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"Who is the best wrestler all around the globe?" is one of the most common debates among professional wrestling fans. While everyone has there own personal favorite lists, Professional Wrestling Illustrated publishes a list of the top 500 wrestlers each year, known as PWI 500.
Starting in the year 1991, the criteria to decide a wrestler's position on PWI 500 include several parameters like win-loss record, championships won, quality of competition, major feuds, prominence within a wrestler's individual promotion(s), and overall wrestling ability. A few days ago, PWI 500 announced the list for 2020, which was topped by current AEW Champion, Jon Moxley. Former NXT Champion Adam Cole secured the second spot, while Chris Jericho was at the third position.
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The world of pro wrestling has changed drastically in the last decade. In this article, we'll take a look at the top 10 wrestlers of 2010 according to PWI 500 and find out where they are now.
#10 PWI 500 (2010): Sheamus
In 2010, the tenth position on the PWI 500 list was secured by Sheamus. It was in October 2009, when Sheamus made his RAW debut. Few months later at TLC 2009, Sheamus defeated John Cena in a Tables match to become the first Irish-born WWE Champion. With an impressive year, Sheamus was awarded the 2009 Slammy Award for Breakout Superstar of the Year. He also made it to the top 10 of PWI 500.
A decade later, Sheamus is still under a contract with WWE. Now a four-time World Champion, Sheamus returned to in-ring competition at the start of 2020 after a hiatus due to an injury. He was recently involved in a personal feud with Jeff Hardy and is currently a part of Friday Night SmackDown. Interestingly, Sheamus was unable to crack into PWI 500 list this year, mostly due to him being out-of-action for most of 2019.
#9 PWI 500 (2010): Kurt Angle
At number nine on the PWI 500 list of 2010 was the Olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle. At that time, Kurt Angle was under contract with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling. He became the TNA World Heavyweight Champion for the fourth time in June 2009 while also regaining the leadership of Main Event Mafia. He soon turned face and had a great year in 2010, making it to number nine on PWI 500.
Kurt Angle returned to WWE in 2017 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame that year by John Cena. He soon became the general manager of RAW and went on to wrestle for WWE occasionally. Angle finally hung up his boots at WrestleMania 35. In April 2020, WWE released Kurt Angle as part of their COVID-19 budget cuts.
#8 PWI 500 (2010): The Undertaker
The eighth spot on the PWI 500 list of 2010 was secured by The Undertaker. 2009-2010 was one of the best years of The Phenom's WWE career which also saw his famous WrestleMania 26 "Streak vs Career" match against Shawn Michaels. Before that, The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship at Hell in a Cell 2009 and held the title till Elimination Chamber 2010. He dropped it to Chris Jericho after an interference from the Heartbreak Kid.
Fast forward to 2020, The Undertaker took on AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 in a Boneyard match, which he won. A few months after, WWE Network aired a docuseries "Undertaker: The Last Ride" where the Dead Man broke kayfabe to reveal his human side. On the last episode of the series, The Undertaker seemingly announced his retirement, thus ending his legendary career.
#7 PWI 500 (2010): Shinsuke Nakamura
At number seven on the PWI 500 list of 2010 was Shinsuke Nakamura. Contracted to New Japan Pro Wrestling at that time, Nakamura was rising to fame as the King of Strong Style. In September 2009, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the third time. He then went on to have several amazing matches and successful title defenses before dropping it to Makabe in May 2010.
Shinsuke Nakamura signed with WWE in 2016 and had a great few years with the company. He won the NXT Championship twice and won the 2018 Royal Rumble match. Unfortunately, he hasn't been a huge star in the last couple of years. Currently, Nakamura is part of the SmackDown roster where he is one-half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, alongside Cesaro. Nakamura was placed at #26 on the PWI 500 list of 2020.
#6 PWI 500 (2010): Batista
The sixth position on the 2010 list of the PWI 500 was secured by the Animal, Batista. Batista was involved in several top-class feuds throughout 2009 and 2010 against the likes of Rey Mysterio and The Undertaker. He even became the WWE Champion by defeating John Cena, though his reign ended in just 35 days. Batista faced John Cena in an "I Quit" match for the WWE Championship at Over the Limit 2010. After losing the match, Batista came out on RAW the next night and quit the company.
