2021 PWI Readers' Poll

EVERY YEAR, OUR official Readers’ Poll serves as a document of the state of the wrestling industry—a snapshot of the sport, along with its most talented and influential figures. This year, for the first time, we have opened the poll to all readers of our magazine. While this made it slightly more challenging to compile and analyze all the responses, PWI’s Al Castle and Kristen Ashly were up to the task. (They’ve also written the text that follows in this section.) Without further ado … here are the results of this year’s PWI Poll!

1. WHO IS, POUND FOR POUND, THE BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD?

KENNY OMEGA 25%

DANIEL BRYAN 8%

AJ STYLES 8%

OTHERS 59%

With three world championship belts around his waist, and a Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame induction on his resume, Kenny Omega was able to convince fully a quarter of poll respondents what he has long known for himself—he is the best in the world. Even 22 years into his spectacular career, Daniel Bryan is still setting the bar for wrestling excellence, and has added to his list of classic performances with his Elimination Chamber victory and WrestleMania main event outing. And, while AJ Styles has taken a decided step back from main event singles stardom, his reputation in the ring still precedes him.

OTHER VOTE GETTERS: Roman Reigns, Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada

2. IF YOU COULD WATCH THE MATCHES OF ONLY ONE WRESTLER, WHOM WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

KENNY OMEGA 12%

DANIEL BRYAN 12%

AJ STYLES 7%

OTHERS 69%

Once again, poll respondents viewed Omega, Bryan, and Styles as the best in the business … and their picks to occupy their time, if stuck on the proverbial island with nothing to do but watch wrestling. With fans split on whether Omega or Bryan can better deliver the goods in the ring, perhaps a dream match is required to settle the debate. While it’s unlikely that Styles will be able to deliver any match-of-the-year candidates as long as he’s teaming with Omos, he may have enough phenomenal performances over his 23-year career to keep him on this list for years to come.

OTHER VOTE GETTERS: Sasha Banks, Cesaro, Jon Moxley

3. WHO IS PRO WRESTLING’S GREATEST STRIKER/BRAWLER?

JON MOXLEY 35%

EDDIE KINGSTON 6%

WALTER 6%

OTHERS 53%

More than a third of poll takers know AEW’s “Wild Thing” is willing to do just about anything to inflict punishment on an opponent—including getting himself blown up, if necessary. Even while achieving global wrestling mega-stardom, Mox is all too willing to return to his deathmatch roots, as evidenced by his recent challenge of GCW icon Nick Gage. Trailing Moxley from a distance is his riding partner in AEW, Eddie Kingston, who is cut from the same bloody cloth. Unlike some others, NXT U.K. Champ WALTER didn’t need weapons to rank high on this list—only those ham hocks.

OTHER VOTE GETTERS: Roman Reigns, Tomohiro Ishii, Kevin Owens

4. WHO IS PRO WRESTLING’S GREATEST AERIALIST?

REY FENIX 31%

RICOCHET 14%

REY MYSTERIO 9%

WILL OSPREAY 9%

OTHERS 37%

Fenix continues to set a new standard for what it means to be a high-flyer in wrestling. As he showed in his 5-star classic with Kenny Omega late last year, the masked AEW superstar seems nearly as comfortable navigating the top turnbuckle—or the top rope, itself—as most wrestlers are the mat. WWE fans still appreciate Ricochet’s aerial skills, even though they’re rarely displayed on WWE’s main TV shows these days. Mysterio, at age 46, remains an inspiration for modern aerialists, including Ospreay, who is still known to get serious air, even while working a more heavyweight style.

OTHER VOTE GETTERS: Io Shirai, AJ Styles, Jordan Oliver

5. WHO IS PRO WRESTLING’S GREATEST POWERHOUSE?

BOBBY LASHLEY 22%

ROMAN REIGNS 14%

BRIAN CAGE 7%

BRAUN STROWMAN 7%

OTHERS 50%

The Raw brand’s reigning world champion—and “Chief Hurt Officer”—has obliterated opponents over the last year with his strength, and even proved too strong for fellow big men, like former champ Drew McIntyre. Smackdown’s champ, Reigns, has similarly used his size to dominate his brand, handily toppling fellow powerhouses like Cesaro. Brian Cage looks every part the “Machine” that he’s been dubbed, and, with Taz’ leadership, has become a legit threat to the AEW World title. For now, the former “Monster Among Men” will have to settle