10 Most Over Wrestlers In The World Right Now
Roman Reigns is obviously in this list - but is he "the one"?
It's more difficult than ever to gauge who is and isn't over.
Kazuchika Okada and several of NJPW's top stars will get a literal roaring reception when (if?) the promotion is able to promote shows normally, but at present, they can only receive polite applause for their incredible work. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are obviously massive stars, the two biggest in the game perhaps, but the modern WWE audience doesn't really go f*cking apesh*t for anything anymore, unless it's John Cena returning at Money In The Bank. The really passionate ardent hardcores grew disillusioned with the product long ago and migrated to AEW.
There are only four genuine "premium live events" with which to gauge who is truly over enough to make an appreciable difference. ProWrestlingTees are more willing to share data - ahem - on which acts are hot merch sellers, where WWE tend not to widely circulate this info. Nielsen quarter hours are useful, too, but these numbers don't necessarily tie up with booming arena ovations.
WWE is the brand. People go to watch the promotion itself live in person. AEW meanwhile has evolved into a legit all-star league. Who's shifting those tickets? You could name at least 10 acts in response to that question.
Using a loose criteria, let's attempt to determine the most over 10, full stop...
N.B. This isn't, as you'll learn, an article titled '10 Biggest Draws'...
10. Bobby Lashley
WWE is insistent that Brock Lesnar Vs. Roman Reigns must headline WrestleMania as the feature attraction, and looking at that staggering Day 1 ticket climb, they're not remotely wrong.
But.
WrestleMania 38 invites precious few other match fantasy match graphics.
Randy Orton Vs. Riddle is fresh, and really well-built. Much time has also been invested into Omos, but the man simply can't be carried and his match with AJ Styles was a library-silent disaster of an anti-climax. WWE has burnt through every viable combination of major women's division matches. WWE doesn’t give a sh*t about tag team division matches.
That leaves not a lot for two nights. Goldberg will work the show, so there's that. But what else? Who's really, truly over? What matches are WWE fans really, truly crying out to see?
Brock Lesnar Vs. Bobby Lashley.
It already feels too big for even the Royal Rumble, and much of that has to do with Lashley's extraordinary career reinvention. The Hurt Lock is massively over, his matches break the boredom spell that plagues 99 out of 100 WWE arenas, and his numbers as WWE Champion last year were seriously, relatively impressive.