 | |
 Issue cover dated January 1986, featuring Hulk Hogan | |
| Categories | Sports magazine |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Bimonthly |
| Publisher | Kappa Publishing Group |
| First issue | September 1979 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | pwi-online |
| ISSN | 1043-7576 |
| Part of a series on |
| Professional wrestling |
|---|
 |
Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston.[1] PWI is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The magazine is the longest published English language wrestling magazine still in production. PWI publishes bimonthly, as well as special issues such as their annual "Almanac and Book of Facts" and "PWI 500" edition. The magazine recognizes various world championships as legitimate, similar to The Ring in boxing.
PWI is often referred to as an "Apter Mag", named after its long-time photographer Bill Apter, a term used for wrestling magazines that keep kayfabe. In recent years,[as of?] the PWI has moved away from reporting on storylines as actual news and mixed in editorial comments on the behind-the-scenes workings of wrestling.
Since 1991, PWI has been publishing its annual "PWI 500", listing the top 500 male wrestlers in the world. In 2008, they added an annual "Top 50 Female Wrestlers" list, which was later expanded and renamed to the "Top 100 Female Wrestlers" list in 2018 and then again in 2021 as the "Top 150 Female Wrestlers." In 2020, they added an annual "Top 50 Tag Teams" listing the top tag teams in the world.
History
The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) was released in 1979. The magazine soon became known for not breaking kayfabe in its articles as it traditionally treated all "angles", or storylines, as real. However, in more recent years the magazine has taken an editorial approach between kayfabe and "shoot" writing, differentiating between on-screen feuds and controversies behind the scenes. PWI is not limited to covering only prominent professional wrestling promotions, as it also covers multiple independent promotions in the United States. PWI also published other special issues, which included: PWI Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts since 1996, Women of Wrestling, and a weekly newsletter entitled PWI Weekly from 1989 to 2000.
Yearly awards
PWI has given out annual awards and recognitions since its inception. These awards had previously been given out by another Victory Sports Magazine property, Sports Review Wrestling. PWI has also given out monthly rankings for big promotions, some select independent promotions, and overall rankings in singles and tag teams divisions. Additionally, readers are given the ability to vote for the winners of the year-end awards with ballots being included in special year-end issues. A special PWI Awards Magazine is issued annually, which reveals winners and the number of votes counted. The following is a list of categories in which PWI has issued awards.
- Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Tag Team of the Year (since 1972)
- Match of the Year (since 1972)
- Feud of the Year (since 1986)
- Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (since 1978)
- Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Rookie of the Year (since 1972)
- Stanley Weston Award (since 1981)
- Comeback of the Year (since 1992)
- Woman of the Year (1972 to 1976, re-established in 2000)
- Manager of the Year (1972 to 1999)
- Midget Wrestler of the Year (1972 to 1976)
- Announcer of the Year (1977)
World championship status
Historical recognition
Although many wrestling organizations promote their lead title as a world heavyweight championship, Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) has only recognized a few championships as valid world titles at any one time. PWI has also generally recognized the main tag team title from any promotion with a recognized world heavyweight championship as being a world tag team championship (unless named otherwise by the promotion) and certain other select titles from those promotions as world championships.
In 1983, PWI withdrew world title recognition from the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, citing how champion Bob Backlund was not facing contenders from outside the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) territory and was only facing rulebreakers.[2] This coincided with the WWF's withdrawal from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in summer 1983. PWI reinstated the WWF's world title recognition retroactively in 1985[3] on account of the WWF's massive mainstream media profile.
The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was stripped of its world title status in January 1991 when the American Wrestling Association (AWA) was in its final days.[4] By this time, the championship was vacant and would remain so until the promotion's closure.[5]
Until March 1991, PWI and its sister publications steadfastly referred to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "the NWA" despite WCW having increasingly phased out the latter name in the preceding months. In spring 1991, the family of magazines adopted a new policy of referring to the current promotion and its champions as WCW and the promotion's pre-1991 past as the NWA. The magazine also announced it would refer to the overall history of the promotion's world title as the "NWA/WCW World Championship" (and likewise with other WCW championships).[6] PWI generally traced the lineage of the NWA/WCW World Championship back to George Hackenschmidt's title victory in 1905, rather than the creation of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship in 1948.[7] Subsequently, after Ric Flair left WCW and was stripped of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in July 1991, PWI and its sister publications nonetheless continued to recognize the WCW title as held by Lex Luger, Sting, Vader, and Ron Simmons as the rightful continuation of the historic NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. When Masa Chono won an NWA world title tournament in Japan in August 1992, PWI and its sister publications only recognized Chono's title as the "NWA Championship" and rejected it as a world title or as a continuation of the historic NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.[8]
PWI initially did not recognize the ECW World Heavyweight Championship as a world title but granted the championship and the promotion world title status in 1999.
Current recognition
Since 2023, Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) recognizes the WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, AEW World Championship, Impact World Championship, ROH World Championship, MLW World Heavyweight Championship, and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship from the United States, the AAA Mega Championship and CMLL World Heavyweight Championship from Mexico, as well as the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, World of Stardom Championship, and GHC Heavyweight Championship from Japan as world heavyweight championships.[9][10][11][12][13] PWI later additionally recognized the independent wrestling titles the Independent Wrestling World Championship and the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Championship as world championships.[14]
List of all recognized world heavyweight championships
According to the annual PWI almanac, PWI still recognizes select world title reigns from May 4, 1905 – January 28, 1946, before the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in July 1948,[17] mostly conforming to the lineage traditionally traced backwards 1948–1905 by the NWA for their World Heavyweight Championship.[17][18]
Rankings
PWI 500
PWI has published the list of the top 500 professional wrestlers each year since 1991 in an annual special edition magazine, the PWI 500. PWI writers choose the position of the wrestler following a designated evaluation period starting from mid-June; anything a wrestler accomplished before or after that period is not considered. They follow a criterion that includes win–loss record, championships won, quality of competition, major feuds, prominence within a wrestler's promotion(s), and overall wrestling ability.[19][20] As of 2023[update], L. A. Park has been ranked in the most editions of the PWI 500, with 30 appearances.[21] John Cena and Seth Rollins have the most appearances at number one, with three. John Cena has the most appearances in the top 10, with 13. In 1993, Miss Texas (Jacqueline Moore) became the first woman to be ranked in the list, at number 249.[22] Since 2008, men and women have had separate lists.
