NEW JAPAN's IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada Tops The Annual PWI Top 500 List
Now in his fourth reign as New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP Champ, Kazuchika Okada has topped Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual top 500 list. The top 10 also includes the likes of Kenny Omega, and AJ Styles...
The Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 used to be a pretty big deal when people were still purchasing print editions of the magazine, and although the buzz around it has lessened since the internet became more prevalent, a lot of fans - and more wrestlers than will care to admit - still keep a close eye on the rankings.
On the latest edition of The Ross Report, PWI senior writer Dan Murphy revealed the top 10 wrestlers for the annual list, which covers June 2016 - June 2017:
1. Kazuchika Okada
2. AJ Styles
3. Kevin Owens
4. Roman Reigns
5. Kenny Omega
6. Shinsuke Nakamura
7. Dean Ambrose
8. Samoa Joe
9. Bobby Roode
10. The Miz
Okada taking the top spot is no surprise considering the absolutely amazing matches he's had with Kenny Omega (who also made the top 10) recently, and most people would have predicted the inclusion of AJ Styles and Samoa Joe who have had terrific WWE runs since they debuted.
Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens are somewhat surprising - although both were on fire for most of last year. Roman Reigns? Well, he is The WWE's new "Big Dog" after all.
Let us know what you think of these rankings in the usual place, and you can listen to the podcast in full HERE.