Guess who's PWI#1 WRESTLER?

[Guest alfdogg]

Damn, *I* could probably break into the top ten if HHH could.

[Guest Anglesault]

THE UNDERTAKER? HO-LEE SHIT.

 

And did Edge Spear numbers seven to fifty to get that high?

[Guest PlatypusFool]

Mutoh at 3 and Nagata at 8?!?! FUCK THAT!

 

Also, Undertaker above Jericho?!?! FUCK THAT TOO!

 

You're not kidding this magazine is marky, it almost sounds like they buying into keyfabe...

[Guest SuperTonyJaymz]

Damn...Eddy got that high? Good for Edge, he deserved it, but why oh why is The Rock and Triple H even on the top ten? Rock maybe but Triple H? ARGH! And who the hell is Nagagata!

[Guest Brian]

Yuji Nagata, the number one wrestler in the world currently.

[Guest SuperTonyJaymz]

Was he in WCW at one time? I think I remeber him.

 

I gotta start watching puro

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

Yuji Nagata wrestled in WCW for a bit. Managed by Sony Onoo, I believe. Used the Nagata Lock as the finisher (Figure 4 variation).

 

I forget who he's working for in Japan, though.

[Guest Anglesault]

Good for Edge, he deserved it

 

Because if you can spear people and get carried to good matches, damnit, you DESERVE to be mentioned within two spots of Eddie Guerrero

[Guest PlatypusFool]

Yuji Nagata, the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and widely considered to be the greatest heaveyweight in the world in terms of technical ability, 'workrate', and general level of effort.

 

He is very good, and way in advance of King Lazy, Keiji Mutoh, at this point. Not to mention guys like Undertaker and RVD...

[Guest SuperTonyJaymz]

hey, im an Edge fan, so sue me.

 

Wait...you just might...you crazy like that, so scratch that.

 

Atleast Angle was higher than Edge, huh AS?

 

I might have to check Nagata out. All I remember from his WCW days was Sonny Onno and his camera. Man, WCW had everyone

[Guest Anglesault]

hey, im an Edge fan, so sue me.

 

Wait...you just might...you crazy like that, so scratch that.

 

Atleast Angle was higher than Edge, huh AS?

 

I might have to check Nagata out. All I remember from his WCW days was Sonny Onno and his camera. Man, WCW had everyone

He should be MUCH higher than Edge. If Eddy is 5 and Kurt is six (there should be a bit of a gap, I think) then Edge should be like 40-45.

[Guest Brian]

The only difference being Mutoh is still a draw, which should technically with the Kawada match put him at number one on that list.

[Guest DeputyHawk]

what criteria do pwi use to rate the 500 anyway?

[Guest Brian]

I think they mainly use drawing abilityand some form wrestlijng ability/entertainment ability criteria.

[Guest dpac]

wow,, i have known for years that pwi is b.s., but i always looked forward to the pwi500,,,after seeing the top ten i dont think i want to see the rest

[Guest cabbageboy]

1. Rob Van Dam: I'm a huge RVD markboy but to be #1 you should win a world title in my view. This is actually one they owed him from 1999.

2. Undertaker: I dunno, he did have a decent undisputed title run and a few good matches but he also did a lot of wretched crap.

3. Keiji Mutoh: haven't seen Muta in a long time, so I can't comment.

4. Chris Jericho: dear god, this is purely due to his work from Dec.-March because I can't think of anything else he did to deserve this ranking. The guy is now a jobber, no way he is this high next year.

5. Eddie Guerrero: I like this but it shocks me since he wasn't around from Aug. to April, which is most of the grading period.

6. Kurt Angle: I actually might have put Angle at #1 and RVD #2. Angle won the title and RVD didn't, that is the deciding factor.

7. Edge: Boring IC run, I assume he is this high due to his matches with Angle?

8. Yuji Nagata: I refuse to believe this guy is one of the best in the world. I remember his WCW work and unless he's improved 100x since then I don't see it.

9. The Rock: Rock was inactive for some of this period but when was around did his usual solid work so I have no problem with it.

