despite his immense popularity, turned his back on fans—and most of modern civilization—late in 2018 … The turn led to some of Bryan’s most inspired character work, as he declared himself the “Planet’s Champion” and traded in the leather and gold WWE title belt for an eco-friendly strap made of hemp and wood … After losing the championship to Kingston, underachieved a bit by competing in Smackdown’s tag team division, but did help establish other teams by sharing a ring with them.

03 AJ STYLES

HEIGHT: 5'11''

WEIGHT: 218

YEARS PRO: 21

2018 RANK: 2

PATH TO NUMBER 3

458 IN 2000

199 IN 2001

70 IN 2002

11 IN 2003

08 IN 2004

07 IN 2005

13 IN 2006

32 IN 2007

21 IN 2008

19 IN 2009

01 IN 2010

24 IN 2011

28 IN 2012

28 IN 2013

04 IN 2014

04 IN 2015

04 IN 2016

02 IN 2017

02 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. After several inconclusive finishes in their early encounters, definitively beat Samoa Joe by submission to retain the WWE championship at Super ShowDown in Melbourne, Australia, on October 6.
2. Knocked out Rusev with his Phenomenal Forearm and got the pinfall victory to retain his WWE championship at Extreme Rules 2018.
3. Again used the Phenomenal Forearm to beat Randy Orton at WrestleMania 35.
4. Defeated Samoa Joe in controversial fashion to retain the WWE championship at Hell in a Cell.
5. Pinned U.S. champion Ricochet in a non-title match at the June 24 edition of Raw.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 3

If, for some reason, you didn’t already have him on your list of all-time greats, Styles made it that much harder to exclude him when he stretched his WWE championship reign to 371 days—tying Randy Savage for the eighth-longest reign ever …But stats don’t begin to tell the story of what makes Styles so phenomenal … Even at 42, Styles remains one of the very best performers in the world, let alone in WWE … With AEW, NJPW, and just about every other wrestling promotion coveting Styles’ talents, WWE in May wisely re-signed the former IWGP heavyweight champion to what Styles has said will be the last contract of his career … Despite showing few signs of slowing down in the ring, Styles’ career did begin to stagnate earlier this year, leading to an attitude change that saw him reunite with his former Bullet Club teammates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson …The new, rough-edged Styles won the U.S. title shortly after the evaluation period.

04 KOFI KINGSTON

HEIGHT: 6'

WEIGHT: 212

YEARS PRO: 14

2018 RANK: 82

PATH TO NUMBER 4

76 IN 2008

35 IN 2009

26 IN 2010

29 IN 2011

31 IN 2012

20 IN 2013

59 IN 2014

52 IN 2015

42 IN 2016

69 IN 2017

82 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. Defeated Daniel Bryan in a thrilling and emotional bout at WrestleMania 35 to capture the WWE championship—making him the first African-born world champion in wrestling history.
2. Beat Kevin Owens in his first pay-per-view title defense at Money in the Bank in May.
3. Bested Dolph Ziggler in a WWE championship steel cage match in June at Battleground.
4. Defeated five men—Sheamus, Cesaro, Rowan, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton—in one night, before losing to Daniel Bryan in a gauntlet match at Fastlane with a WrestleMania WWE title opportunity against Bryan on the line.
5. Teamed with Xavier Woods to defeat The Bludgeon Brothers—Rowan and Harper—in a no-disqualification match on August 21 to win the Smackdown tag team championship—The New Day’s fifth tag team title.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 4

For more evidence of how unlikely Kingston’s rise to the top of WWE is, consider this: His highest placement ever on this list comes a year after his lowest … It’s a testament to the Cinderella story that began when Ali was forced out of February’s Elimination Chamber and Kingston took his place … Eleven years of hard work, and good will, paid off as fan support carried Kingston all the way to a WrestleMania WWE title match … Championship celebration with his two young sons brought a tear to many an eye … Has proved his rise to the top of the card was no fluke by successfully defending his title against a slew of challengers, including Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and Sami Zayn, and putting most of them away with his Trouble in Paradise kick … Still occasionally teams with his New Day partners, Xavier Woods and Big E, and has insisted he has no intention of ever facing his close friends in the ring.

