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Pro Wrestling Illustrated

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2001:b07:a9a:3c5e:4d3a:b6e1:92d8:67f1 (talk) at 21:19, 4 February 2021 (→Current retrospective recognition: no edit summary). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"PWI" redirects here. For other uses, see PWI (disambiguation).

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
File:Pro Wrestling Illustrated March 2014 cover.gif
2014 PWI 500 Cover featuring Daniel Bryan
PublisherStu Saks
CategoriesSports
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherKappa Publishing Group
First issueSeptember 1979
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.pwi-online.com
ISSN1043-7576

Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979. PWI is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The magazine is the longest published English language wrestling magazine still in production. PWI publishes bi-monthly issues and annual special issues such as their "Almanac and Book of Facts". The magazine recognizes various world championships as legitimate, similar to The Ring in boxing.

PWI is often referred to as an "Apter Mag", named after its long time photographer Bill Apter, a term used for wrestling magazines that keep kayfabe. In recent years, the PWI has moved away from reporting on storylines as actual news and mixed in editorial comments on the behind the scenes workings.

Since 1991, PWI has been publishing their annual "Top 500 Wrestlers" list, enumerating the top male wrestlers in the world. In 2008, they added an annual "Top 50 Female Wrestlers" list, which was later expanded and renamed to the "Top 100 Female Wrestlers" list in 2018. In 2020, they added an annual "Top 50 Tag Teams" list, enumerating the top tag teams in the world.

History

The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979. The magazine soon became known for not breaking kayfabe in its articles as it traditionally treated all "angles", or storylines, as real. However, in more recent years the magazine has taken an editorial approach between kayfabe and "shoot" writing, differentiating between on-screen feuds and controversies behind the scenes. PWI is not limited to covering only prominent professional wrestling promotions, as it also covers multiple independent promotions in the United States. PWI also publishes other special issues, which include: Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts since 1996, Women of Wrestling and a weekly newsletter entitled PWI Weekly from 1989 to 2000. It was eventually acquired by Golden Boy Enterprises.

PWI has given out annual awards and recognitions since its inception. These awards had previously been given out by another Victory Sports Magazine property, Sports Review Wrestling. PWI has also given out monthly rankings for the big promotions, some select independents, and an overall rankings in singles and tag teams. Additionally, readers are given the ability vote for the winners of the year-end awards with ballots being included in special year-end issues. A special PWI Awards magazine is issued annually, which reveals winners and the number of votes counted. The following is a list of categories in which PWI has issued awards.

PWI world championship status

Historical recognition

Although many wrestling organisations promote their lead title as a World Heavyweight Championship, PWI has only recognized a few top versions as valid World titles at any one time. With regard to the NWA World Heavyweight championship, PWI has generally recognized the lineage retrospectively traced by the NWA from its 1948 formation back to Georg Hackenschmidt in 1905.[1] PWI has also recognized any tag team title corresponding to a recognized World title as a World Tag Team Championship.

Until March 1991, Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister publications steadfastly referred to WCW as "the NWA" despite WCW having increasingly phased out the latter name in the preceding months. In Spring 1991, the family of magazines adopted a new policy of referring to the current promotion and its champions as WCW and the promotion's pre-1991 past as the NWA. The magazine also announced it would refer to the overall history of the World title as the "NWA/WCW World Championship" (and likewise with other WCW championships).[2]

Subsequently, after Ric Flair left WCW and was stripped of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in July 1991, PWI and its sister publications nonetheless continued to recognize the WCW title as held by Lex Luger, Sting, Vader and Ron Simmons as the rightful continuation of the historic NWA World Heavyweight Championship. When Masa Chono won an NWA World title tournament in Japan in August 1992, PWI and its sister publications only recognized Chono's title as the "NWA Championship" and rejected it as a World title or as a continuation of the historic NWA World title.[3]

In 1983, Pro Wrestling Illustrated withdrew world title recognition from the WWF, citing how champion Bob Backlund was not facing contenders from outside the WWF territory and furthermore was only facing rulebreakers.[4] This coincided with the WWF's withdrawal from the NWA in summer 1983. PWI reinstated world title recognition in 1985[5] on account of the WWF's massive mainstream media profile.

The AWA was stripped of world title recognition in January 1991 when the promotion was in its final months.[6] By this time, the AWA World Heavyweight Championship was vacant and would remain so until the promotion's closure in August that year.[7] ECW was finally granted world title status in 1999 only for the promotion to close two years later.

