Pro Wrestling Illustrated released the PWI Women’s 150 on Thursday, ranking the top performers in the world of women’s wrestling. But while WWE has held a monopoly over the ranking’s No. 1 spot for the past eight years, this time the No. 1 spot was given to Syuri over the Japanese Joshi promotion Stardom. She’s currently the promotion’s World of Stardom Champion and has held the title for nearly a full year.ย
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The rest of the Top 10 consisted of Bianca Belair, Thunder Rosa, Becky Lynch, Jade Cargill, Jordynne Grace, Saya Kamitani, Charlotte Flair, Starlight Kid and Taya Valkyrie. Kamitani and Starlight both made the cover of the issue alongside Syuri.ย
WWE and AEW in the PWI Women’s 150
Belair finished the highest of any woman on the WWE roster, dropping just one spot after being named No. 1 in 2021. After losing the SmackDown Women’s Championship to Becky Lynch at SummerSlam 2021 in controversial fashion, she’d spend months chasing “Big Time Becks” before winning the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38 in April. She has since defended the title on multiple pay-per-views, the latest being a victory over Bayley in a Ladder Match at Extreme Rules.ย
The only other WWE women in the top 10 were two of the Horsewomen in Lynch and Flair. Lynch spent a year operating as a cowardly heel upon her return from hiatus but turned babyface at SummerSlam in her most recent match with Belair. She’s been out of action ever since while recovering from a separated shoulder. Meanwhile, Flair has been off WWE TV since WrestleMania Backlash after losing an I Quit Match against Ronda Rousey.ย
Thunder Rosa became the first woman in AEW history to finish in the ranking’s top three. She finally won the AEW Women’s World Championship from Britt Baker at the St. Patrick’s Day Slam event in March but has been on the shelf for nearly two months with an injury. Toni Storm is the current interim women’s champion and has already defended her title five times.
The men’s PWI 500 has already been released, with Roman Reigns taking the No. 1 spot. The PWI Tag Team 50, which has been dominated by AEW since the list was first introduced in 2020, has yet to come out for the year.
