Every wrestling fan’s view of the all-time greats evolves over time. This is my attempt to capture that process in real time.

After putting together my GWE list earlier this year, I wanted to create a Top 100 that wasn’t locked into a single moment in time. This list is intentionally fluid. Wrestlers can rise or fall, new names can enter, and others can eventually drop out as I watch more, learn more, and reassess my opinions. Nothing here is definitive. This is simply where I stand right now, with the understanding that it will continue to change.

Disclaimer, I have several huge blind spots that I need to get fixed, but until I do there will be a severe lack of Lucha, World of Sport, and Shoot Style on my list.

Honorable Mentions to Andrade el Idolo, Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels, Goldberg, Hiroshi Hase, Kento Miyahara, Jun Kasai, Masa Saito, Mistico, Sareee, Scott Steiner, Super Crazy, & Syuri. Now let’s get started.

100. KAORU

99. Shelton Benjamin

98. Shuji Ishikawa

97. Christian Cage

96. Hiromu Takahashi

95. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi

94. Tatsumi Fujinami

93. Rocky Romero

92. Tomoaki Honma

91. Homicide

90. Amazing Red

89. Takeshi Morishima

88. Ricky Steamboat

87. Kushida

86. Austin Aries

85. Fritz Von Erich

84. Steve Williams

83. Masakatsu Funaki

82. Matt Jackson

81. Nick Jackson

80. Hangman Adam Page

79. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

78. Naomichi Marufuji

77. Terry Gordy

76. Lex Luger

75. Chris Hero

74. Lioness Asuka

73. Necro Butcher

72. Takashi Suguira

71. Zack Sabre Jr

70. Bret Hart

69. Eddie Guerrero

68. Manami Toyota

67. Kana

66. Hulk Hogan

65. Go Shiozaki

64. Taka Michinoku

63. Devil Masami

62. Mike Awesome

61. Mark Briscoe

60. Ric Flair

59. The Rock

58. Yoshihiro Takayama

57. Io Shirai

56. Jon Moxley

55. Shinobu Kandori

54. Claudio Castagnoli

53. Sting

52. Jushin Thunder Liger

51. El Generico

50. Kota Ibushi

49. Hirooki Goto

48. Yuji Nagata

47. Eddie Kingston

46. Yoshihiro Tajiri

45. Nigel McGuinness

44. Rey Mysterio Jr

43. Katsuhiko Nakajima

42. Kevin Steen

41. Kensuke Sasaki

40. Akira Taue

39. AJ Styles

38. Kyoko Inoue

37. Minoru Suzuki

36. Jaguar Yokota

35. Mick Foley

34. Stan Hansen

33. Low Ki

32. Roderick Strong

31. Dump Matsumoto

30. Tetsuya Naito

29. Jay Briscoe

27. Bull Nakano

26. Antonio Inoki

25. Pac

When I first created this list a few months back I had Pac in the 90s not thinking much of it, but his death made me reconsider his case. I looked back at his career with much more of a magnifying glass, saw how much he meant to me and so many others, and quickly realized how much I had overlooked his case. The question I kept coming back to was “What’s your least favorite Pac match?” and I could just never come up with an answer. Pac had one of the greatest floors of any wrestler I’ve personally ever had the pleasure of watching. If you saw him on the card you knew that the card would at least have one thing worth watching on it because everything Pac ever did in that ring, or in front of a camera was worth seeking out. He was incredible everywhere. Go back and watch his early stuff in the UK or mid 2000s indy work in the states. Watch his initial Dragon Gate run. Watch him almost single handedly build the black and gold era of NXT with the likes of Zayn, Kidd, and Breeze. Watch him in his Dragon Gate return, repaying a company that meant so much to him when he really didn’t have to. Watch the last 7 years of great work he did in AEW. Pac was always worth watching and the wrestling world is a little worse without him in it. I also have a much more deeper personal connection to him that I’ll go into now.

Pac Saved Pro Wrestling

When Pac died I spent the following few days thinking about it, and I truly think Pac, alongside Steen and Generico, saved my wrestling fandom. Until about 2014, I was mostly a WWE/TNA guy. Not happily, that shit was pure ass. But then the Network came out and I started checking out NXT. Pac was a guy who caught my eye immediately. He was in there with guys like Brodus Clay and Bo Dallas, and he was dragging them to not just passable but legitimately great matches. The Bo ladder match from the first NXT live show is still one of my favorites in NXT history. For the entire year of 2014, I was fixated on NXT and the main event scene with Pac, Zayn, Breeze, and Kidd. Any time a combination of those guys were together, it was some of the best stuff I’d ever seen. The 4-way and Kidd/Neville singles match especially.