Current retrospective recognition

As of April 3, 2020, PWI recognizes both the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship, as well as the AEW World Championship and IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[8][9][10]

Championships Dates
NWA World Heavyweight Championship July 14, 1948 – January 11, 1991;
May 8, 2006 – May 13, 2007
AWA World Heavyweight Championship August 16, 1960 – December 12, 1990
WWWF/WWF/WWE Championship April 25, 1963 – present
WCW World Heavyweight Championship January 11, 1991 – December 9, 2001
ECW World Heavyweight Championship July 6, 1999 – April 11, 2001
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) September 2, 2002 – December 15, 2013
TNA World Heavyweight Championship May 13, 2007 – June 29, 2015
WWE Universal Championship August 21, 2016 – present
AEW World Championship April 3, 2020 – present
IWGP Heavyweight Championship April 3, 2020 – present

According to the latest PWI almanac, PWI also recognizes select world title reigns from May 4, 1905 – January 28, 1946, prior to the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in July 1948.

PWI 500

PWI has published the list of the top 500 professional wrestlers each year since 1991 in an annual special edition magazine, the PWI 500. PWI writers choose the position of the wrestler following a designated evaluation period starting from mid-June; anything a wrestler accomplished before or after that period is not considered. They follow a criterion that includes win-loss record, championships won, quality of competition, major feuds, prominence within a wrestler's individual promotion(s) and overall wrestling ability.[11][12] As of 2020, Jushin Thunder Liger has appeared in the most editions of the PWI 500, with 29 appearances.[13] In 1993, Miss Texas (Jacqueline Moore) was the first woman to be ranked in the list at No. 249. Since 2008 men and women have their separate lists.

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1991[14] Hulk Hogan Lex Luger Ric Flair Randy Savage Sting Scott Steiner Ricky Steamboat Steve Williams Arn Anderson Rick Steiner
1992[15] Sting Randy Savage Rick Rude Bret Hart Ricky Steamboat Jerry Lawler Scott Steiner The Ultimate Warrior Stunning Steve Austin
1993[16] Bret Hart Big Van Vader Shawn Michaels Sting Yokozuna Ric Flair Lex Luger Rick Rude Mr. Perfect Scott Steiner
1994[17] Hulk Hogan Ric Flair Big Van Vader Shawn Michaels Stunning Steve Austin Razor Ramon Sting Ricky Steamboat Owen Hart
1995[18] Diesel Shawn Michaels Sting Bret Hart Sabu Hulk Hogan Big Van Vader Randy Savage Razor Ramon Mitsuharu Misawa
1996[19] Shawn Michaels The Giant Kenta Kobashi Ahmed Johnson Kevin Nash Rey Misterio, Jr. Hulk Hogan Sabu Ric Flair
1997[20] Dean Malenko Mitsuharu Misawa Stone Cold Steve Austin Diamond Dallas Page Lex Luger The Undertaker Shinya Hashimoto The Giant Jushin Thunder Liger Chris Benoit
1998[21] Stone Cold Steve Austin Goldberg Mitsuharu Misawa The Undertaker Kenta Kobashi Booker T Ken Shamrock Chris Jericho
1999[22] Rob Van Dam Rey Misterio, Jr. The Rock Diamond Dallas Page Keiji Mutoh The Undertaker Goldberg Taz
2000[23] Triple H The Rock Chris Benoit Kenta Kobashi Jeff Jarrett Justin Credible Mike Awesome Jushin Thunder Liger Chris Jericho Kensuke Sasaki
2001[24] Kurt Angle Stone Cold Steve Austin Keiji Mutoh Booker T Triple H Scott Steiner Mitsuharu Misawa Rhyno
2002[25] Rob Van Dam The Undertaker Keiji Mutoh Chris Jericho Eddie Guerrero Kurt Angle Edge Yuji Nagata The Rock Triple H
2003[26] Brock Lesnar Triple H Kurt Angle Keiji Mutoh Chris Jericho Big Show Booker T Kenta Kobashi Eddie Guerrero Rob Van Dam
2004[27] Chris Benoit Eddie Guerrero Triple H Kenta Kobashi Randy Orton Toshiaki Kawada John Cena A.J. Styles Shawn Michaels Chris Jericho
2005[28] Batista John Cena Satoshi Kojima Triple H John Bradshaw Layfield Kurt Angle A.J. Styles Edge Shelton Benjamin Hiroyoshi Tenzan
2006[29] John Cena Kurt Angle Edge Samoa Joe Místico Rey Mysterio Brock Lesnar Kenta Kobashi Shawn Michaels Jeff Jarrett
2007[30] Edge Místico Kurt Angle The Undertaker Shawn Michaels Christian Cage Perro Aguayo, Jr. Bobby Lashley Takeshi Morishima
2008[31] Randy Orton Kurt Angle Triple H Samoa Joe Edge The Undertaker Shawn Michaels Nigel McGuinness John Cena Shinsuke Nakamura
2009[32] Triple H Chris Jericho John Cena Edge Randy Orton Nigel McGuinness Hiroshi Tanahashi CM Punk Sting Último Guerrero
2010[33] A.J. Styles John Cena CM Punk Randy Orton Chris Jericho Batista Shinsuke Nakamura The Undertaker Kurt Angle Sheamus
2011[34] The Miz Randy Orton John Cena Kane Takashi Sugiura Alberto Del Rio Mr. Anderson Rey Mysterio Eddie Edwards CM Punk
2012[35] CM Punk Bobby Roode Daniel Bryan Sheamus Jun Akiyama Davey Richards Kurt Angle Mark Henry Alberto Del Rio
2013[36] John Cena CM Punk Hiroshi Tanahashi Bully Ray Kazuchika Okada Sheamus Jeff Hardy Alberto Del Rio Dolph Ziggler Kevin Steen
2014[37] Daniel Bryan Randy Orton John Cena A.J. Styles Bray Wyatt Roman Reigns Magnus Adam Cole Bully Ray
2015[38] Seth Rollins John Cena A.J. Styles Roman Reigns Shinsuke Nakamura Randy Orton Jay Briscoe Rusev Alberto El Patrón Kevin Owens
2016[39] Roman Reigns Kazuchika Okada Finn Bálor A.J. Styles Jay Lethal Kevin Owens Shinsuke Nakamura Seth Rollins Dean Ambrose John Cena
2017[40] Kazuchika Okada A.J. Styles Kevin Owens Roman Reigns Kenny Omega Shinsuke Nakamura Samoa Joe Dean Ambrose Bobby Roode The Miz
2018[41] Kenny Omega Kazuchika Okada Brock Lesnar Seth Rollins Braun Strowman Roman Reigns Cody Rhodes Tetsuya Naito
2019[42] Seth Rollins Daniel Bryan A.J. Styles Kofi Kingston Kazuchika Okada Johnny Gargano Kenny Omega Hiroshi Tanahashi Will Ospreay
2020[43] Jon Moxley Adam Cole Chris Jericho Drew McIntyre Tetsuya Naito Kazuchika Okada Cody Rhodes Seth Rollins Kofi Kingston AJ Styles

