Top 100 Wrestlers Of 2019: 20-1

In honor of the PWI 500, we’ve decided to present our own ranking of the greatest wrestlers over the past year.

(Full disclosure: Juan Bautista suggested compiling a list of 500 wrestlers by himself, but we can’t afford to have any more writers die.)

Our ranking differs from the PWI 500 because we use math. Well, at least we try to. Sam Gladen pitched the idea that we all submit our own list of the top 100 wrestlers of 2018, and each ranking represents points. For example, #1 = 100 points, #2 = 99 points, etc.

At the end, we’d calculate who had the most points and assign ranking from there.

Here are 100-81.

Here are 80-61.

Here are 60-41.

Here are 40-21.

Without further ado, here are 20-1.

20. Nick Aldis (511)

The man leading the NWA into the new era is its current world champion and is living up to expectations that come with being the top guy. – Juan Bautista

19. Roderick Strong (512)

I want to take you back to Unbreakable 2005: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong in an X-Division Showcase match. Now I’m going to tell you that it will take 14 or 15 years for Strong to finally break through as a character, and in turn get his due for being the exception in-ring talent he is. Would you believe me? I guess my point is the year Roderick Strong had and everything he’s done since turning heel and joining the Undisputed Era seems insignificant by comparison. This says a lot about the year the current North American champion has had. I loved him in that Survivor Series triple threat. – Jack Goodwillie

18. Tessa Blanchard (526)

She has owned every opportunity presented to her. At Bound for Glory, Tessa Blanchard looked like a million bucks and is well on her way to becoming the first woman to hold a company’s top world title. – Juan Bautista

17. Johnny Gargano (535)

Last year, Gargano showed me why he’s a special talent and really opened my eyes to what he is capable of. This year, he gave me no reason to change my mind. His feud with Adam Cole was money, and I’m willing to throw out his brief, yet confusing (did I mention brief?) stint on the main roster, because his body of work in the ring can measure up to anybody on this list. I imagine he’ll eventually return to confront Finn Balor, and this alone gives me hope for NXT in 2020. – Jack Goodwillie

16. Brian Cage (542)

I’m still stunned that Sami Callihan pulled the plug on The Machine. It seemed like Brian Cage was only getting started as Impact World Champion when Callihan snapped his five-month reign on Impact’s official premiere on AXS TV. Before then, he had a tremendous feud with Johnny Impact and a MOTY contender with Michael Elgin. Outside of Impact, Cage has held several titles over the past year, increasing his star power and appeal on the indies. – John Corrigan

15. Becky Lynch (553)

Becky Lynch is the fucking man. She’s consistently a great promo, consistently a strong match and consistently someone people want to talk about. – David Gibb

14. Seth Rollins (557)

Rollins has had an up and down year as far as fan perception goes, but as far as his actual career, it’s been one his best. Rollins won the Royal Rumble and the Universal Title twice, once at WrestleMania 35 and once in the main event of SummerSlam. Now with Rollins’s recent heel turn, he’s back on the right track creatively. – Chad Gelfand

13. AJ Styles (581)

The Phenomenal One didn’t have his best year, but even a down year for AJ Styles is an excellent year for most other wrestlers. Styles has had a long run as U.S Champion and put on really good matches with the likes of Ricochet, Cedric Alexander and Randy Orton. – Chad Gelfand

12. Fenix (591)

Quite possibly my favorite wrestler of the year. As one half of the Lucha Bros, he ignited a feud that led to a dream match when the Lucha Bros met the Young Bucks in the ring for the first time on PPV. However, his place on this list comes more as a singles star in the last year. Those of us few Lucha Underground fans knew Fenix was an incredible single’s wrestler and possibly lucha libre’s best kept secret. There is no secret any longer. – Sam Gladen

11. Shayna Baszler (601)

Probably the best pure heel of the last two years, Baszler’s historic run as NXT Women’s Champion ended in December of 2019. Don’t let that loss cloud your vision, though, Baszler still stands alone as a heel people actually hate to see win in spite of being a tremendous worker in the ring. It will be very interesting to see what she does next. – David Gibb