And then came R-Evolution. I wasn’t able to watch it live, but I remember refreshing the Bleacher Report live thread for each update during the match. Then, for the next few days, I kept seeing people online talk about how incredible it was. I finally got to see it, and that shit did not disappoint. I’m sorry to the black-and-gold DIY stans, but it’ll forever be the best match in the brand’s history, and nothing has ever come close. The chemistry those two guys had was almost unfathomable. A few weeks after that, we also got Neville vs. Owens, which nobody talks about but, IMO, might be Owens’ best match in the fed. Just an incredible TV match to put over the recently debuted Owens. And finally, we got Neville/Balor in one of Pac’s final appearances for the brand he helped craft. And, to no one’s surprise, those two knocked it out of the park too. Another Pac match I’d argue is his opponent’s best during their fed run, seemingly a common theme. 

So, because of this run, I realized pretty quickly that I needed to seek out all of the stuff these guys were doing before coming to the fed. The Pac/Generico stuff. The Steen/Generico stuff. Devitt’s run in New Japan. It helped me realize how deep the world of pro wrestling was. I quickly stopped watching the fed and became a New Japan and ROH guy, thanks to Wrestle Kingdom 9 and Matt Striker. But it’s large part due to Pac that I went down that path. And even though I had moved away from the fed being my main promotion, I’d always keep tabs on Pac. I watched him do his absolute damnedest to help establish the Cruiserweight division, and I cheered like hell when he beat the shit out of Enzo and then quit. He was always a guy worth keeping an eye on because, no matter what the company gave him, big or small, you knew he was going to give it his all and it was going to be worth checking out. There exists a world where I don’t discover 2014 NXT and my wrestling flame burns out, but I’m glad I don’t live in that world. I’m glad I discovered Pac, and I’ll be forever grateful that he helped save my love of pro wrestling.

Thank you for allowing me to be a fan for the last 12 years. You were the greatest.

Rest in Peace, Ben.

Recommended Matches:

• w/ BxB Hulk, & Masato Yoshino vs. Akira Tozawa, Dragon Kid & Taku Iwasa (Dragon Gate Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2009)
• vs. Prince Devitt (NJPW Best of Super Juniors 2012 Night 9)
• vs. Bo Dallas (NXT Arrival 2014)
• vs. Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover)
• vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way)
• vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: R-Evolution)
• vs. Finn Balor (NXT Takeover: Rival)
• vs. Kevin Owens (NXT February 12th 2015)
• vs. Flamita (Dragon Gate The Gate of Destiny 2018)
• vs. Masato Yoshino (Dragon Gate Fantastic Gate 2018)
• vs. KZY (Dragon Gate Truth Gate 2019)
• vs. Dragon Kid (Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2019)
• vs. Ben K (Dragon Gate Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2019)
• vs. Kenny Omega (AEW Dynamite February 26 2020)
• vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW Revolution 2020)
• vs. Kenny Omega vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW Double or Nothing 2021)
• vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Death Before Dishonor 2023)
• vs. Kazuchika Okada (AEW Dynasty 2024)
• vs. Will Ospreay (AEW All Out 2024)
• vs. Darby Allin (AEW Fairway to Hell May 9th 2026)

24. CM Punk

Recommended Matches:

• vs. Raven (ROH Death Before Dishonor 2003)
• vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Money in the Bank 2012)
• vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW Full Gear 2021)
• vs. MJF (AEW Revolution 2022)

24. Shinya Hashimoto

23. Mitsuharu Misawa

22. Jun Akiyama

21. Steve Austin

20. Tomohiro Ishii

19. Kenny Omega

18. KENTA

17. Shinsuke Nakamura

16. Katsuyori Shibata

15. Kenta Kobashi

14. Steve Corino

13. Toshiaki Kawada

12. Chigusa Nagayo

11. Big Van Vader

10. Akira Hokuto

9. Kazuchika Okada

This is a heart on my sleeve pick. 2010s New Japan means so fucking much to me not only as a wrestling fan but also as a person. My life is the way it is right now thanks to that era of professional wrestling. And Okada is the perfect encapsulation of that. From the moment at the end of Wrestle Kingdom 6 where he challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi for the world title to jeers and laughter from the Tokyo Dome audience he has been among the best in the world. That’s 14 years and counting. And in my opinion his peaks are as good as anyone’s. Even though I personal hold them in incredibly high reverence, opinions on the Omega and Tanahashi matches are a little more nuanced within this community but most can agree that the Shibata match is the stuff of legends. Even his biggest detractors have things they can point to and say oh yeah that ones fucking amazing. The Ishii match, the Kiyomiya match, the Tanahashi retirement match, his AEW TV work. Idk if his case is exactly the most varied, it’s a lot of the same sort of stuff, but man is that stuff some of the best of it’s kind. He perfected that 2010s main event style and is one of the main reasons it’s so wide spread these days (for better or worse). I’m staking my claim and I’m not ashamed of it. Kazuchika Okada is one of the 10 best professional wrestlers to have ever lived.

