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.

The Top Ten Wrestlers of 2017, Honorable Mentions Part Two

Every year we get a list far larger than just ten wrestlers from our correspondents for the Top Ten Wrestlers of 2017. Sixty wrestlers in all made the list without making the top ten. Last weekend, we shared twenty names from that list. This weekend, we will deliver thirty more names. The final ten will be revealed before number one goes live at the end of the week.

On with the list!

Sasha Banks: The Boss came in at number one on the list two years ago, but has failed to make either last year's list or this one. In fact this year, she only received votes from The Pro Wrestling Roundtable's John Morgan Neal. There's a long list of stars that failed in WWE where they succeeded in NXT. Sasha feels like one of those stars. I suspect WWE might still get behind her for a long run with the belt, but she may need a brand free of Asuka, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte for that to ever happen.

Jinder Mahal: Jinder's push to the main event ate up much of the top title picture of Smackdown in 2017. While I won't argue he improved immensely as a performer in 2017, I am sure I am not the only one that disagrees with Derek Lankford placing him anywhere close to the top 25 wrestlers in the world, let alone top ten.

Aleister Black: I saw Tommy End a few times on indie events and thought he was a solid talent with tons of skill. His first televised WWE match against Neville at the UK Title Tournament was impressive. But the creation of Aleister Black brought him to another level of greatness. His tweener gimmick in NXT may be the best extrapolation of that idea ever. His ringwork is impeccable. His character is defined, if mysterious. And the Black Mass is a stellar finisher.

Drew Gulak: One of the best wrestlers in the world before he appeared in the Cruiserweight Classic, Gulak joins Jack Gallagher and Akira Tozawa as the only stars 205 Live has managed to make. He repurposed his Gulak for a Better Combat Zone into Gulak for a Better 205 Live and immediately started to turn worldwide fans on to his talent. The accomplished technical star (and secret exceptional high flyer) seems poised for a big push against Enzo Amore, possibly even a Wrestlemania match for the Cruiserweight title.

Ember Moon: As soon as Asuka left NXT, Ember became the de factor queen of the NXT universe. Though she had to face down multiple talents to win the Women's title, she's easily the most seasoned talent on the show. Accompanied by one of the best finishers in the business, hopefully 2018 will be a time for some great character development for the NXT's new female ace.

Bobby Lashley: Of the only talents that remained with Impact Wrestling from last year, Lashley continued to show himself as one of the most improved storytellers in professional wrestling. While his gimmick isn't that far from Brock Lesnar's, his workrate is far more impressive. I suspect if more correspondents regularly watched the former #2 promotion, he would have ranked on more lists.

Chris Jericho: He started the year as a man with a list and a purpose. The United States champion helped Kevin Owens keep the WWE Universal title while also dominating his own division. But it was his feud with Owens that marked his true talents. He clearly still has tons to still give, even if his move to New Japan at the end of the year very much feels like the beginning of an endgame for his wrestling career.

Naomichi Marifuji: The Pro Wrestling NOAH star made his Impact Wrestling debut this year, but the rebuilding of the promotion post-NJPW crossover has been on his back. He's proven impressive both in his home promotion as tag champion (with Maybach Taniguchi) but he also put on strong showings during his appearances on American shores. While I didn't put him on my personal list, I can't complain with Jeff Yelton's pick.

Image credit: Matt Hardy.

Matt Hardy: While he didn't have the prominence during his WWE run this year as he did with TNA and his short ROH run, Matt still had an impressive 2017, even if he didn't repeat his appearance in the Top Ten, let alone at number one.

Rusev: Rusev came back from injury maybe better in the ring than when he left. But WWE seemed uninterested in a strong push behind him. By the end of the year, he started his push for Rusev Day and signing with Aiden English, both of which have put him over as an effective future babyface. Rusev remains one of the talents with the most untapped potential in WWE today.

Image credit: Puroresu Spirit.

