WWE's Seth Rollins Tops The 2023 PWI 500

The current WWE World Heavyweight Champion tops the prestigious PWI 500.

By Andrew Pollard / September 17, 2023

WWE.com

With Pro Wrestling Illustrated having today revealed the Top 10 of this year's PWI 500, it's WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins who nabs the top spot on this prestigious annual rankings list.

This news was announced on Busted Open Radio earlier today.

As revealed on @BustedOpenRadio: @WWERollins tops the #PWI500 for a record-tying third time. He's followed by his Shield brothers @WWERomanReigns and @JonMoxley at #2 and #3, respectively.
BUY DIGITAL EDITION: https://t.co/DAJXJPwm2IPREORDER PRINT: https://t.co/0hYJwzuVhd pic.twitter.com/xG0zR7aEgA

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— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) September 14, 2023

Filling out the the full Top 10 of the 2023 PWI 500, we have:

10) Cody Rhodes

9) Josh Alexander

8) Orange Cassidy

7) Kazuchika Okada

6) MJF

5) El Hijo del Vikingo

4) GUNTHER

3) Jon Moxley

2) Roman Reigns

1) Seth Rollins

This win marks Rollins' third time topping the PWI 500, with him having previously nabbed that award in 2015 and 2019. The only other wrestler to have grabbed the #1 spot in the PWI 500 three times is John Cena (2006, 2007, 2013).

While the Visionary and his Shield brothers rounded out the top three this year, this also marks the fourth time in the past five years that a former Hound of Justice has topped the PWI 500. In addition to Rollins getting that gong in 2019, Jon Moxley received the award in 2020, and Roman Reigns did the same last year. That run was broken up in 2021 by Kenny Omega; though even then, Roman was hot on Omega's heels in second place.

When it comes to this year's PWI 500, the evaluation period was 1 July 2022 to 31 July 2023. The rankings take into account win-loss records, technical ability, influence on the industry, success against top opposition, success against diverse opposition, and sheer amount of activity.

You can pre-order physical copy of the 2023 PWI 500 edition of Pro Wrestling Illustrated here, whilst the digital copy is available here.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

Posted On: 14th Sep 2023

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