All right, it's been out almost a week over at their blog (prowrestlingillustrated.blogspot.com); it's about time I formatted it up for us to discuss.
As usual, I have added value by running the names against last year's list and then trying to catch the name changes the script wouldn't have. (If you see somebody unranked for 2010 who SHOULD have a ranking, let me know and it'll get corrected. I have only gone through the top 200 as I type this but will do a more thorough audit after I'm able to go buy my own newstand copy... hopefully next time I'm at the grocery store)
1 12 The Miz 2 4 Randy Orton 3 2 John Cena 4 79 Kane 5 14 Takashi Seguira 6 83 Alberto Del Rio 7 33 Mr. Anderson 8 13 Rey Mysterio Jr. 9 37 Eddie Edwards 10 3 CM Punk 11 15 Rob Van Dam 12 10 Sheamus 13 46 Roderick Strong 14 121 Suwama 15 44 Daniel Bryan 16 20 Jeff Hardy 17 50 Dolph Ziggler 18 9 Kurt Angle 19 109 Wade Barrett 20 56 Jeff Jarrett 21 60 Sting 22 39 Hiroshi Tanahashi 23 386 Ultimo Dragon 24 1 AJ Styles 25 32 Davey Richards 26 47 Christopher Daniels 27 27 John Morrison 28 16 Dr. Wagner Jr. 29 26 Kofi Kingston 30 51 Robert Roode 31 17 Big Show 32 38 Matt Morgan 33 22 Christian 34 92 Kazarian 35 41 Cody Rhodes 36 74 Chris Hero 37 43 James Storm 38 48 Ricky Banderas 39 21 Jack Swagger 40 77 Bully Ray 41 70 Satoshi Kojima 42 31 Samoa Joe 43 42 Sin Cara 44 80 Claudio Castagnoli 45 7 Shinsuke Nakamura 46 118 El Generico 47 88 Alex Shelley 48 95 Chris Sabin 49 61 Adam Pearce 50 243? El Zorro 51 55 R-Truth 52 30 Drew McIntryre 53 19 Seth Rollins 54 75 Togi Makabe 55 71 Hernandez 56 36 D’Angelo Dinero 57 99 Mark Henry 58 138 Negro Casas 59 97 Gunner 60 23 Abyss 61 141 Justin Gabriel 62 45 Douglas Williams 63 73 Brother Devon 64 68 Go Shiozaki 65 66 Matt Hardy 66 100 Heath Slater 67 304 Robbie E 68 34 Ted DiBiase Jr. 69 63 Evan Bourne 70 52 Naomichi Marufuji 71 76 Shelton Benjamin 72 193 Tommy Dreamer 73 217 Prince Devitt 74 62 Jay Briscoe 75 67 Rob Terry 76 25 Austin Aries 77 116 Max Buck 78 93 Ezekiel Jackson 79 --- Charlie Haas 80 317 Jushin Liger 81 86 Mark Briscoe 82 135 Orlando Jordan 83 119 Jeremy Buck 84 223 Jesse Neal 85 142 Kenny Omega 86 --- Shingo Takagi 87 94 Carlito 88 81 Volador Jr. 89 --- Crimson 90 98 BxB Hulk 91 124 Shannon Moore 92 155 Vladimir Kozlov 93 102 Homicide 94 101 Colt Cabana 95 105 Yuji Nagata 96 49 Eric Young 97 207 David Otunga 98 273 Yamato 99 228 Tommaso Ciampa 100 350 Santino Marella 101 96 Kenny King 102 103 Jon Moxley 103 352 The Sheik 104 209 Low-Ki 105 130 Great Khali 106 201 Alex Riley 107 129 Brian Kendrick 108 150 Jimmy Jacobs 109 123 Rhett Titus 110 163 Scott Steiner 111 64 Minoru Suzuki 112 148 La Parka 113 58 Tyson Kidd 114 --- Mike Bennett 115 417 Adam Cole 116 283 Johnny Curtis 117 114 Michael McGilicutty 118 134 Jay Lethal 119 366 Mason Ryan 120 131 Tyson Dux 121 59 MVP 122 54 Kevin Steen 123 --- Minoru Tanaka 124 69 David Hart Smith 125 24 Ryota Hama 126 29 Ultimo Guerrero 127 35 Hirooki Goto 128 65 Blue Demon Jr. 129 331 Husky Harris 130 192 Giant Bernard 131 91 La Sombra 132 343 Michael Tarver 133 133 Chessman 134 151 Kaz Hayashi 135 215 Ryusuke Taguchi 136 87 Amazing Red 137 78 Yoshi Tatsu 138 40 Yoshihiro Takayama 139 212 Toru Yano 140 117 Zack Ryder 141 106 Delirious 142 --- Takuma Sano 143 125 Primo Colon 144 122 Karl Anderson 145 --- Wataru Inoue 146 354 L.A. Park 147 104 