Pro Wrestling Illustrated has dropped its annual PWI 500 rankings for 2026, and MJF is sitting at the very top of the wrestling world. The former AEW World Champion claimed the No. 1 spot this year, beating out some of WWE, AEW, CMLL and NJPW’s biggest names.
Cody Rhodes came in right behind MJF at No. 2, while CM Punk landed at No. 3. Mistico and Konosuke Takeshita rounded out the top five, giving the list a pretty wide mix of talent from across the wrestling business.
The full top ten looks like this:
- MJF
- Cody Rhodes
- CM Punk
- Mistico
- Konosuke Takeshita
- Hangman Adam Page
- Yota Tsuji
- Trick Williams
- Oba Femi
- Gunther
There were plenty of notable names packed into the rest of the top ten as well. Hangman Adam Page landed at No. 6, while NJPW’s Yota Tsuji took the seventh spot and WWE stars Trick Williams, Oba Femi and Gunther closed things out.
PWI doesn’t base the ranking solely on who they believe is the best wrestler bell-to-bell. Their criteria also factor in championships, wins and losses, influence, quality of competition, technical ability and how active each wrestler was during the evaluation period.
“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.”
MJF taking the top spot gives him another major accolade to add to his resume, while the rest of the top ten shows just how spread out the wrestling scene has become across multiple companies. With Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Mistico, Takeshita and several rising WWE names all making the cut, there’s plenty here for fans to argue about.
What do you think of PWI’s 2026 top ten, and did MJF deserve the No. 1 spot? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
