Kenny Omega Named No. 1 on PWI 500 2021
All Elite Wrestling World Champion Kenny Omega was named the No. 1 wrestler on the annual PWI 500 rankings list, taking home the honor for the second time in his career. Omega found himself outside the top 10 on the 2020 list, but after winning the AEW title from Jon Moxley in December he set off opening the "Forbidden Door" between AEW and other wrestling companies. Taking on the new nickname "The Belt Collector," Omega began appearing in Impact Wrestling and defeated Rich Swann for the Impact World Championship at the Rebellion pay-per-view on April 25.
On top of being the world champion of three separate promotions, Omega put on outstanding matches with Rey Fenix, Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy & Pac, Jungle Boy, Andrade El Idolo and Christian Cage. AEW's crossovers also saw him team with the likes of Kenta from New Japan Pro-Wrestling and The Good Brothers from Impact.
As just announced by @AlCastlePWI on @BustedOpenRadio: Congrats to @KennyOmegamanX, who ranks #1 in the 2021 #PWI500—his second time topping the list.
Preorder your copy of our 31st annual "500" issue at https://t.co/EuUXs75XJB pic.twitter.com/pJ5JhImsvn— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) September 8, 2021
The full list for this year's PWI 500 will be out soon, but along with Omega's announcement the list's Top 10 was confirmed. It includes:
- Kenny Omega
- Roman Reigns
- Bobby Lashley
- Drew McIntyre
- Kota Ibushi
- Jon Moxley
- Will Ospreay
- Finn Balor
- Shingo Takagi
- Rich Swann
This marks the second year in a row where an AEW star has claimed the top spot in the list, as Moxley was named No. 1 last year during his AEW World Championship reign.
While Omega's run as AEW's top champion has been met with praise, he's had to do it while battling a number of injuries. He explained the physical toll his "Belt Collector" run was taking back in May while on Scorpio Sky's Wrestling With The Week podcast.
"It's a blessing but a curse," Omega said. "As champion, you get some high-quality matches, you become the focal point of the shows, but at the same time, there's a schedule that is required and a demand for your body and health and your psychological health as well. There's just a lot that goes into being a champion.t's cool to look at pictures and be like, 'wow, look at all these belts,' but then I think, 'Man, I have to defend these. I've got to make time to defend these. I have to be that guy for the company somehow. And you just count the days and weeks that you're available to do it. It's requiring a lot of multi-tasking. But I'm still hanging on. And I can do it right now, so I'm going to do it. It may be my last hurrah, but I'm going to do it."