Ranking the top 5 AEW men's wrestlers in PWI 500
PWI released their annual list of the top 500 professional wrestlers in the world, the PWI 500, and none other than AEW world champion Kenny Omega topped the list.
As is the case every year, there were plenty of talking points from the list, none bigger than the Kenny Omega vs. Roman Reigns debate about who deserved the top spot. Do let us know in the comments who you think should be number one.
PWI 500 follows a specific criteria set in kayfabe. The criteria are as follows:
- win-loss record
- championships won
- quality of competition
- major feuds
- prominence within a wrestler's individual promotion(s)
- overall wrestling ability
The decision is based on a wrestler's performance between June 30 and July 1 of the next year, so it is not calculated on a January to January basis.
A number of AEW wrestlers showed up on the list, unsurprising considering the year the company had. AEW had two names in the top 10 and five in the top 20.
Let us look at the five AEW wrestlers who ranked the highest in this year's PWI 500 list.
Kenny Omega: #1 in PWI 500
Kenny Omega is number one in PWI 500 for the second time in his career, a remarkable achievement that establishes how great the Belt Collector is.
During the consideration period, Kenny Omega captured the AEW World Championship, IMPACT Wrestling World Championship and defended the AAA Mega Championship, meaning he held three major world titles.
Also, in the initial months of the consideration period, he was the AEW tag team champion and defended the title multiple times before losing out to the FTR.
He consistently put on excellent matches on AEW and defended the AAA Mega Championship against Laredo Kid in an outstanding match. His crowning moment came at AEW Winter is Coming when he defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship, a title he's still holding.