PWI 500: This Year's Top 10 Wrestlers Revealed
Are these the 10 best wrestlers in the world? PWI seem to think so...
Traditionally released in September, the PWI 500 is Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual attempt at ranking the 500 best wrestlers in the world. It has ran since 1991, and while this year's list is still a few days from publication, PWI senior writer Dan Murphy revealed the 2017 top 10 during an appearance on The Ross Report earlier today.
The rankings always provoke mass debate, and take more than just in-ring ability into account. Instead, they're produced from a kayfabe standpoint. Win-loss records, championships, feuds, quality of opposition, and the wrestlers' prominence within an individual promotion all come into play, with this year's time frame stretching from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
There have been a number of major shifts among the top spots. Four wrestlers have dropped out of the top 10 completely, and while the list is as WWE-centric as usual, PWI still found room for a couple of NJPW headliners.
There's no doubt the full PWI 500 will be as divisive as ever when it comes out. In the meanwhile, let's take a look at the wrestlers that PWI have deemed worthy of the top 10...
10. The Miz
The Miz embarked upon a career-best run as Intercontinental Champion after joining SmackDown in the 2016 WWE Draft, raising the title's prominence through compelling rivalries with Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and General Manager Daniel Bryan. He recovered the belt soon after joining Raw in this year's Superstar Shake-Up, and remains one of WWE's most consistent performers.