After a disastrous return in 2014, Batista returned again in 2019 and got into a massive feud against Triple H. The Game defeated him at WrestleMania 35, after which Batista announced his retirement from in-ring competition. WWE has announced that Batista is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2020, but the ceremony hasn't taken place yet due to COVID-19. Outside of WWE, Batista is now a mainstream Hollywood star, having been featured in several top movies.
#5 PWI 500 (2010): Chris Jericho
At number five on the PWI 500 list of 2010 was Chris Jericho. Contracted under WWE at that time, Y2J formed a tag-team with Big Show in 2019, called Jeri-Show. After the end of the tag-team in January 2010, Chris Jericho won the World Heavyweight Championship at Elimination Chamber. He went on to successfully defend his title at WrestleMania 26 against the Royal Rumble winner, Edge. Jericho lost it on the following SmackDown when Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank contract.
Chris Jericho is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling, where he became the inaugural AEW World Champion in 2019. He has been enjoying his run with the new promotion, working with several young stars, and helping AEW compete head-on with WWE NXT. He has been one of the few to have stood the test of time and evolved their characters continuously. Jericho secured the third spot on the PWI 500 list in 2020.
#4 PWI 500 (2010): Randy Orton
At number four on the PWI 500 list of 2010 was The Legend Killer, Randy Orton. The second-half of 2009 saw Randy Orton and John Cena feud against each other, winning and dropping the WWE Championship to each other multiple times. Orton then started a feud with Kofi Kingston leading to a traditional Survivor Series elimination match between both their teams. Ahead of WrestleMania 26, Randy Orton turned face and defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase at the Show of Shows.
Fast forward to 2020 and Randy Orton is still at the top of his game as a vicious heel. He had an amazing feud with the returning Edge with both of them picking up one victory each at WrestleMania 36 and Backlash 2020. Orton has brought back the vicious Punt Kick and is looking more dangerous than ever. PWI 500 list of 2020 saw him secure the 48th spot.
#3 PWI 500 (2010): CM Punk
CM Punk managed to break into the top three of the PWI 500 list of 2010. Punk lost his World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker at Hell in a Cell 2009. Soon after this, he went through a character change as he formed The Straight Edge Society alongside Luke Gallows and Serena. The gimmick and Punk's promo were highly popular among the WWE Universe.
CM Punk made his controversial exit from WWE in 2014. However, he made his return to WWE (in a way) last year in 2019 by joining WWE Backstage as a special analyst. With the cancellation on the show on FS1, it is to be seen whether CM Punk would be involved with WWE in some way in the future.
#2 PWI 500 (2010): John Cena
The runner-up of the PWI 500 list of 2010 was the Poster Boy of WWE, John Cena. The Leader of Cenation interestingly made it to the top 10 of the PWI 500 every year from 2004 to 2016. It is just an indication of the domination he had over a decade. The year 2009 and 2010 saw John Cena win the WWE Championship multiple times. He even won the 2009 Superstar of the Year tournament.
Since 2017, John Cena has turned into a part-timer for WWE, focusing on his Hollywood career. He last appeared for WWE at WrestleMania 36 in 2020 where he took on Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House match. He ended up putting Wyatt over and it is to be seen when will we get to see him back in WWE again.
#1 PWI 500 (2010): AJ Styles
Topping the PWI 500 list of 2010 as the top Wrestler of 2010 was none other than The Phenomenal One, AJ Styles. Signed to TNA/IMPACT Wrestling at that time, Styles played a huge role in putting the promotion on the map. In September 2009, AJ Styles won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, a reign that lasted a record-211 days. During this period, he also aligned himself with Ric Flair as The New Nature Boy.
AJ Styles signed with WWE in 2016 and has been with the company till now. He is a former two-time WWE Champion and took on The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36 in a Boneyard match. He is currently part of the roster of Friday Night SmackDown. PWI 500 ranked him at #10 on their 2020 list.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
