MJF rises to top of PWI 500, ending Cody Rhodes' two-year reign

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The 36th annual PWI 500 — Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s (mostly) kayfabe ranking of the 500 best wrestlers in the world — is here. Grabbing the top spot, beating out a former mentor-turned-rival in Cody Rhodes and a former inspiration-turned-nemesis in CM Punk, was AEW’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The three-time AEW World champ ended Rhodes two-year run as the top man in the PWI 500. It represents a huge leap for MJF, who was 30th in last year’s edition. They were followed by one of the hottest wrestlers in the world, Mistico, with New Japan & AEW’s Konosuke Takeshita rounding out the top five. Here’s the entire top ten: MJF Cody Rhodes CM Punk Mistico Konosuke Takeshita Hangman Adam Page Yota Tsuji Trick Williams Oba Femi Gunther As has been their trend in recent years, PWI gives us a fairly balanced list from the Aug. 1, 2025-July 31, 2026 time period they consider. We’ve got five WWE names, four AEW ones (two of which also represent partners CMLL and New Japan), and a strictly NJPW wrestler. Many have had a World or other prominent singles title run during the year in question, or retired a Hall of Famer or two. The reason I’ve always called PWI’s rankings “(mostly) kayfabe” because while there’s always some subjectivity to any list of pro wrestlers in a category like “Technical Ability”, the publication gives themselves a lot of wiggle room with one like “Influence” — and you’ll never convince me one of the things selectors think about isn’t what & who will help them sell the most magazines. But that’s me. Here are PWI’s stated criteria for your consideration: IN-RING ACHIEVEMENT — W-L records, championships, tournaments won. INFLUENCE — Visibility and prestige within a promotion and/or the industry. TECHNICAL ABILITY — Quality of moves, matches, and in-ring storytelling. COMPETITION — Success against the most varied and highest quality opponents. ACTIVITY — Minimum 10 singles (non-tag) matches total; or, barring this, six such matches in separate months Whatever factors you’re considering, you can now debate these rankings in the comments below. And you can purchase a digital or print copy of the December 2026 issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated dedicated to the 36th PWI 500 here.