Kento Miyahara: I have regularly watched bits and pieces of All Japan Pro Wrestling as it sought to resurrect itself in the last two years. In many ways, their young ace is the reason for the resurgence. With a beautiful package German suplex and great technical wrestling skills, he's become a huge star for the promotion at only 28. Though the company has diversified its main event scene quite a bit in 2017, he still put on some of the best matches in the promotion's recent history and received a fairly high vote from me for that reason.

Tim Storm: The oldest name on the list also held the NWA World Heavyweight title throughout the majority of the year. Storm quietly made his name across Texas indies for years, but it was with the backing of Billy Corgan's new NWA he rose to national prominence. He put on some solid matches and some just okay ones, all leading up to the loss of the title too Nick Aldis at CZW's Cage of Death of all places.

Image credit: Impact Wrestling.

Rosemary: As she left Decay behind, Rosemary became an even more accomplished in ring talent on the Impact Wrestling card. Perhaps the most impressive talent overall from Impact all year long, it remains a shame her feud with Taya was scuttled by injury, or that Sexy Star's shoot on her took up so much news against her great work in ring.

Other talents receiving votes: Brock Lesnar, Eddie Edwards, Enzo Amore, Jeff Cobb, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, John Cena, Kairi Sane, Kota Ibushi, Marty Scurll, Penta El Ciero Miedo, Roman Reigns, Sami Callihan, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii and Tyler Bate.

Tomorrow, we kick off the top three with the most dominant champion in wrestling today!

All image credits are to WWE unless otherwise noted. 

Alexa Bliss: the baddest bliss in the business at #9

"You're welcome."

Alexa Bliss delivered the phrase this Monday on Raw. But as the most decorated female wrestler of WWE in 2017, she deserves the accolade.

Image credit: WWE.com.

She opened the year as Smackdown Women's Champion, just six months into her tenure on the main roster. The Smackdown women's division revolved around her until she jumped to Raw. She almost immediately entered the title picture there. Having already beaten Becky Lynch for the title on her previous show, she took out two more of the Four Horsewomen to take her titles on Raw.

With victories over every Horsewomen but Charlotte, she seemed to be cemented as the top woman of Raw. As 2018 opens, the looming presence of the undefeated Asuka clearly puts her in danger, but no one can argue she spent the year defining what it meant to be a top wrestler in her division.

The interesting part of Alexa's career is just how much better she fit on the main roster than the microcosm of NXT. She never made it far on that roster, only getting a lackluster title match against Bayley that showed the Full Sail crowd at their worst. With her sudden arrival as a force to be reckoned with on the main roster, she's opened up huge storytelling possibilities in the years to come. Even with a Raw roster with Nia Jax, Bayley, Sasha, Mickie James, Asuka and all of Absolution, she still seems poised to be a top talent for years to come.

Your chance to vote in the year end Top 10 is almost gone!

Voting for the year end Top 10 ends the night of December 24th at midnight Central time. You have less than 72 hours to get in your votes for the best wrestlers of the year!

Who will join 2015 winner Sasha Banks and 2016 winner Broken Matt Hardy
as the best wrestler of 2017?  

As in previous years, the process is simple. All you have to do to vote is to send me your list of the top wrestlers from anywhere in the world. Your list can be as short as one or as long as 25, but it needs to be ranked in order of worst to best. Send your choices to wwfmegs{at}yahoo{dot}com (or leave them in the comments below) and I will tally the fan choices as well as my own top ten to give a full list of the top stars of 2017.

The only requirement for a wrestler to be eligible for the list is if they were active in the calendar year 2015 as an in ring worker. Promotions, gender and age are not limited, just as long as they wrestled a match at some point in the year 2017. Wrestlers should be rated on quality of match rather than out of match promos or shenanigans, all though those can be taken into account as an overall reason for your choice. Television programs recorded previous to the year but aired in 2017 also count to the calendar year. Tag teams and units must be listed separately on this list. If you feel they had equal levels of performance in your list of twenty, please put them one after another.