Averno 148 --- Kotaru Suzuki 149 89 Mohammed Yone 150 430 Hiram Tua 151 191 Joe Doering 152 195 Joe E. Legend 153 84 JTG 154 250 Kota Ibushi 155 206 Takeshi Morishima 156 111 Mephisto 157 --- KONO 158 --- Taiyo Kea 159 --- Big Daddy Voodoo 160 139 Rhino 161 112 Steve Corino 162 177 Chavo Guerrero Jr. 163 180 Tyler Reks 164 107 Magnus 165 172 Chris Masters 166 143 Masato Tanaka 167 --- Anarquia 168 --- Yoshinobu Kanemaru 169 126 William Regal 170 --- Murphy 171 158 CIMA 172 154 Trent Barreta 173 132 KENTA 174 --- Heavy Metal 175 255 Curt Hawkins 176 115 Masakatsu Funaki 177 144 Paul London 178 90 Luke Gallows 179 140 Kensuke Sasaki 180 147 Ray Gonzalez 181 --- Akitoshi Saito 182 188 Atlantis 183 167 Yoshihiro Tajiri 184 --- Yujiro Takahashi 185 --- Brodus Clay 186 146 Tetsuya Naito 187 174 Sami Callihan 188 183 Pac 189 296 Jimmy Uso 190 211 Jon Davis 191 324 Bo Rotundo 192 291 Jey Uso 193 181 Jun Akiyama 194 196 Bison Smith 195 248 Oliver John 196 232 Hector Garza 197 --- Masato Yoshino 198 202 Kory Chavis 199 210 Jack Evans 200 203 Arik Cannon 201 162 Perro Aguayo Jr. 202 --- Tim Storm 203 57 Electroshock 204 --- Taiji Ishimori 205 197 Darren Young 206 364 Richie Steamboat 207 166 Extreme Tiger 208 --- Xavier Woods 209 257 Masahiro Chono 210 --- Hartley Jackson 211 --- Brad Allen 212 110 Naruki Doi 213 380 Derrick Bateman 214 --- Johnny Vandal 215 --- Big E. Langston 216 --- Eric Escobar 217 157 Silver King 218 --- Chris Grey 219 --- Calvin Raines 220 235 Brodie Lee 221 --- Jerry Lawler 222 275 Tommy Taylor 223 --- Byron Saxton 224 338 Glamour Boy Shane 225 --- Peter Orlov 226 245 Drake Younger 227 --- Jado 228 --- Ultimo Gladiador 229 271 Michael Elgin 230 247 Raven 231 --- Matt Taven 232 --- Kyle O’Reilly 233 190 Necro Butcher 234 --- Chris Angel 235 216 Rasche Brown 236 --- Jon Rekon 237 72 Cibernetico 238 120 Keiji Muto 239 --- Sabu 240 238 Percy Watson 241 --- Keith Walker 242 149 Joe Lider 243 --- Gedo 244 --- Conor O’Brian 245 279 Metal Master 246 182 Martin Stone 247 256 Cody Hawk 248 340 Tim Donst 249 --- Titus O’Neil 250 --- Octagon 251 277 Vampiro 252 --- TJ Cannon 253 323 Dragon Rojo Jr. 254 233 Tiger Mask IV 255 236 Super Crazy 256 --- Jacob Novak 257 199 Blue Panther 258 159 Caylen Croft 259 263 Bruce Maxwell 260 --- Lucky Cannon 261 398 John McChesney 262 391 Ricky Reyes 263 --- Tokyo Monster Kahagas 264 186 Petey Williams 265 265 Akebono 266 226 Akuma 267 204 Cody Deaner 268 363 Johnny Gargano 269 221 Shawn Spears 270 268 Sterling James Keenan 271 --- Latino 272 267 Ryan Eagles 273 240 Mascara Dorado 274 --- Akira Tozawa 275 330 Matt Cross 276 282 Derek Wylde 277 --- Damien Sandow 278 171 Joey Ryan 279 --- “Mr. 450” Hammett 280 161 Chuck Taylor 281 259 Jigsaw 282 220 Icarus 283 270 Ares 284 244 Ruckus 285 --- Jayson Cypress 286 --- Kazuchika Okada 287 346 Tito Colon 288 252 Eddie Kingston 289 222 Mike Quackenbush 290 280 Josh Daniels 291 254 Rocky Romero 292 --- Mason Beck 293 272 Sebastian Suave 294 --- Darin Corbin 295 302 Joey Mercury 296 358 Hunico 297 --- Robbie Heart 298 --- Rich Swann 299 389 Matt Riviera 300 242 Dragon Kid 301 --- Jason Bane 302 --- Dennis Rivera 303 294 Pepper Parks 304 --- Lance Bravado 305 --- Harlem Bravado 306 --- Dylan Kage 307 --- Kijimuna 308 --- Dan Lawrence 309 --- Matt Cage 310 335 Silas Young 311 --- Craig Classic 312 --- Shane Hollister 313 