Seth Rollins Tops the PWI 500 Rankings for a Second Time
Reigning WWE Universal and Raw Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins was awarded yet another accolade on [...]
Reigning WWE Universal and Raw Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins was awarded yet another accolade on Thursday when Pro Wrestling Illustrated placed him at No. 1 on its annual PWI 500 ranking list.
"As difficult as it can be, this is all I ever wanted — to be in this position, to be having this conversation with you — talking about being the absolute best wrestler on the entire planet," Rollins told the magazine upon hearing the news. "I don't think there is a single part of me that would trade any second of it."
No. 1 in the 29th annual @OfficialPWI #PWI500 is WWE Universal champ @WWERollins! Download the issue right now or pre-order the print edition at https://t.co/ylNeV87zar! pic.twitter.com/m238dDD5br
— PWI (@OfficialPWI) August 29, 2019
Rollins joins Bret Hart (1993-94), "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Austin (1998-99), Triple H (2000, 2009) and John Cena (2006-07) as the fifth man to ever be awarded the honor twice. He previously won the award back in 2015, the same year he was on his heel run as WWE Champion.
"Those guys obviously are elite," Rollins said, referencing the group he had just joined. "They are in a class all their own. They are Hall of Famers. So, to be mentioned amongst them is pretty special."
It's hard to argue against putting Rollins in this spot. After a stellar 2018 where he consistently put on quality matches week after week on WWE television, Rollins won the Men's Royal Rumble match in February and defeated Brock Lesnar to win his first Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35 in just three minutes. He dropped the title at Extreme Rules when Lesnar cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, but Rollins wound up winning it back at SummerSlam in an outstanding main event.
Rounding out the top 10 were Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Kofi Kingston, Kazuchika Okada, Johnny Gargano, Roman Reigns, Kenny Omega, Hirsohi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay.
Omega was at the No. 1 spot in last year's rankings, and is the only member of the AEW roster to crack the top 10. New Japan was well represented with three wrestlers, while Styles placed in the top four for the sixth consecutive year.
Rollins is booked for two matches at the upcoming Clash of Champions pay-per-view on Sept. 15. He'll team with Braun Strowman to defend the Raw tag titles against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, then face Strowman one-on-one for the Universal Championship.