Though it is not required, any commentary on the wrestlers you chose and why you chose them would be appreciated, as it will be included as thoughts on the wrestler in the final Top Ten list.

The 2016 Honorable Mentions List, Part Two

Tomorrow, we will return with the first of the top three, but today we take a look back at everyone else that made an impact in 2016. These figures all received multiple votes in our awards, but didn't quite earn enough to make it into the Top 10.

Image credit: WWE.

• Alexa Bliss: I would make a strong argument that Alexa earns a "Most Improved" award for the year. She showed tons of character on Smackdown Live and pretty much made that women's division competitive. Her feud with Becky Lynch has been nothing short of epic, and I look forward to her continuing her dominance in 2017. 
• Rosemary: TNA's resident mistress of decay has combined epic character work with her already capable in ring style, honed by years on the Canadian indies and in SHIMMER (where she played a very different character.) Joe Crowe sums her up wonderfully, saying, "She spews different colors of mist. And she, unlike almost all other big-league female wrestlers, has a character that goes beyond 'Lady who wrestles.'"
• Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson: It's no surprise there's crossover between the people that voted for The Revival and those who voted for Charlotte. Both of them have a lot of old school nostalgia at their base, but I personally think The Revival currently have a stronger game than the Raw Women's Champion.
• Seth Rollins: I can think of only a few big returns as bungled as WWE bringing back Seth Rollins. From his return as a heel to his turn against Triple H that hasn't shown any story progression (because that feud can't start until Wrestlemania season) to a series of so-so matches with Kevin Owens, he just could not get off the ground with Raw's weak booking. 
• Bobby Roode: Roode had a good first few months of the year in TNA as one half of Beer Money, but I doubt anyone voted for him for that. His Glorious arrival in NXT has revitalized his career. His song has inspired a great new character for him and he looks to have a strong 2017 in a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura. Of the names on this list, he's the one I suspect will rise the most on next year's list.
• Dean Ambrose: Dean seems like he'll never quite make this list. He's a solid in ring worker, but his gimmick and his go to spots have become stale as a babyface. Only Roman Reigns more desperately needs a heel turn in WWE. 
• Becky Lynch: Becky finally received a title in WWE, but her run as inaugural Smackdown Women's Champion was dwarfed by the rise of Alexa Bliss. As a babyface, she makes a far better underdog than she does a top dog which hopefully will mean a feud with La Luchadora in the coming weeks will give her some good in ring time without immediate rematch after rematch against Alexa.
• Sasha Banks: Last year's number one had some more great matches in 2016, but her year just couldn't compare to the previous. After a great Wrestlemania match, several of her matches with Charlotte were good but none seemed to be the game changing bouts she had with Bayley in the previous year. Still, Sasha could have a huge run in WWE still ahead of her, especially if she could make a move to the blue brand. 
• Tetsuya Naito: The leader of Los Ingobernables De Japon had one of the best years of any wrestler in New Japan. He won both the World Title and the Intercontinental Title, which he continues to hold as of this writing. While the return of Suzukigun might make Los Ingobernables play second fiddle for a bit, he's still cemented himself as a top star in the promotion and arguably a suitable replacement for Nakamura at the main event. Additionally, he has put up some of the best matches of any NJPW star in ROH where he's wrestled a great feud with Jay Lethal. 

Naito does evil like no one else. Image credit: NJPW.

That's the complete list of everyone that fell below the Top 10 line. With it, you may be able to determine your guesses for the top three wrestlers of the year. Any ideas? Share them in the comments below!

Charlotte: #4 in the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2016

Full disclosure: Charlotte is the highest ranked wrestler on this list I didn't vote for myself. While she was dominant in the Raw Women's Division through 2016, I didn't feel her in ring work was really as good as it could have been. If anything, I still feel like Charlotte has regressed since moving from NXT to WWE.