05 KAZUCHIKA OKADA

HEIGHT: 6'3''

WEIGHT: 236

YEARS PRO: 15

2018 RANK: 2

PATH TO NUMBER 5

230 IN 2010

286 IN 2011

40 IN 2012

05 IN 2013

05 IN 2014

27 IN 2015

02 IN 2016

01 IN 2017

03 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. Defeated Jay White in front of 17,000 fans in New York’s Madison Square Garden to capture his fifth IWGP heavyweight title at the ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard.
2. Successfully defended the IWGP heavyweight title by defeating Chris Jericho in the main event of NJPW’s Dominion event on June 9 in Osaka, Japan.
3. Scored wins over Michael Elgin, Mikey Nicholls, Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii, and Sanada to win his second New Japan Cup tournament in March and earn an IWGP title match.
4. Used his signature Rainmaker clothesline to take out Sanada and retain his IWGP heavyweight championship on Night 2 of Wrestling Dontaku in May.
5. Beat ROH star Marty Scurll in an inter-promotional bout at last September’s All In event.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 5

After bouncing around among Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jay White for 10 months, the prestigious IWGP belt looked at home back around the waist of New Japan’s “Rainmaker” … Faced considerable adversity over the past year when several of his Chaos stablemates, including his longtime manager Gedo, turned their backs on him … Despite the setbacks, Okada remained focused on his goal of returning to the top of the NJPW hierarchy … Having put his famed rivalries with Tanahashi and Kenny Omega behind him, and having run through other top contenders, Okada finds himself in need of new, and worthy, opponents for his next series of in-ring classics … His Chaos partner, Will Ospreay, may be the best candidate for the job … In 2017, became the first Japanese wrestler ever to be ranked number one in the “PWI 500” … Equally important to New Japan as Okada’s world-class talent and showmanship is his proven loyalty to the company.

06 JOHNNY GARGANO

HEIGHT: 5'10''

WEIGHT: 199

YEARS PRO: 14

2018 RANK: 34

PATH TO NUMBER 6

410 IN 2008

363 IN 2010

268 IN 2011

59 IN 2012

51 IN 2013

62 IN 2014

109 IN 2015

114 IN 2016

80 IN 2017

34 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. Defeated Adam Cole in a sensational two-out-of-three falls bout at NXT TakeOver: New York on April 5 to capture the vacant NXT championship.
2. Beat Ricochet at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix in January to win the NXT North American championship.
3. With the help of his DIY partner Tommaso Ciampa, pinned Aleister Black to win a steel cage match against the former NXT champion in November.
4. Bested Undisputed Era member Roderick Strong in a televised non-title bout in April.
5. Teamed with Ciampa to beat Raw tag team champions The Revival in DIY’s Raw debut on February 18.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 6

No American wrestler has more consistently delivered great performances in big-match situations over the last couple years than “Johnny Wrestling” … In addition to having an exciting move set, Gargano has shown an unparalleled ability to get fans emotionally invested in his matches—making nearly every bout he’s in feel like one with extraordinarily high stakes … Was miscast as a heel for about three months during the evaluation period, even though he did fine work in the role … Before long, found himself back in the embrace of NXT fans, who exploded in joy when he finally achieved his goal of winning the NXT heavyweight championship in April … Unfortunately, his title reign was short-lived, as Gargano lost the title to Adam Cole in another classic encounter two months later at TakeOver: 25 … Also short-lived was Gargano’s stint on WWE’s main roster, which lasted only a few appearances before he returned to NXT … As strange as it may sound, many fans breathed a sigh of relief when Gargano was sent back to WWE’s developmental territory—skeptical that shot-callers in Raw and Smackdown would know how to properly harness Gargano’s underground popularity.

07 ROMAN REIGNS

HEIGHT: 6'3''

WEIGHT: 265

YEARS PRO: 9

2018 RANK: 7

PATH TO NUMBER 7

351 IN 2012

39 IN 2013

07 IN 2014

04 IN 2015

01 IN 2016

04 IN 2017

07 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. After several failed attempts, finally defeated Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2018 to earn his first Universal championship.
2. In his first singles match since returning from a four-month hiatus to treat his leukemia, beat Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 35.
3. One night after winning the Universal championship, successfully defended it against former titleholder Finn Balor on Raw.
4. Reunited with his Shield partners to take down McIntyre, Braun Strowman, and Dolph Ziggler at Super ShowDown on October 6.
5. Needed just 10 seconds to beat Elias at Money in the Bank on May 19.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 7

The winner of 2018’s Most Inspirational Wrestler award missed about a third of the evaluation period while tending to his leukemia, which Reigns—then the reigning Universal champion—disclosed to the world in shocking fashion in October … Returned in the spring with an apparent new lease on life—both because his cancer was in remission, and, perhaps, because some of the pressure of being WWE’s top act had been lifted from his shoulders … Now sharing that mantle with Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, and others, “The Big Dog” looks to be having as much fun in the ring as he has in years … Still loves to use the Superman Punch—even against 73-year-old wrestling promoters … Technically drafted from Raw to Smackdown in April, but remains a major presence on both brands … Since returning, Reigns’ cheering section still isn’t exactly rousing, but the vehement “boos” have largely subsided … It may have taken a bout with cancer, but at least fans have learned to better appreciate what they have in Roman Reigns—a talented, hardworking, and dedicated star, who, with the proper support, could help carry WWE for years to come.

