20 Absolute Best Wrestlers In The World Right Now
13. Ronda Rousey
The current Raw Women's Champion may not be a popular inclusion.
She's a star, and those whose only frame of reference is this star-less WWE era don't like that she's positioned on a level above other wrestlers, despite this being how pro-wrestling has always worked best. Many dislike her heavily-rehearsed match layouts. Others will cite promo inconsistencies and subjective moveset complaints. There are more, but these are the core protests.
Ronda Rousey's televised output strikes each of these quibbles down. She is the most impressive WWE rookie since Kurt Angle's explosive debut year, and while still putting some of the pieces together, her lack of experience makes her output borderline unbelievable.
WrestleMania 34 was an expertly agented introduction built around Rousey's hot tag, with a number of electric, crowd-popping moments. 'Rowdy' performed a miracle in dragging the lacklustre Nia Jax to two great matches in 2018. Her showdown with Charlotte Flair was one of the year's nastiest, grittiest fights, the Nikki Bella bout exceeded expectations, and when allowed to be her natural, assertive self, Rousey's character work is bettered only by Flair and Becky Lynch.
Stealing the show on a card featuring Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles will be tough, but watch her and Sasha Banks blow the roof off at Royal Rumble 2019.
2018 ranking: n/a.