PWI Women's 100

PWI has published a list of the top female professional wrestlers each year since 2008 in a special edition magazine, the Women's 100 (formerly known as Female 50). Like the list of male professional wrestlers, PWI writers choose the position of the wrestler following a designated evaluation period starting from mid-June; anything a wrestler accomplished before or after that period is not considered. In 2018, after ten years of the list including 50 wrestlers, it was expanded to 100, and renamed from Female 50 to Women's 100.[44]

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2008[45] Awesome Kong Beth Phoenix Gail Kim Mickie James MsChif Sara Del Rey Roxxi Laveaux Melina Michelle McCool Candice Michelle
2009[46] Mickie James Angelina Love Melina MsChif Tara Awesome Kong Beth Phoenix Michelle McCool Maryse Taylor Wilde
2010[47] Michelle McCool Mercedes Martinez Cheerleader Melissa Eve Torres Madison Rayne Mickie James MsChif Maryse
2011[48] Madison Eagles Mercedes Martinez Mickie James Natalya Madison Rayne Cheerleader Melissa Tara Sara Del Rey
2012[49] Gail Kim Beth Phoenix Cheerleader Melissa Sara Del Rey Jessicka Havok Layla Miss Tessmacher Saraya Knight Mercedes Martinez Tara
2013[50] Cheerleader Melissa Mickie James Saraya Knight Jessicka Havok Kaitlyn Gail Kim Kacee Carlisle Tara AJ Lee Mercedes Martinez
2014[51] Paige AJ Lee Gail Kim Cheerleader Melissa LuFisto Angelina Love Ivelisse Velez Courtney Rush Natalya Charlotte
2015[52] Nikki Bella Paige Sasha Banks Santana Garrett Gail Kim Charlotte Naomi Cherry Bomb Courtney Rush Taryn Terrell
2016[53] Charlotte Sasha Banks Asuka Becky Lynch Bayley Jade Natalya Gail Kim Sexy Star Sienna
2017[54] Asuka Charlotte Flair Alexa Bliss Sasha Banks Io Shirai Sienna Naomi Kairi Sane
2018[55] Ronda Rousey Alexa Bliss Charlotte Flair Io Shirai Asuka Shayna Baszler Carmella Nia Jax Mayu Iwatani
2019[56] Becky Lynch Charlotte Flair Ronda Rousey Shayna Baszler Tessa Blanchard Bayley Natalya Io Shirai Mercedes Martinez Nicole Savoy
2020[57] Bayley Becky Lynch Asuka Charlotte Flair Sasha Banks Hikaru Shida Tessa Blanchard Riho Io Shirai Mayu Iwatani