Charlotte very rarely was seen without Dana in her corner in 2016.
Image credit: WWE.com.

But this vote isn't just about me. Every other person that voted gave her a rating, most within their top five wrestlers. After just falling outside of the top ten last year, a strong argument could certainly be made for Charlotte's inclusion in the 2016 list. She wrestled at every single Raw or dual brand pay-per-view of the year. Her only pay-per-view loss was a tag match against Bayley and Sasha Banks, and even then Dana took the pinfall instead of her. And while she traded the title with Sasha on multiple Raw matches over the year, she's remained undefeated in singles competition on pay-per-view.

Of course, like all Raw heel champions, she depends solely on shenanigans to pick up the majority of her victories. While I don't hate the idea of heels cheating by any means, often Raw champions start to feel like Russo booked events with their endless need for cheap endings.

Contributor Joe Crowe—who ranked Charlotte as the top wrestler of the year—might best describe her success in the list. "For a wrestling history geek, it's just neat to see a legacy wrestler do well. But Charlotte doesn't try to be cool, she tries to be an old-school heel. I dig it."

Clearly, Joe was far from alone and that's why Charlotte deserves her place on the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2016.

The Top Ten returns next week with the top three wrestlers of the year, starting with the highest ranked female wrestler on the list!

Looking back: The top 10 wrestlers of 2015

With votes now open for the Top 10 wrestlers of 2016, I thought it would be convenient to look back at the ten wrestlers that topped the list in 2015. It was an interesting list, featuring two Lucha Underground standouts, four WWE midcarders, an NXT wrestler and a recent WWE graduate who barely accomplished anything on the main roster that year. Yet, I can think of few lists as representative of the great talent of 2015 as this one. So without more ado, here's the list of some great talent. Click on each name to read their full entry.

1. Pentagon Jr.: I ranked him much higher, but Pentagon Jr. deserved to be near the top of any list he was on for his work in Lucha Underground.
2. Cesaro: Few talents are as consistent as the Swiss Superman.
3. Kofi Kingston: The New Day rose to fame in 2015, but even I was a bit surprised by Kofi's high placing. I actually personally placed him below Xavier Woods, who just barely missed the list. 
4. Prince Puma: Rather as Puma or Ricochet, he put on some great matches in 2016 in both Lucha Underground and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
5. John Cena: It's not that often that an IWC site would rank Cena so high, but few people could argue how good Cena was during his United States title reign.
6. Big E: No one emerged with as much flair as part of The New Day as Big E. He showed why he deserves a main event push sooner rather than later last year. Hopefully 2017 is the year of Big E..
7. Seth Rollins: Iowa's own Seth Rollins dominated the main event picture of WWE and put on some great matches to boot. 
8. Bayley: Fact: There was no greater babyface in wrestling in 2015 than Bayley. 
9. Kevin Owens: He was already an indie superstar, but Owens took NXT then WWE by storm in 2015. 
10. Sasha Banks: I don't think anyone put on as many great matches in 2015 as Sasha. Sadly her 2016 might not have been quite as bright, but she's still easily one of the most talented wrestlers in the world today.

A different kind of SummerSlam

SummerSlam is the big money show of the weekend, but this honestly feels like one of the strangest iterations of the event. None of the "main events" really feel like a main event to me, although I suppose Raw's offering is probably the strongest of the three. But with a double digit number of matches on the card, it promises to offer some interesting battles. And if Battleground was any indication last month, the more varied matches with smaller pre-match packages actually worked really well. Here's a rundown of the card.

Image credit: WWE.com.

• Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins: I'm not sure this will actually main event, but the crowning of a Universal champion is momentous, even if the title's name is painful. I suspect this will be Rollins to win, although it does feel foolish to debut the Demon King in action and have him lose in his first outing. But it was even more foolish to have the Demon King appear days before the pay-per-view. Still it would take a momentous shift in WWE booking to have Balor win the title a month into his run as a member of the main roster.
  
• Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler: Ziggler's push to main event status still doesn't quite feel cemented, which makes this feel like the weakest of the three big matches. Still, I suspect it will have strong storyline potential. I suspect a heel turn for Ziggler is in the future and with the right booking, he could be a strong new heel main eventer on the brand, not unlike Shawn Michaels in the early 90s. But it remains to be seen if WWE will really pull the trigger on Ziggler.

The final WWE Top 10

Today, I am posting the final WWE Top 10 for at least the foreseeable future. Why? Because as of SummerSlam, I will start posting individual rankings for the Raw and Smackdown rosters. Stay tuned for that, but in the mean time let's take a look at the top stars of WWE after the first week of the brand extension!

Sasha Banks, new Women's Champion

1. Sasha Banks:  The Boss finally reached the top of WWE, a place millions of fans have wanted her at since she joined the main roster. Despite some pushbacks, it is also clearly a place WWE management wants her at, as she has been groomed as the female face of the company for quite some time in advertisements and group photos. Her team with Bayley at Battleground and her huge victory on Raw make it hard to not treat her as the biggest WWE star coming out of July. (U/1)
   
2. Dean Ambrose: Dean retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for Smackdown at Battleground. The Shield three way was an amazing match and Dean looks poised to be a major face of the company for the rest of the year. (2/10)
   
3. Finn Balor: Beating four of Raw's top talents in your debut cannot be overstated. Finn is a world champion level competitor and WWE made that clear as they framed him as one of the two men that will battle for the new WWE Universal championship at Summer Slam. (U/1)
   
4. Seth Rollins: He didn't win at Battleground, but Seth Rollins is still clearly the biggest star on Raw. Whether he can maintain that role after Summer Slam is anyone's guess, but he is poised to continue his role as one of the top players in WWE for months to come. (U/1)
   
5. John Cena: Cena feels like he's suffering from a slight demotion right now, but he is still a key player for WWE and should remain so in the coming years. While he didn't win the title shot on Smackdown Live! last week, he did score his first pinfall on AJ Styles, a feat I suspect he will try to repeat at Summer Slam. (U/1)
   
6. The Club: They might not have won at Battleground, but they made a statement the next night on Raw. The Club clearly are poised to be dominant in the tag team division and that might soon cost The New Day their championships. (U/1)
7. Sami Zayn: His victory may have been a moral one only, but Zayn seems poised for bigger stakes as his WWE main roster career continues outside the shadow of Kevin Owens. (2/2)
8. The New Day: The end of July was rough on The New Day, but they did take the title of the longest reigning tag champions of the modern era. Don't suspect that reign to last much longer though under the threat of The Club. (4/6)
9. Kevin Owens: He didn't win at Battleground, but anyone in a match that good deserves a featured place on this list. (7/4)
10. Dolph Ziggler: He didn't even get a match at Battleground, but Ziggler gets a major push as he scored the number one contendership at Summer Slam. A fresh face in the Smackdown main event scene should help differentiate the blue brand going forward. (U/1)

Ziggler made a splashy entrance into his first Top 10 on the first Smackdown
of the brand extension.

Agree with the list? Disagree? Let me know your thoughts of who you think deserved to be in the post Battleground Top 10.

16-bit wrestling music

Sometimes unique and awesome things just pop up on Youtube. Sometimes they've been around for years and I just never noticed them. Of particular note today is 16-Bit Themes. The page uses the same music generators regularly used on Super Nintendo and re-creates the theme songs of professional wrestlers. Though the page has sadly not updated in several months, it already features 30 of the best wrestling themes you can find today.

Check out a couple personal favorites below.



And be sure to check out the 16-Bit Themes page for the complete list of songs.

Wrestlemania 32 can only be looked at with disappointment

I had high hopes going into Wrestlemania 32. Last year's show had a lackluster card on paper, but it delivered quality wrestling match after match. This year the show started with a big surprise and ended with a resounding thud.