Recommended Matches:

• vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW 40th Anniversary Show)
• vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Dominion June 16th 2012)
• w/ Roppongi Vice vs. AJ Styles, & The Young Bucks (ROH Global Wars 2015)
• vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 13)
• vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2016)
• vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11)
• vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017)
• w/ Tomohiro Ishii vs. The Golden Lovers (NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2018)
• vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14)
• vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH Keiji Muto Grand Final)
• vs. Pac (AEW Dynasty 2024)
• vs. Will Ospreay (AEW World’s End 2024)
• vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20)

8. Meiko Satomura

7. Bryan Danielson

6. Genichiro Tenryu

5. Terry Funk

Objectively speaking Terry Funk is the greatest wrestler ever. If I had to pick one guy that I think deserves to be voted number one in this project it would be Terry. Unfortunately subjectively I just have a closer connection to the people I’ve ranked above him. But damn man, what can you say about Terry Funk? It’s god damn Terry Funk. He worked in Amarillo, he worked in Tokyo, he worked in ECW, he worked in the WWF. From the territory days in Western States Sports, to the exploding rings of FMW, and finally the High Definition PPVs of WWECW, Funk always worked. He could wrestle a classic technical NWA broadway, a day later he could be in All Japan with his older brother showcasing the art of tag team wrestling. When he aged and couldn’t move as well anymore he just became one of the greatest hardcore wrestlers of all time. It’s Terry fucking Funk and it’s undeniable.

4. Aja Kong

The eternal question, peak vs longevity, what’s more important to you? Well with Aja Kong you don’t have to choose. She combines the cases of one of the greatest peaks ever (well quite frankly 2 of the greatest peaks ever) with one of the greatest longevity cases of all time. I don’t know if many other wrestlers have as strong an argument as Aja Kong. In my opinion pretty clearly the greatest women’s wrestler of all time. Her match catalogue is filled with some of the greatest matches ever, Manami, Bull, KAORU, the Thunder Queen. And she’s still going today! Continuing to put on fantastic matches against new gen rookies like Senka as well as old foes like Meiko Satomura.

3. Jumbo Tsuruta

Jumbo Tsuruta has an interesting case. An argument can be made that he was the wrestler of the 1970s. An argument can be made that he was the wrestler of the 1980s. An argument can be made that he has a higher peak in the 1990s than anyone else. Jumbo is a guy that helped pave the way from those 70s into what the wrestling landscape would become in the 90s and beyond. His influence cannot be compared to anyone in the modern landscape of professional wrestling. To what Flair was to American wrestling, Jumbo was arguably not only a bigger act but an even greater influence on the generations that followed. He is the godfather of a wrestling style that has left its mark on the business worldwide, but beyond that, he was a master of the psychology that defined it. There will never be another Jumbo Tsuruta because to be that one must give their entire being to the sport.

2. Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe’s 2005 is one of the greatest peaks any wrestler has ever had. Kobashi, Necro, AJ, Daniels, the triple threat. A match catalogue that deep would make a pretty good GWE top 100 case as an entire careers catalogue, but he did that in just one single year. That doesn’t even begin to take into account every other year of his career. He was fantastic in 2002. He’s still fantastic in 2026. He’s had a few down periods, but who spent significant time in TNA that didn’t? His work pre 2009 and his work post 2015 more than make up for it, and even then he still has a handful of fantastic stuff during that down period. One of those guys who makes wrestling feel real in the best way possible. Just a true one of one.

Recommended matches:

• vs.

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Hiroshi Tanahashi is the greatest professional wrestler of all time. I think we’re all biased towards the eras that we watched live, and the wrestlers that made those eras special. 2010s New Japan is my favorite era of any wrestling promotion ever. Experiencing that week after week month after month year after year, I’ve never enjoyed wrestling quite like I did during that time. And Tanahashi was a significant part of that. Consistent MOTY contenders for damn near 20 years straight. Some of the single greatest wrestling matches ever with the likes of Okada, Omega, Naito, Suzuki, Shibata, Ishii the list goes on. No one can control the tempo of a match quite like him. No one ever had the crowd in the palm of their hand quite like him. No one ever made me feel like he did. The motherfucking ace of the universe. The greatest professional wrestler of all time.

Recommended matches:

• vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW Destruction November 11th 2007)
• vs. Suwama (AJPW Champion Carnival Final April 9th 2008)
• vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Dominion June 16th 2012)
• vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling October 8th 2012)
• vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax 23 Day 2 August 2nd 2013)
• vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Climax 23 Final August 11th 2013)
• vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Destruction in Kobe September 21st 2014)
• vs. AJ Styles (NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 17 August 14th 2015)
• vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Climax 25 Final August 16th 2015)
• vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW G1 Climax 28 Final August 12th 2018)