328 Brandon Locke 314 --- Sugar Dunkerton 315 --- Slyck Wagner Brown 316 308 Aden Chambers 317 --- Robert Anthony 318 307 Robbie McAllister 319 --- T.J. Perkins 320 276 Hallowicked 321 --- Cliff Compton 322 362 Don Paysan 323 442 Robbie Gilmore 324 --- Max Bauer 325 253 N8 Mattson 326 --- Brian Milonas 327 --- Mohamad Ali Vaez 328 452 Wes Brisco 329 --- Brandon Espinosa 330 472 Eli Cottonwood 331 --- Arick Andrews 332 --- Desean Bishop 333 439 Samuel Elias 334 --- Christopher Rockwell 335 349 J.D. Maverick 336 --- Jinder Mahal 337 436 Donny Marlow 338 --- Alexander Rusev 339 --- Ace Hawkins 340 --- Cole Callway 341 --- Jerome Hendrix 342 321 The Blue Meanie 343 --- Andy Ridge 344 --- C.J. Esparza 345 306 Mike Mondo 346 --- Ophidian 347 --- Diego Corleone 348 --- R.D. Evans 349 --- Amasis 350 --- Jake O’Reilly 351 377 Kirby Mack 352 --- Brett Gakiya 353 --- Steve Boz 354 --- Jake Crist 355 --- Tommy Treznik 356 --- DJ Hyde 357 --- Ryan Bisbal 358 --- TJ Mack 359 --- Paredyse 360 394 Vance Nevada 361 374 Shane Haste 362 --- Franky the Mobster 363 239 Lince Dorado 364 --- Dave Crist 365 --- Kyle Sebastian 366 --- Devon Moore 367 381 Asylum 368 459 Corey Hollis 369 447 Mike Sydal 370 --- Ryan Rush 371 --- Roman Leakee 372 376 Matt Burns 373 --- Russell Walker 374 382 Kevin Grace 375 --- Adam Revolver 376 --- Steven Walters 377 --- Sam Shields 378 --- Danny Havoc 379 278 Mike Rollins 380 --- Ted McNaler 381 403 Damien Slater 382 --- Jake Manning 383 348 Ryan McBride 384 357 Sinn Bodhi 385 370 Josh Alexander 386 --- Bloody Harker Dirge 387 --- RJ City 388 --- Alex Silva 389 411 Mega 390 369 Jonny Puma 391 --- Aaron Epic 392 --- Adam Windsor 393 --- Cobian 394 390 Chase Del Monte 395 --- Shiima Xion 396 407 Ricochet 397 419 Papadon 398 405 Josef Von Schmidt 399 359 Pat Buck 400 --- Dan Maff 401 --- Jason Static 402 400 Bazooka Joe 403 429 Bobby Shields 404 415 Grizzly Redwood 405 420 Breaker Morant 406 422 Scott Zenzen 407 375 Bobby Dempsey 408 --- Maifu 409 --- Kekoa the Flyin’ Hawaiian 410 471 Kid America 411 --- Mathieu St-Jacques 412 --- Saifu 413 416 Bryan Logan 414 --- Sylvan Grenier 415 474 Crazzy Steve 416 413 Eric Cooper 417 --- Brandon Aarons 418 406 Matt Logan 419 --- Pat Guennette 420 --- Whipdog Johnson 421 --- Damian Dragon 422 --- Jason Jones 423 --- Cheech 424 --- Elvis Pridemore 425 --- Rastakhan 426 --- Mr. Fantastic 427 --- Matt Saigon 428 --- Player Uno 429 --- MASADA 430 --- Sexxy Eddie 431 --- Benjamin Kimera 432 --- Stupified 433 --- Chris Wylde 434 --- Shaun Rickers 435 --- Jake Davis 436 427 Jimmy Cicero 437 --- Ernesto Osiris 438 470 Mike Posey 439 --- Gee Gee 440 --- Axl Rotten 441 --- Joe Gacy 442 --- C.W. Scott 443 --- Shorty Smalls 444 --- Noah Lott 445 473 Scott Wright 446 463 Mozart Fontaine 447 --- Cloudy 448 --- Jimmy Lee 449 --- Mike Dell 450 --- Tim Horner Jr 451 --- Vincent Vega 452 --- Leslie Leatherman 453 --- CUJO the Hellhound 454 461 Bill Collier 455 --- American Kickboxer II 456 --- Chrisifix 457 --- Scott Tytus 458 --- Outlaw J. R. James 459 --- Kevin Douglas 460 460 Tommy Mack 461 404 Rudy Switchblade 462 --- Steve Stasiak 463 467 Don Vega 464 --- Dennis Allen 465 486 Chris Cooper 466 --- Sabian 467 458 Vince Beach 468 --- Bodie Williams 469 --- Nick Fury 470 --- Brain Damage 471 --- Fred Flash 472 --- Biff Slater 473 --- A.J. Istria 474 --- Abraham Washington 