Table of contents for December 2019 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS as they seem. Perhaps that’s even truer in the wacky world of professional wrestling than anywhere else. As evidence, I offer … Ring of Honor’s popularity is slipping—and we all know what that means: The company is going to implement Plan Z and fight its way back. How do I know this? Because it’s happened so many times before. Admittedly, the emergence of AEW has changed the professional wrestling landscape. But that’s okay. Ring of Honor has always found a way to remain relevant. Whether it’s discovering untapped talent or forming an alliance with New Japan Pro Wrestling, ROH always seems to find its footing. There is loads of talent in the pro wrestling ranks that is not tied up contractually to WWE, NJPW, AEW, and even…

THROUGHOUT MOST OF 2018, Seth Rollins appeared to be having the time of his life—beloved by fans, stealing the show night after night in mid-card matches, and well on his way to becoming the WWE’s next top guy. He achieved that status in 2019, and, with it, another major honor: being ranked number one in the 29th annual “PWI 500.” But if anybody would know about how heavy is the head that wears the crown, it would be the man who once dubbed himself the “Kingslayer.” “First of all, I need to make sure you guys know what you’re doing here,” Rollins said. “The Internet is not going to be very happy about this one.” Like so many before him, Rollins’ ascension to the top of WWE has come with…

325 Fuminori Abe 462 Joey Ace 188 Aerostar 323 Fabian Aichner 223 Akam 299 Jun Akiyama 41 Nick Aldis 59 Cedric Alexander 210 Josh Alexander 55 Ali 338 Shaheem Ali 394 Darby Allin 181 Karl Anderson 68 Andrade 218 Mark Andrews 288 Matt Angel 220 Angelico 461 Mark Angelosetti 395 Lance Anoa’i 282 Lance Archer 131 Austin Aries 453 David Arquette 270 Shotaro Ashino 380 Atlantis 331 Jake Atlas 401 Audaz 243 Ace Austin 437 Ty Awesome 172 Curtis Axel 228 Diamante Azul 402 Falla Bahh 214 Mike Bailey 19 Finn Balor 81 Bandido 424 Brent Banks 138 Travis Banks 146 Barbaro Cavernario 326 Marcel Barthel 107 Tyler Bate 458 Tyler Bateman 456 B-Boy 194 Shelton Benjamin 450 Victor Benjamin 273 Ben-K 400 Kevin Bennett 231 Trent Berreta 425 Chris…

THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS as they seem. Perhaps that’s even truer in the wacky world of professional wrestling than anywhere else. As evidence, I offer … Ring of Honor’s popularity is slipping—and we all know what that means: The company is going to implement Plan Z and fight its way back. How do I know this? Because it’s happened so many times before. Admittedly, the emergence of AEW has changed the professional wrestling landscape. But that’s okay. Ring of Honor has always found a way to remain relevant. Whether it’s discovering untapped talent or forming an alliance with New Japan Pro Wrestling, ROH always seems to find its footing. There is loads of talent in the pro wrestling ranks that is not tied up contractually to WWE, NJPW, AEW, and even ROH.…

THE PAST TWO years, the top spot in the “PWI 500” was awarded to wrestlers who have never stepped foot in a WWE ring … and, if we were to hazard a guess, probably never will. Kazuchika Okada is his company’s champion and franchise player. And NJPW, while probably receiving a hometown discount, knows full well how vital it is that he stays off Vince McMahon’s payroll. Last year’s winner, Kenny Omega, gave the idea of working for WWE about five minutes of thought before being offered an executive position—and, of course, a main-event slot—by All Elite’s Tony Khan. Seth Rollins dreamed only of being a WWE Superstar for as long as he can remember. The man most famous for cashing in his Money in the Bank title shot at…

THE “PWI 500” presents a snapshot of the pro wrestling landscape each year both by who is ranked, and who is not. In 2003, after being fixtures on the list for multiple years, three of wrestling’s all-time greats—Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock—all disappeared from the “500,” (presumably) never to return. It was, truly, the end of an era—particularly in the case of the “Hulkster,” who achieved the top ranking in the very first “PWI 500” in 1991. Sixteen years later, the 2019 “PWI 500” again presents a major sign of the times, as another bust on wrestling’s Mount Rushmore tumbles off the list. For the first time since “The Prototype” debuted at number 281 in the 2001 “PWI 500,” you will not find John Cena on this year’s…

Top 10 and Tag Team ratings are based on won-lost records for the past month, quality of opposition, and inherent skill of each wrestler or tag team. These ratings are compiled by a committee consisting of Stu Saks, Dan Murphy, Kris Zellner, Brian Yoder, Louie Dee, and STRIGGA (cagematch.net, purolove.com). The numbers in parentheses indicate a wrestler’s position in that category last issue. Agate-sized ratings are supplied to PWI by promoters and can be e-mailed to us at pwiresults@yahoo.com (please put the word “ratings” in the subject line). TOP 10 1 KOFI KINGSTON 212, Ghana, West Africa (2) WWE heavyweight champion 2 KAZUCHIKA OKADA 236, Tokyo, Japan (3) IWGP heavyweight champion 3 BROCK LESNAR 286, Minneapolis, MN (–) WWE Universal champion 4 AJ STYLES 218, Gainesville, GA (–) WWE U.S. champion 5 SETH ROLLINS 217, Davenport, IA (1)…