Back in 2008, Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s (mostly) kayfabe ranking of the world’s top female wrestlers joined the magazine’s annual top 500 list (which includes women, but primarily focuses on men). It started as a list of 100 names, grew to 150 in 2021, and two years ago expanded to 250. Recent #1s have included Becky Lynch, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Stardom’s Syuri, Timeless Toni Storm, and Mercedes Moné.
And in the newest edition, PWI’s selectors have chosen a two-time WWE Women’s World
champion Stephanie Vaquer. She finished in front of four wrestlers who held AEW’s top belt during the same time period, the joshi who’s lengthy World of Stardom reign ended in April, and the current WWE Women’s World champion.
Here’s PWI’s latest Top Ten:
- Stephanie Vaquer
- Willow Nightingale
- Thekla
- Mercedes Moné
- Saya Kamitani
- Liv Morgan
- Persephone
- Syuri
- Rhea Ripley
- Kris Statlander
According to the magazine, the PWI 250 covers the period from Oct. 1 of the previous year to Sept. 30 of the current one. Selectors weigh in-ring achievement, influence on the sport/promotion, technical ability, quality of competition, and activity. I call it “(mostly) kayfabe” because “influence on the sport” gives them some room to consider non-work elements of a person’s career… and because I personally believe some thought is understandably given to their own shoot business, e.g. what will sell magazines. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.
Moné joins Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who took first place in the latest PWI 500, in being recognized by the publication as the best in the world.
Vaquer’s status as the first Chilean or South American to win a WWE World title counted as “influence on the sport”, I’m guessing — and was given a lot of weight. Early fan reaction to this year’s PWI 250 has been critical of that, pointing out the months La Primera’s missed due to injury and the start/stop booking WWE has done with Vaquer when she’s around, and how she only defended the Women’s World title six times across two runs and exclusively against Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez.
Liv Morgan is the other person to hold the same belt during PWI’s “year”, and she seems to have knocked down the list due to lack of defenses (only three across her two reigns). But women’s wrestling hasn’t really had a consistently dominant figure or storyline recently, and that’s reflected in the choices PWI’s selectors mad… such as overlooking Vaquer’s inconsistent push.
But that’s the fun of these things, right? Let the debate begin!