More than a few fans felt like Stardust after 7 hours of mostly mediocre action.
Image credit: WWE.com.

The seven way Intercontinental title match opened the show as it did last year. Ladder strikes and crazy stunts ensued and fans quickly were reminded why ladder matches are always fun. Sin Cara's plunge outside onto Stardust is the stuff of highlight reels. And Zack Ryder's win, even if he would lose the title only a day later, definitely goes down as a shocking Wrestlemania moment. Unfortunately, it was the last one for quite some time.

Chris Jericho and AJ Styles put on another barnburner of a one on one match, with AJ's entrance being one of the first to really make the special stage look awesome. They went longer than the IC match and used every minute of it well, but ultimately it ended with Styles taking the loss in a strange booking decision. He and Jericho are now 2 and 2 in their series, so I expect a rubber match sometime in the near future, maybe even before Styles gets his title shot at Payback.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of WWE, February 2016

Another pay-per-view and the big Raw after it have both fallen into the past and that means it is time to take a look at the Top 10 Wrestlers in WWE for the month. It has been an interesting month filled with weird pushes and negative reactions, culminating in a Fastlane card with solid in ring action but poor storytelling. Coming from that, here is this writer's choices for the best ranked wrestlers in the company. As a reminder, the rankings are followed by a two number code. The first number is their listing in the last Top 10 while the second number is the number of lists they've been on.

Kevin Owens continues to be a key player in WWE's midcard.
Image credit: WWE.com.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of WWE, January 2016 edition

Another pay-per-view is in the rear view and that can only mean one thing: it is time to look at the top wrestlers of the last month in WWE.

Image credit: WWE.com.

1. The League of Nations: Previously listed individually, the unit of Sheamus, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio are actually coming together nicely as a team. They probably should start picking up wins though if they are going to be treated as anything other than jobbers though. (7/3)
2. The Wyatt Family: They dominated Brock Lesnar on Raw and at the Royal Rumble. Bray Wyatt and his proteges even have stood up to the face of The Authority. It is an intriguing time for the cult-like stable, one that should lead them to higher places on this list before year's end.  (2/4)
3. Kevin Owens: He lost to Dean Ambrose and was booted from the Rumble by Sami Zayn, but Owens looked like a million bucks at the paye-per-view nonetheless, even eliminating newcomer AJ Styles. Hopefully Owens/Styles will be on WWE television very soon as it could potentially blow the roof off the house. (8/4)
4. Sasha Banks: She made a (Banks) statement at Royal Rumble and hopefully set up a three or four way Divas match at Wrestlemania in the process. One can expect a compelling title match between her and Charlotte at Fastlane, but whether or not WWE is ready for the title to change hands yet remains to be seen. (10/2)
5. Charlotte: Her heel turn and alliance with dear old dad has lit a fire under her that hasn't been seen since her days as NXT Women's Champion. She has put on great performances against Becky Lynch that hopefully will set up something great in the next two months with feuds against Becky, Sasha, Paige or maybe even... Bayley! (6/3)
6. The New Day: While Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods may not have had as strong a January as they have previous months, interactions with the Rock and another win over the Usos have kept them in the spotlight. (3/4)
7. AJ Styles: Just the mention of his name gets a bigger pop than anyone else on the roster. Styles in WWE is huge news and he's already made an impact with a great Royal Rumble performance and a solid win over Chris Jericho, one of several first time ever matches coming from Styles on the roster. (U/1)
8. Roman Reigns: WWE booked him to get booed at Royal Rumble, but were at least smart enough not to bring the match down to just him and Triple H. He is currently walking a fine line right now. He's got the talent to get over, but WWE's willingness to push him down everyone's throats may end up costing them any chance to get him over as a babyface. (1/4)
9. Dean Ambrose: After an amazing performance in the Last Man Standing match to kick off Royal Rumble, he put on a stellar show in the final match as well. Ambrose has everything but the company's backing to get over as a major star the world over. He seems destined to be stuck in the Shawn Michaels role from '91 to '95, where it seemed like he can never quite get to the title. (4/2)
10. Triple H: I had doubts I would ever put his name on this list, but now he's debuting as number one and the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. While I am not sure having him win was really what was best for business going into Wrestlemania, he put on a strong showing in the Rumble and seems poised to once again waste ten to twenty minutes at the front of Raw for months to come. (U/1)

Expect to see this a lot in the coming weeks. Image credit: WWE.com.