475 490 Shockwave the Robot 476 478 Marc Mandrake 477 --- Martin Stanley Fuqua 478 --- Pee Wee 479 --- Damien Kass 480 --- Will Calrissian 481 462 Kwan Chang 482 --- AHTU 483 --- Ethan Page 484 --- Griffen 485 488 Barry Hardy 486 --- Jimmy the Hippy 487 --- Preston Maxwell 488 --- Scarry Garry 489 --- Brandon Bishop 125 490 24 Ryot 491 --- Joey Kings 492 --- Corey Blaze 493 --- Ash Walker 494 --- Justin Sane 495 496 Brandon Thurston 496 --- Milo Beasley 497 499 Peter B. Beautiful 498 --- Sinister Cross 499 --- Johnny Adams 500 --- Gino Martino
I'll also do a more thorough list of notable folks who didn't make the list this year. We'll start with last year's #5 (Chris Jericho), #6 (Batista) and #8 (The Undertaker).
I ALSO know that putting this up the night of SummerSlam isn't the best of timing, but we can talk about it in a few days if if it makes you feel better.
I don't think there's any bigger surprise on this list than Kane jumping from 79 to 4. He really did step up in the last year with the best mic work of his career, but it really is a shame that his matches with UT and Edge couldn't live up to the high profile title reign. Hell, the feud with UT ended up ruining the poor guy in the end, considering that no one's ever spoken of that feud again. (Why DID the Nexus help bury UT alive, anyway? Remember when Otunga threatened to reveal Barrett's REAL reason for involving the Nexus in that match, but we never found out what that reason was? UNSOLVED MYSTERIES!)
Ultimo Dragon's #23 from the depths of obscurity? Where IS Dragon these days?
Jerry Lawler makes it back onto the list! and Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan are off it.
I am always amazed that there are even this many people making money at pro wrestling.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
That the universe was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, I will no more believe than that the accidental jumbling of the alphabet would fall into a most ingenious treatise of philosophy - Swift
Originally posted by Matt TrackerI'm surprised ADR jumped so high without winning a title. Or did he clean up in belts before he hit the WWE?
Not in the last year. I'm guessing his position is in good part for winning the Royal Rumble. All the more reason to be disappointed Santino didn't win. :(
The Big Bossman raised the briefcase.
Go Pack Go! (Champs!) Let's Go Riders! (1-6, T-4th West, can't wait for NFL...)
Zorro is a wrestler from AAA who was their top champion for part of the PWI year. See: a 2009 match vs X-Pac.
Ultimo Dragon has wrestled in smaller Tokyo based promotions - Tajiri's SMASH promotion and the Real Japan group. He also promotes about 4 shows a year in Mexico (in theory for his school); one was this past weekend. And he travels to and wrestles in places like Cuba, Panama, and Ecuador.
Knowing all that, I still don't have any idea why he jumped up.
(just looking quick, Peter Orlov is the FCW name for Alex Koslov, and Jon Rekon is also Strong Man.)
Thread ahead: SummerSlam 2011 Results thread Next thread: WWE Referee Mike Chioda suspended (wellness) Previous thread: "Greatest Superstars of the 21st Century" DVD
The Hardys should just put on their own shows at the Hardy Compound, like four times a year (to keep from beating the joke to death). I think people would pay to see that.