08 KENNY OMEGA

HEIGHT: 6'

WEIGHT: 228

YEARS PRO: 17

2018 RANK: 1

PATH TO NUMBER 8

422 IN 2008

318 IN 2009

142 IN 2010

85 IN 2011

185 IN 2012

125 IN 2013

183 IN 2014

54 IN 2015

23 IN 2016

05 IN 2017

01 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. Beat Cody Rhodes and Kota Ibushi in a rare threeway IWGP heavyweight championship match to retain his title at NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling event in Tokyo on October 8.
2. Defeated Tomohiro Ishii with his devastating One-Winged Angel finisher to retain the IWGP heavyweight title at Destruction in Hiroshima on September 15.
3. Successfully defended his IWGP heavyweight title for the first time by beating Cody Rhodes in San Francisco on July 7, 2018.
4. Beat Mexican sensation Pentagon Jr. in an interpromotional dream match at All In on September 1.
5. Teamed with The Young Bucks to defeat The Lucha Brothers and Laredo Kid—securing his first victory in his new home promotion, AEW, at Fyter Fest on June 29.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 8

There have been some major forks in the road over the past year for 2018’s number-one ranked wrestler … Late in the year, Omega parted ways with The Bullet Club that he once led … In January, he lost his IWGP heavyweight title … And, in February, he left with New Japan … After a bidding war that included WWE, Omega opted to join the upstart All Elite Wrestling, where he also accepted an executive vice president position … The native Canadian’s trials continued into AEW’s first show, Double or Nothing, where he suffered a defeat and a broken nose in the main event at the hands of Chris Jericho … Despite the setbacks, “The Best Bout Machine” remains primed to make a big impact in AEW, which has called Omega its “biggest acquisition” … Having never performed on WWE’s main roster, Omega is expected to be the face of AEW as it positions itself as the weekly antidote to WWE’s brand of corporate sports entertainment that many fans have rejected … Although some remain skeptical about how well Omega’s quirky personality will translate on primetime American television, this much is for certain: A great wrestling match is universal, and the “Omega Man” has raised the bar for what those look like.

09 HIROSHI TANAHASHI

HEIGHT: 5'11''

WEIGHT: 230

YEARS PRO: 20

2018 RANK: 31

PATH TO NUMBER 9

43 IN 2006

40 IN 2007

20 IN 2008

07 IN 2009

39 IN 2010

22 IN 2011

11 IN 2012

03 IN 2013

11 IN 2014

11 IN 2015

27 IN 2016

39 IN 2017

31 IN 2018

TOP FIVE MOMENTS DURING EVALUATION PERIOD:

1. Defeated Kenny Omega in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13 in the Tokyo Dome on January 4 to garner his eighth IWGP heavyweight championship.
2. Set a modern points record of 15 by beating Michael Elgin, Evil, Bad Luck Fale, Togi Makabe, Minoru Suzuki, and Yoshi-Hashi to advance to the finals of the 2018 G-1 Climax tournament.
3. Won the tournament by defeating Kota Ibushi in the finals on August 12.
4. Defeated old foe Kazuchika Okada on September 23 to successfully defend his contract for an IWGP heavyweight title shot at the Tokyo Dome.
5. Again defended his Wrestle Kingdom contract by beating Jay White on October 8 a King of Pro Wrestling.

WHY HE'S NUMBER 9

Just when it seemed he was starting to wind down his hall of fame career, the 42-year-old Tanahashi showed fans during the evaluation period that he still very much has what it takes to be New Japan’s “ace.” … Added to his remarkable résumé with a third G1 Climax tournament victory, 10th Tokyo Dome main event, and eighth IWGP heavyweight title—beating a record previously held by, well, himself … Reign lasted only a month, as he lost the title in his first defense to Jay White in February … Slowed by several nagging injuries, but continues to push his body to its limits … The little bit Tanahashi has lost in his physical abilities in recent years he’s more than made up for through his unparalleled ability to convey drama and emotion in a match … As NJPW went through a state of flux, with many top stars