WWE Quiz: Can You Name Every #1 Ranking In PWI History?

Since the PWI 500 began in 1991, who won the best wrestler award in each and every year?

by Andrew Pollard
Pro Wrestling Illustrated

In the world of wrestling outlets, Pro Wrestling Illustrated is one of the forerunners and true gamechangers.

Having been around since 1979, PWI has been a long-standing favourite of many a wrestling fan, not least down to how publisher Bill Apter has become such a pivotal piece of wrestling history himself in his ever-lasting career.

While Pro Wrestling Illustrated as a publication has been a must-have for so many wrestling fans, one factor that’s given PWI such fame is the outlet’s annual PWI 500 – the yearly event where the PWI minds draw up their list of the 500 best wrestlers in the world.

That PWI 500 initiative has been in place since 1991 and has drawn praise and criticism in equal measure over those years, but regardless of whether people love the PWI 500 or hate it they still always make the effort to check it out each and every year.

With the 2019 PWI 500 recently announced, this seems like the perfect time to look back at the history of PWI 500 winners. With that said, can you correctly name each and every single #1 ranking of the PWI 500 since the award began way back in ’91?

Answers at the end!

1. Who Topped The PWI #500 In 1991?

Ric Flair

Hulk Hogan

Sting

Randy Savage?
Senior Writer
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.