10. Triple H: Eh, I dunno...this is mainly due to winning the title at WM I suppose. I can think of no other reason.

 

I've been trying to find this damn issue, but all I can find are the previous 2! Is it not out in stores yet, just to subscribers?

 

They use a combo of some ability, what kind of year did you have in terms of wins and losses, titles won, etc. It's not really precise.

[Guest Brian]

Actually, Eddie wasn't in the majors from that time period, he was pumping out good->great matches, some carry jobs better than his WWE stuff, since like November I think.

 

Yuji Nagata was 10x better than he was outside of his WCW run during his WCW run. I mean, jeez, he was meant to suck. He didn't do anything.

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

Nagata's actually very good, from the little bit of his NJPW stuff I've seen.

[Guest Brian]

Very, very good. Top five workers in the world right now are probably Nagata, Liger, Eddie, El Hijo del Santo, and Shocker in any order.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I'm surprised at how high Eddy got, as I didn't think they'd take his indy work early in the year into consideration.

 

But...nobody gets higher than RVD.

[Guest ShooterJay]

#4 Jericho?

 

#10 HHH?

 

Somebody's going to be playing the new janitor at the World very very soon...

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

HAHAHAHAHA....

 

It's funny because it's true.

[Guest Rob Van Dam]

Well it seems that marks and smarks in the USA have finally agreed on something , RVD is PWI's #1 wrestler.People are dying to see him in the main events for the longest, I just hope that the only man who could make this come true ,Vince reads this magazine and realizes that Austin 3:16 is old news and that RVD 4:20 is the present and the future.

Hey where did you find this out considering the magazine doesn't come out on the newsstands on the 24th

Thanks

[Guest humongous2002]

It actually came out exclusively at new york newstands everywhere like a week ago.

[Guest BlackRainbow1025]

Yeah cabbageboy, you should definitely watch Nagata. He's incredible now (but I thought he was good in WCW too), IMO, ahead of all on that list. But PWI bases their list on things other than pure talent so I can kinda see RVD as #1.

[Guest Brian]

And he's been carrying New Japan through a pretty bleak looking period since Mutoh's departure.

[Guest Hitman Jebus]

what criteria do pwi use to rate the 500 anyway?

Basically...success during the year (wins, titles, etc.)

 

That's why Taker and HHH were there:

 

Taker (WM over Flair, over Austin, Title win over Hogan, over HHH...held the undisputed crown for 3 LONG months)

 

HHH (Rumble winner, WM Title win over Jericho, HITCell over Jericho)

 

 

As much as we would like for someone like Benoit to be in the top 10, what did he do this year that surpasses HHH's achievements?...exactly

 

The PWI 500 is kinda like wrestling's "top-grossing movie" list, it depends on monetary success (read: wins) rather than how good the movie was (read: wrestling talent)

 

All in all, who had the best year? Then, RVD and Taker would be my top 2 as well!

[Guest RickyChosyu]

I like Nagata quite a bit, but I haven't really been super impressed with him since the tag w/ Iizuka vs. Kawada/Fuchi. His tag w/ Akiyama vs. Misawa/Kobashi in NOAH this year wasn't that great a performance for him, by any means. I've heard he re-gained his footing thanks to strong booking as champion since then, and the Takayama match is said to be quite good. I'll have to check that out.

[EL DANDY~! 0]

Hey...Nagata had a DAMN fine match with Akiyama against Mutoh and Hase. Mutoh wasn't lazy in that match, either, and Hase is Hase, so anything he does rocks the fucking house. Yeah, and right now, he and Tenzan are in a MEGA-feud (if I remember) and are builiding to the 1/4/03 NJPW Dome Show, the biggest dome show of the year. If they build it right, it might be his best match ever.

[Guest MrSCARY]

Someone earlier mentioned something about RVD always giving his all, be it a house show, a RAW, etc.

 

I have to agree with that.

 

I've been to a few house shows since RVD has been in the fed and he ALWAYS puts on a good show.

 

While the other guys were playing it safe, RVD was getting hit with chairs.

 

RVD was very over at every show I've been too, RAW included.

 

Why shouldn't he be number one?