The Royal Rumble in review

WWE knew from the get go that this year was built around the main event even more than previous years. With nearly an hour and fifteen minutes devoted to the Royal Rumble itself, the other matches were treated more like lead up than anything else. Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose put on a compelling Last Man Standing match while Kalisto shocked Alberto Del Rio yet again to become a two time United States champion. The New Day pulled out a win over the Usos while Ric Flair's interference yet again allowed Charlotte to beat Becky Lynch. In fact, the only really interesting thing to happen on the undercard was the return of Sasha Banks to absolutely brutalize Charlotte post-match.

This was a beautiful thing to see after the Divas match.
Image credit: WWE.com.

But the story of the night was really all about the Rumble. With Roman Reigns in at number one and defending his WWE World Heavyweight title in the process, he had everything to lose against 29 other men. But after eliminating the #2 entrant Rusev, Reigns got his first big surprise of the night in the form of a man rumored to make his WWE debut for weeks now: AJ Styles.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

Styles wasn't the only surprise of the night however. While he was eliminated a bit earlier than one might expect, by none other than Kevin Owens (who awesomely mocked Styles' pose after the throw out), Owens had his own run ins after already taking a beating in the Last Man Standing match that kicked off the show. First Dean Ambrose followed immediately after his entry, then Sami Zayn made his return to the WWE roster to eliminate his rival from a shot at the WWE title.

The League of Nations attacked Roman Reigns mid-match in perhaps the dumbest mugging in the history of professional wrestling. They brutalized him three on one and put him through a table, but they didn't roll him back in the ring to be eliminated. Instead they let him walk to the back where he could rest up and recoup for the end of the event.

The combined Wyatt Family were not as foolish though. After Braun Strowman single handedly eliminated both Big Show and Kane, he ran head long into a Beast Incarnate. Brock Lesnar eliminated Strowman, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper before Bray Wyatt could even reach the ring, but he couldn't stop them from returning for a four on one beatdown. Even Lesnar couldn't take down the entire unit, who eliminated him en masse. Conveniently, his elimination also allowed both him and Reigns to never share the ring for even a second, sparing a future main event match.

To no one's surprise, the final surprise entrant was #30: Triple H. He followed #29 Sheamus, a man that was jumped by Roman Reigns on his return to the match. After Triple H entered, Dolph Ziggler was quickly thrown from the ring. With Sheamus still out, he tried to form an alliance with Wyatt, but the cult leader turned on the face of The Authority. Wyatt and Jericho wouldn't last much longer, but after Reigns dumps a returning Sheamus, Triple H grabs him from behind to dump him from the ring and eliminate Reigns' chance to retain his title.

It was down to two men: Dean Ambrose and Triple H. And if anyone has ever watched WWE, only one option for victory remained. Triple H eliminated Ambrose to become a fourteen time WWE World Heavyweight champion.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

While the end wasn't a surprise, the Rumble did accomplish a few things: it gave us a reason to root for Reigns come Wrestlemania as he challenges Triple H. It creates a compelling story to give us reason to watch Wyatt versus Lesnar. The situation between Owens and Zayn also sets up a potential match. Overall, this wasn't the best Royal Rumble ever, but it was far far from the worst. Fans didn't go away with the hatred and disappointment they were left with in 2014 and 2015, plus they were given reason to be intrigued by the road to Wrestlemania.

Sasha Banks: the greatest wrestler of 2015

Image credit: WWE.com.