PWI Tag Team 50

PWI has published a list of the top tag team each year since 2020. PWI writers choose the position of the wrestler following a designated evaluation period starting from October; a minimum of 10 matches or 4 months as tag team is required.[58][59] The ranking included both male and female tag teams.

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2020[60] FTR Adam Page and Kenny Omega Golden Role Models The North The Street Profits Guerrillas of Destiny Lucha Bros The New Day The Kabuki Warriors Roppongi 3K

See also

References

  1. ^ "The NWA was formed in 1948 but the NWA World Heavyweight championship is traditionally traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship that was created in 1905." = WWF vs NWA: Who's Better? Pro Wrestling Illustrated January 1991
  2. ^ Editorial, Wrestling '91, Spring 1991 edition
  3. ^ "The NWA World champion became the WCW World champion when the federation changed initials ... The initials may have changed, but Ron Simmons wears the same belt (figuratively, at least) in 1992 that Lou Thesz wore in 1952. Given that, Chono cannot be considered the NWA World champion in the historical sense ... We'll call him NWA champion because that is the title he won. But this article will be the last time we'll call him NWA World champion"
    – "Who Needs The Confusion? Why Reviving The NWA Title Was A Bad Idea." Inside Wrestling December 1992 edition, pages 38–41
  4. ^ Item: "Those Samoans Are Tough – Especially The Fourteenth Time!" 1983 Year In Review. Pro Wrestling Illustrated March 1984
  5. ^ "1985 ... July 2: Pro Wrestling Illustrated reinstates world title recognition for the WWF heavyweight title after more than two years of viewing it as a regional championship." Wrestling History, Pro Wrestling Illustrated Online, retrieved March 14, 2018
  6. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated strips the AWA of World Title Recognition – Pro Wrestling Illustrated May 1991
  7. ^ AWA World Heavyweight Title
  8. ^ "The New PWI". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. December 4, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  9. ^ "PWI Will No Longer Recognize TNA World Heavyweight Championship". wrestlingnewsworld.com. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  10. ^ PWI. "For those who are wondering, PWI currently recognizes four championships as legitimate World titles". twitter.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  11. ^ "PWI 500: 1–100". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. August 9, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  12. ^ PWI Senior Writer responds to 'Women’s 100' reactions - Diva Dirt
  13. ^ "Wrestlers with Most PWI 500 entries". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  14. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1991". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1992". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  16. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1993". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  17. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1994". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  18. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1995". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  19. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1996". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  20. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1997". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  21. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1998". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  22. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1999". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  23. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2000". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  24. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2001". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  25. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2002". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  26. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2003". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  27. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2004". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  28. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2005". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  29. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2006". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  30. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2007". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  31. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2008". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  32. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2009". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  33. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2010". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  34. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2011". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  35. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2012". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  36. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2013". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  37. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  38. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  39. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  40. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2017". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  41. ^ "PWI 500 2018: Kenny Omega is the second straight non-WWE wrestler named #1 in the world". Cageside Seats. August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  42. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 29, 2019). "Seth Rollins Tops Annual PWI 500". Fightful. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  43. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2020". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  44. ^ "Various News: PWI Female 50 Expanding to 100, Mikey Whipwreck Partners With Indy Promotion". 411 Mania. August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  45. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2008". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  46. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2009". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  47. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2010". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  48. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2011". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  49. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2012". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  50. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2013". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  51. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  52. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  53. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  54. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2017". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  55. ^ "Various News: Ronda Rousey Tops The PWI Women's 100 List, WWE Free Match, Today's Wrestling Birthdays". 411 Mania. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  56. ^ "Becky Lynch tops PWI Women's 100 list". Diva Dirt. October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  57. ^ "2020 PWI Women's 100: Top 10 reveal and full ranking details". Bell To Belles. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  58. ^ https://twitter.com/OfficialPWI/status/1329170583393873926
  59. ^ https://twitter.com/OfficialPWI/status/1329126193472344068
  60. ^ Middleton, Marc (November 18, 2020). "FTR Takes Top Spot On The Inaugural PWI Tag Team 50 List". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  • 2005 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts.

Template:PWI awards

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