10. Pentagon (603)

One-half of the Lucha Bros, Pentagon has gone from a cult following of the Lucha faithful to becoming a bonafide worldwide star in wrestling. He is the ultimate tecnico. – Sam Gladen

9. Kenny Omega (611)

For a man known as “The Best Bout Machine,” 2019’s start wasn’t kind to Omega. Losing a chance to become the first AEW World Champion to Jericho to being choked out by PAC, things didn’t look good for Omega. He also had to deal with Mox beating him with everything he can find. As of late, Omega has strung along some wins, but he knows he must reach down deep and find himself again in 2020. – Matthew Smith

8. Will Ospreay (616)

Kenny Omega’s title as NJPW’s “Best Bout Machine” seems to be safe in the hands of Ospreay. At only 26 years old, he is one of the most dynamic performers I have ever seen. – Sam Gladen

7. Kofi Kingston (621)

Kofi used to say that 2009 was his best year, but after the amazing year he’s had, it will have to be updated to 2019. He got his first one on one shot at the WWE Championship in his 11-year career at WrestleMania 35. Kofi made the most of it becoming the second Black and first African WWE Champion in company history. Kofi went on to hold the title for six months, cementing that his reign wasn’t a fluke. – Chad Gelfand

6. Sami Callihan (627)

Twenty years after Mick Foley shocked the world, Sami Callihan has become another unlikely world champion. The bloodthirsty rebel spent half the year terrorizing Rich Swann and Willie Mack before beating Tessa Blanchard in a historic main event, dethroning Brian Cage and then resuming his war with Blanchard. Unfortunately, his reign of terror in MLW ended halfway through the year after a brawl with Mance Warner and hocked loogie in Jim Cornette’s face. – John Corrigan

5. Walter (671)

The leader of Imperium captured the NXT U.K. Championship from Pete Dunne at NXT Takeover: New York and has yet to look back. While he begins to start leaving his mark on the NXT main roster, 2020 looks to be another strong year. – Juan Bautista

4. Chris Jericho (682)

From everything the man says turning into a meme to winning the first AEW World Title to forming a dominant stable, Le Champion has truly done it all in 2019. AEW’s youngest world champion has beaten everyone the company has put in front of him, helping established new stars and proving once again why he is the G.O.A.T. You can rest assure that he will be bringing in 2020 with a little bit of the bubbly. – Matthew Smith

3. Kazuchika Okada (725)

Okada is one of the most dominant and endearing champions of the modern era of wrestling and one of the most over competitors to be seen in the Japanese scene today. (He’s going to be a torch bearer at the Toyko Olympics!) – Sam Gladen

2. Jon Moxley (737)

My vote for wrestler of the year. Moxley’s big 2019 came on his terms, and from literally the moment he divorced from WWE (his coming out video went up at the exact moment his contract expired), he showed us why he was always considered a star-to-be. A run through the NJPW G-1, an explosive debut at AEW Double or Nothing, his tell-all podcast with Chris Jericho, and his controversial Full Gear match with Kenny Omega made Moxley the center of attention on a number of occasions this year, which is the number one goal for a wrestler. – Jack Goodwillie

1. Cody (738) / Adam Cole (738)

When my picks were sent to me for this list, a lot of them were expected due to my knowledge and expertise. However, one name I didn’t expect to get was the jewel in the crown: Cody. Where can I begin when talking about Cody?! Cody’s 2019 may have been one of the best years in all of wrestling, up there with Ric Flair in 1989, Shawn Michaels in 1996 and Kazuchika Okada in 2017. Cody has truly revolutionized the landscape of the business through the rise of AEW, his enthralling promos and emotional matches against a multitude of opponents. 2019 has been the year of Cody, and no one deserves it more than him! – Steven Jackson

Spoiler Alert: I deemed WWE NXT my promotion of the year. Who was at the forefront of it? Adam Cole. One might say this was a banner year for the Lancaster, PA native, which says a lot. But from front to back, Cole was a mainstay on NXT, and his feud with Johnny Gargano was fantastic. While it lacked the personal issue underlying Gargano’s feud with Ciampa throughout most of 2018, it made up for it in pure match quality. I have to think many of our staff writers would agree with me to, with one notable exception (*cough* Corrigan *cough*). – Jack Goodwillie