Table of contents for December 2016 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

FOR THOSE OF you who have the October 2016 edition of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, please take this column and insert it on page 38. That’s where we begin to list the “misses” in our “25 WWE Hits And Misses” feature. Senior Writer Al Castle wrote the story before WWE decided to once again split the company into two brands (we can live with that), but also to once again have Universal/World championships for each one (yuch!). The concept of separate but equal champions for Raw and Smackdown actually received the support of 58 percent of 788 voters in a Twitter poll we conducted on July 26. I hate the idea. WWE is doing all it can to promote Raw and Smackdown as separate brands: been there, done that. Nobody bought…

Polarizing Hall of Fame baseball star Reggie Jackson said it, and it’s true. Fans don’t boo nobodies. They’re not worth getting excited over. The headline on the cover of this issue said it, and it’s also true. Half of you are going to hate our selection for the number-one position in this year’s “PWI 500.” We all know that Roman Reigns has everything it takes to be a generational star in this sport: size, athleticism, good looks, and the desire to be great. His one problem, if you want to call it that, is that WWE’s main decision-maker, Vince McMahon, likes him so much that he made the same mistake with him that he did with John Cena. He force-fed Reigns to fans who prefer to choose not only the…

FINN BALOR, THE former IWGP junior heavyweight and NXT champion, is poised to become an impact player in WWE. Drafted to Raw on July 19, Balor debuted on the program one week later, winning a four-way match also involving Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and Rusev. He went on to face Roman Reigns, who had won a four-way of his own, for the right to face Seth Rollins for the newly created WWE Universal title at SummerSlam. Balor felt the pressure to deliver in these big-time matches. In the match against Reigns in particular, he survived two power bombs and dodged a spear before executing the Sling Blade, a running drop-kick, and a double-stomp to pin Reigns cleanly. Balor came in WWE’s front door like a star, as did AJ Styles eight…

87 Abyss 74 ACH 215 Aerostar 283 Fabian Aichner 202 Jun Akiyama 96 Nick Aldis 116 Cedric Alexander 470 Shaheem Ali 9 Dean Ambrose 367 Americos 122 Enzo Amore 69 Karl Anderson 165 Mark Andrews 392 Matt Angel 124 Angelico 406 Lance Anoa’ 335 Greg Anthony 152 Atsushi Aoki 100 Lance Archer 54 Austin Aries 327 Asylum 167 Atlantis 427 Peter Avalon 182 Curtis Axel 195 Dragon Azteca 145 Mike Bailey 3 Finn Balor 440 Brent Banks 201 Basile Baraka 107 Trent Baretta 142 Wade Barrett 455 Tyler Bateman 186 Shelton Benjamin 374 Anthony Bennett 443 Kevin Bennett 50 Mike Bennett 262 Bestia 120 Big Cass 315 Big Daddy 38 Big E 368 Big Magic 102 Big Show 388 Joseph Black 141 PJ Black 217 Wesley Blake 330 Blue Demon…

TO BORROW A phrase from the man himself, Roman Reigns may not be the trendy choice … but he is THE choice. Roman Reigns has been selected as number one in the 26th annual “PWI 500.” And while Reigns has elicited mixed reactions from fans over the past two years, he proved to be an easy choice for the editorial staff of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. During the evaluation period (July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016), he won the WWE championship three times. He headlined the biggest WrestleMania of all-time, defeating Triple-H. From November 2015 through June 2016, Reigns was unquestionably WWE’s top star and most consistent headliner. Very simply put, by the criteria used to rank the “PWI 500,” no one in the world had a better year. We…

TOUGH TO MAKE THE CUT THERE ARE GOING to be a lot of independent wrestlers giving me the cold shoulder this year. Our editorial staff ranks the 500 by committee, but I take the lead as =we move into the 200s, 300s, and beyond—and then send my recommendations up the chain for approval. I attend a lot of independent shows. I keep files on up-and-coming wrestlers I’ve seen and on talented competitors other wrestlers tell me I should check out. I watch video clips online and maintain an international network of contacts. All of this data goes into the annual “PWI 500″ rankings. Sure, we take some grief from some wrestlers who don’t make the cut or are unhappy with their placement, but it always makes me happy when I…

FOR PERIOD ENDED AUGUST 15, 2016 TOP 10 1 DEAN AMBROSE 225, Cincinnati, OH (1) WWE World heavyweight champion 2 FINN BALOR 190, Bray, Ireland (–) No. 1 contender WWE Universal title 3 SETH ROLLINS 232, Buffalo, IA (2) No. 2 contender WWE Universal title 4 JAY LETHAL 225, Elizabeth, NJ (3) ROH heavyweight champion 5 JOHN CENA 251, Newbury, MA (–) No. 1 contender WWE World title 6 ROMAN REIGNS 265, Pensacola, FL (4) No. 3 contender WWE Universal title 7 KAZUCHIKA OKADA 240, Tokyo, Japan (5) IWGP heavyweight champion 8 AJ STYLES 218, Gainesville, GA (6) No. 2 contender WWE World title 9 SAMI ZAYN 209, Montreal, QC (–) No. 4 contender WWE Universal title 10 BOBBY LASHLEY 273, Denver, CO (7) TNA heavyweight champion TAG TEAMS 1…