Tuesday, January 1, 2019

From the queen of the north to a hometown hoverboard hero: The Top 100 Wrestlers of 2018 #100-76

You voted. I tallied and in the end over a hundred fifty individual talents received votes in our annual poll. We kick the list off with the beginning of the year and the first twenty-five stars to make the list!

Image credit: Taya Valkyrie on Twitter.

100. Taya Valkyrie 

Far more this Mrs. Johnny Mundo, Taya has shown in Mexica, Lucha Underground and Impact that she's a talent to be watched. She's quickly cemented herself as a top tier talent anywhere in the world.

99. Big E

The lowest rated member of The New Day remains maybe the most overlooked talent in WWE. While he's made a good living as one third of the team, he could have been a main event player. Alas, that seems far in the past now for the former Mr. Langston.

97 (tie). Kofi Kingston

97 (tie). Sasha Banks

It's been a sharp fall for the woman that topped the list back in 2015. Sasha stayed healthy for the entire year but has lost pretty much her entire push as a star player on the women's roster with the focus of Ronda Rousey, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss this year.

96. Bray Wyatt

95. Sarah Logan 

Ranked higher than her stablemate Liv Morgan (who fell out of the Top 100, sadly), Logan has a ton of untapped potential if the WWE chooses to use it. Right now, I fear she will be lost in the mix of too many stars without enough spots on WWE television.

94. Shain Bender

The young Iowa upstart has proven himself an impressive high-flyer both locally and in promotions such as IWA Mid-South. With some seasoning, his abilities and his good looks could get him far in the business.

93. Hiroshi Tanahashi

In perhaps the lowest showing one might expect for a G1 Climax winner, Tanahashi is showing his age but still capable of great wrestling.

92. Jeff Cobb

91. Hiromu Takahashi

90. Sheamus

89. Jaysin Strife

A veteran on the indies, Strife remains an Iowa talent that somehow hasn't broken out nearly as much as he should.

Image credit: Ember Moon on Twitter.
88. Ember Moon

She put in solid performances carrying the NXT Women's belt, but her call up to the main roster hasn't offered her nearly as much to do as it should. She killed it on the independents, but it remains to be seen if she will ever get a chance to shine on a Rousey dominated WWE roster.

87. Tetsuya Naito

85 (tie). Kevin Owens

After being the only talent to make the Top 10 three straight years, Owens finds himself fallen far after a storyline firing and a real life injury. He's still got a ton of upside for WWE, but he will need a strong push upon his return to make it reality.

85 (tie). Zeus

The muscular behemoth of All Japan has helped put the company back on the map this year. He's came a long way since I first saw him as part of Osaka Pro, but he remains one of the most entertaining power wrestlers out there today.

84. Kota Ibushi

83. Tomohiro Ishii

82. Mat Fichett

81. Cesaro

80. Davey Vega

I've known about Vega since his days wandering into Chikara's midst as part of the Submission Squad (a unit that also featured Ember Moon in her indie days.) Along with his new partner Mat Fitchett he now reps the Besties in the World. He's become a top tier talent on the Midwest indies, bouncing from Texas to Ohio and even overseas. They are a top flight team especially when they're up against their perennial rivals, the Rascalz.

78 (tie). Trent Seven

78 (tie).  Jimmy Uso

77. Jey Uso

76. Connor Braxton

While he doesn't seem to quite have the push he was receiving a year ago at SCW, his biggest claim to fame is unfortunately still a hoverboard spot that went viral a couple years back on Youtube. He's slowly becoming a regular for AAW, Blackcraft and F1RST however, which should help get more eyes on him and hopefully mean a lot more bookings ahead for Seth Rollins and Marek Brave's first student.

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