When I wrote my own personal Top 20 list for 2015, only one name made sense to put on the top. Still I was worried that it was a name other people might not rate as highly as I did. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Sasha Banks was the greatest wrestler of 2015, hands down. She had a series of amazing matches on every NXT Takeover card but one. Her television matches on NXT and Raw never failed at giving at least a glimpse of how great she was, even when WWE seemed ready to relegate her to secondary shows and PPV pre-shows. Because you just can't keep greatness down.

And did I mention she's only 23?

Bayley: #3 in the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015, presented by ESO-PRO

Image credit: WWE.com.

If you told me at the beginning of 2015 I would be writing a Top 10 post for Bayley at the end of the year, I would probably have scoffed at your idea. Going into the year, she was a distance fourth among the "Four Horsewomen" of NXT and coming out of the fatal four-way match that gave Sasha Banks her run with the title, she was injured and out of action. It didn't seem like 2015 would shape up to be a superb year for Bayley.

That changed as the company ramped up for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. With Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks already on the main roster, Bayley beat both Becky and Charlotte on her road to challenging Sasha at the event. And oh, did she challenge Sasha. Many have called it arguably one of the best matches of 2015. I call Bayley and Sasha Banks' epic battle the match of 2015. The match featured every exciting spot the two women could concoct, but it also told a story of an underdog fighting to prove herself as the new top dog of NXT. When Bayley picked up the win, she not only won the title but also the legacy of being the final Horsewoman standing in NXT.

The Top 4 Wrestlers of 2015

I debated doing a rundown of the best matches but once I realized the massive number of matches I've watched since getting back into wrestling this year, I knew that was going to be to be WAY too much work. So instead I've broken it down to the top 4 wrestlers of the year, all of whom will have matches in the top ten lists across the internet.

#4 MIL MUERTES

It's not often you come across a wrestler who can be compared to the Undertaker, but if there is one way to describe Mil Muertes, it is as Luchador Undertaker.  The highlight reel doesn't even do the match justice, go out and find this full match, as it is probably the greatest casket match in history. Lucha Underground is far ahead of the WWE in many ways and this match clearly shows you why.
Mil appeared in Lucha Underground and conquered and his story is definitely one of the most interesting of 2015.

The Top 10 wrestlers of WWE, December 2015 edition

We close off the Top 10 lists for this week with another look at the stars of WWE and where they fall as the year ends and Royal Rumble season begins. Remember to keep these listings in mind while making your votes for the ten best wrestlers of the year.

And it all kicks off with someone that came in near the top of the NXT list earlier this year...

Image credit: WWE.com.

NXT Advent Calendar Day 4: Sasha Banks wrestles.. her boyfriend?

Before Sasha Banks was the internet's favorite female wrestler, she was simply Mercedes KV. She worked all over the northeast for a couple years from a very young age before her signing with WWE in 2012 at the age of just 20.

Sasha Banks with fiance Mikaze. Image credit: uproxx.com.

But one of her most interesting pre-NXT battles came in Beyond Wrestling, a brand known for intergender wrestling. I know very little about two of her opponents: Fury and Fahrenheit, but the fourth individual in the match is none other than Mikaze. Some fans might know Mikaze as WWE's official costume maker, but he also happens to be Sasha's fiance and a wrestler. Earlier this year, an NXT tryout match with him went very wrong and left him injured, but before that he was working on the indies including in this match with a very young Sasha.

Now I have no idea if the two were dating at the time or not, but it is an interesting footnote in the career of perhaps the best female wrestler in the world today.

The NXT Top 10

The Wednesday Top 10 is back and this time we check in on the aftermath of NXT Takeover: Respect with a list of ten best wrestlers or tag teams in NXT. In the aftermath of the Dusty Classic, the women's title match main event and the continued dominance of Apollo Crews, there's a lot to talk about. But who will take number one? Better start reading to find out!

The Vaudevillians. Image credit: WWE.com.