10 Most Influential Of 2010s
Who has changed pro wrestling over the past decade?
Vince McMahon is still the most powerful person in pro wrestling. Hell, he has even brainwashed the masses into calling it sports-entertainment. But over the past 10 years, what changes has he really spearheaded? What improvements has he had on the industry? Although it’s still up to him whether you’ll become a WWE Superstar, that’s not everybody’s ultimate goal anymore.
Let’s look back on the wrestlers and personalities who have wielded the most influence throughout the 2010s.
10. AJ Lee
Although she has spent half the decade away from pro wrestling, AJ Lee certainly made an impact in her brief tenure. She laid the groundwork for the women’s revolution, breaking the cookie-cutter mold of blonde, silicone-injected, wannabe-actresses fumbling their way around the ring. Lee proved that the nerdy girl next door could make it to the big time if she honed her craft, never gave up and stayed true to herself. In a fearless career-suicide attempt, she criticized WWE’s treatment of its women wrestlers, blasting the company for paying them less and giving them less screen time than their male counterparts. Since leaving the industry, she has written a New York Times best seller about her journey and dealing with bipolar disorder, becoming a staunch advocate for mental illness awareness.
9. Diamond Dallas Page
A three-time world champion and one of the most popular stars during the late 1990s, Diamond Dallas Page will now be remembered for leaving the sport a better place. Over the past decade, he has grown DDP Yoga into a fitness juggernaut, improving countless lives around the world. His two most notable success stories are Scott Hall and Jake “The Snake” Roberts, whose transformations under DDP’s watch (as chronicled in “The Resurrection of Jake The Snake”) have undoubtedly saved their lives.
8. Lucha Underground
With no season 5 in sight, Lucha Underground appears to have suffered Grave Consequences. Its legacy has been soured by its refusal to let talent work for other companies, but that shouldn’t be the full obituary. LU elevated lucha libre to another platform, educating the American audience on its tradition and style, as well as introducing Pentagon, Fenix, Jeff Cobb and more stars. The company also expanded the boundaries of pro wrestling with its cinematic storytelling, incorporating sci-fi elements into its telenovela and inspiring Matt Hardy’s Broken Universe, Impact Wrestling’s Undead Realm and The Fiend. The company also brought intergender wrestling back into the limelight almost 15 years since Chyna’s heyday.
7. Dave Meltzer
While his reporting is challenged now more than ever in the social media age, you can’t deny Dave Meltzer’s influence on the industry. He is still considered the premier journalist of pro wrestling; when mainstream media outlets do a story about the genre, they contact him as a verifiable source. Many fans still hang on his ratings system, believing a match is good or bad depending on if he enjoyed it. Meltzer is largely responsible for Kenny Omega’s mythology (breaking his own 5-star system several times for Omega’s matches with Kazuchika Okada), the Young Bucks’ popularity (they’ve named their finisher the Meltzer Driver) and the American audience’s increasing familiarity with New Japan. After doubting Ring of Honor could sell out an arena with over 10,000 seats, Meltzer motivated Cody Rhodes to spearhead the historic All In in 2018, which has since evolved into All Elite Wrestling.
6. Conrad Thompson
An Alabama mortgage broker has become one of the biggest power brokers in pro wrestling. Referred to as “The Podfather” by good, ol’ J.R., Conrad Thompson currently co-hosts five weekly wrasslin’ podcasts with some of the most influential figures in the history of the business. Starting out as Ric Flair’s buddy with the southern drawl, Thompson has gone on to revolutionize the genre, offering us unprecedented access into the decision-making in WWE and WCW. His podcasts with Bruce Prichard and Tony Schiavone not only brought them back to the industry, but also led to their current high-profile positions in WWE, AEW and MLW. Over the past year, Thompson has parlayed his prominence into organizing Starrcast, the biggest non-WWE-sanctioned fan fest in the country.
5. CM Punk
CM Punk dropped two pipe bombs over the past decade: one at the top of the ramp on Raw that broke through the 4th wall, echoed the grievances of many fans and skyrocketed him to the main event scene; and another in Colt Cabana’s studio apartment just three years later that explained why he walked away from WWE. The aftershocks of his departure are still being felt: Daniel Bryan was subsequently inserted into the WrestleMania XXX main event, the anti-Roman Reigns sentiment began and criticism over WWE’s reliance upon part-timers escalated. Plus, it’s been five years since Clobberin’ Time and crowds still chant his name.
4. Colt Cabana
In addition to presenting CM Punk’s controversial (and litigious) second pipe bomb, Colt Cabana changed the game for independent wrestlers. He has been credited by many as being the first to sell their own merchandise at shows, planting the roots for what The Young Bucks and ProWrestlingTees later blossomed into a highly lucrative enterprise. Cabana is also the patron saint of the pro wrestling podcast, as his “Art of Wrestling” paved the way for just about everybody who ever stepped inside a ring to interview their friends, peers and childhood heroes.
3. Triple H
After being one of the top wrestlers in WWE throughout the 2000s, Triple H has spent the last decade on the other side of the business. He has been the executive vice president of talent, live events and creative since 2013, having a significant hand in pushing the women’s revolution, cruiserweight division and of course, himself. But his biggest achievement has been the success of NXT, WWE’s uber-popular developmental brand, which has raided the indies, expanded internationally and is now seen on the USA Network. He also spearheaded the creation of the WWE Performance Center, providing aspiring pro wrestlers with all the tools and resources they’d expect to find in other professional sports training facilities. Depending on when his father-in-law decides to retire (or the inevitable), Triple H’s influence could be even greater in the 2020s.
2. Ronda Rousey
There is no women’s revolution in WWE without Ronda Rousey. After going undefeated in Strikeforce, she became the first woman fighter to sign with UFC. A modern-day Mike Tyson, her explosive, don’t-blink fights, natural charisma and undeniable sex appeal made her a massive box-office attraction. Along with the success of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, Rousey’s record-breaking performances inspired a generation and broke the glass ceiling for women in sports. When her undefeated streak came to an end, it was only natural for her to jump to WWE, bringing her mainstream publicity along with her. From her incredible debut at WrestleMania 34 to her dominant reign as Women’s Champion through the rest of 2018 to main eventing WrestleMania 35, Rousey proved she was born to be a pro wrestler.
1. The Elite
When Cody left WWE in the summer of 2016, he could have easily coasted on his last name, doing indie shots across the country as countless ex-WWE Superstars before him. Instead, he hopped from Impact to Ring of Honor to New Japan, reinventing himself as the “American Nightmare” and joining The Bullet Club. Aligning with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega was brilliant, as their popularity was skyrocketing and their T-shirts were the hottest sellers in the business, even becoming available in Hot Topic.
Capitalizing on their fame, they decided to run their own event – All In – in Chicago, becoming the first non-WWE or WCW entity to draw 10,000 fans in the United States since 1993. From there, they partnered with Tony Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and launched All Elite Wrestling, seemingly the first alternative to WWE in a decade. Adapting to the digital age, The Elite have proven you no longer need television to attract an audience – their “Being The Elite” series on YouTube has launched them more eyeballs than if they appeared on Impact or ROH’s weekly TV.
However, they’re now going the traditional route as well, landing a weekly prime time series on TNT. As a result of their grassroots movement, The Elite has been able to provide well-paying jobs to their friends and fellow indie performers, exposing them to a much larger audience than ever imaginable. While the future of AEW remains to be seen, Cody, Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson deserve major credit for getting this far and exciting a fan base that has been craving something different for at least the past 10 years.
They may not change the world (yet), but they’ve certainly changed wrestling.
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