PWI Women's 250
PWI has published a list of the top female professional wrestlers each year since 2008 in a special edition magazine. As with the list of male professional wrestlers, PWI writers choose the wrestler's position following a designated evaluation period starting from mid-June; anything a wrestler accomplished before or after that period is not considered. The list was originally limited to 50 wrestlers and was referred to as the Female 50. It has since been expanded and renamed to Women's 100 in 2018, Women's 150 in 2021, and Women's 250 in 2023.[58][59]
PWI Tag Team 100
PWI has published a list of the top tag teams since 2020. PWI writers rank the wrestlers following a designated evaluation period starting from October; a minimum of 10 matches or 4 months as a tag team is required.[78][79] The ranking included both male and female tag teams.
References
- ^ "About Us". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ Item: "Those Samoans Are Tough – Especially The Fourteenth Time!" 1983 Year In Review. Pro Wrestling Illustrated March 1984
- ^ ""1985 ... July 2: Pro Wrestling Illustrated reinstates world title recognition for the WWF heavyweight title after more than two years of viewing it as a regional championship." Wrestling History, Pro Wrestling Illustrated Online, retrieved March 14, 2018". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated strips the AWA of World Title Recognition – Pro Wrestling Illustrated May 1991
- ^ "AWA World Heavyweight Title". Archived from the original on February 22, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Editorial, Wrestling '91, Spring 1991 edition
- ^ "The NWA was formed in 1948 but the NWA World Heavyweight Championship is traditionally traced back to the World Heavyweight Championship that was created in 1905." = WWF vs NWA: Who's Better? Pro Wrestling Illustrated January 1991
- ^ "The NWA World champion became the WCW World champion when the federation changed initials ... The initials may have changed, but Ron Simmons wears the same belt (figuratively, at least) in 1992 that Lou Thesz wore in 1952. Given that, Chono cannot be considered the NWA World champion in the historical sense ... We'll call him NWA champion because that is the title he won. But this article will be the last time we'll call him NWA World champion"
– "Who Needs The Confusion? Why Reviving The NWA Title Was A Bad Idea." Inside Wrestling December 1992 edition, pages 38–41 - ^ "The New PWI". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. December 4, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
- ^ "PWI Will No Longer Recognize TNA World Heavyweight Championship". wrestlingnewsworld.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
- ^ @OfficialPWI (April 3, 2020). "For those who are wondering, PWI currently recognizes four championships as legitimate World titles: WWE champions…" (Tweet). Retrieved April 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ PWI (March 6, 2021). "PWI Announces World Title Recognition For Several Promotions In Its Publication". Bodyslam.net. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ PWI (February 26, 2021). "IMPACT, MLW & ROH Among Championships Given 'World Title' Status By Pro Wrestling Illustrated". Mandatory.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ IWTV (August 8, 2021). "PWI Recognizes the IWTV & PAWD Titles as World Championships". IWTV. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ CAGEMATCH. "IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship". CAGEMATCH. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ CAGEMATCH. "Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling World Championship". CAGEMATCH. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ a b PWI Almanac 1996 NWA World Heavyweight Championship lineage
- ^ History of the World Heavyweight Championship, Whatever happened to Gorgeous George, Joe Jares 1977
- ^ "PWI 500: 1–100". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. August 9, 2011. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
- ^ "PWI Senior Writer responds to 'Women's 100' reactions – Diva Dirt". November 7, 2018. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ "Wrestlers with Most PWI 500 entries". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ Wagner, Brandi (February 9, 2019). "Jackie Moore: Equal Opportunity Ass-Kicker". Last Word on Sports. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1991". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1992". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1993". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on December 14, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1994". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1995". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1996". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1997". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1998". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1999". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2000". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2001". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2002". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2003". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2004". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2005". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2006". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2007". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2008". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2009". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2010". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2011". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2012". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2013". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2017". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
- ^ "PWI 500 2018: Kenny Omega is the second straight non-WWE wrestler named #1 in the world". Cageside Seats. August 29, 2018. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 29, 2019). "Seth Rollins Tops Annual PWI 500". Fightful. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2020". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ "Kenny Omega Tops PWI 500 In 2021, Second Time Ranked Number One | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "Roman Reigns Tops 2022 PWI 500, Second Time At Number One". www.fightful.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
- ^ "Seth Rollins Tops The 2023 PWI 500, Roman Reigns Places Second; Gunther, Moxley, More Round Out Top 10". www.fightful.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Chiari, Mike. "WWE's Cody Rhodes, AEW's Swerve Strickland, Ospreay Top PWI Top 500 List for 2024". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (September 23, 2025). "Cody Rhodes Tops PWI 500 For Second Straight Year". Fightful. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
- ^ "Various News: PWI Female 50 Expanding to 100, Mikey Whipwreck Partners With Indy Promotion". 411 Mania. August 9, 2018. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
- ^ "PWI Women's 100 will increase to PWI Women's 150 in 2021". September 13, 2021. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2008". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2009". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2010". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2011". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2012". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2013". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2014". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50 for 2017". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- ^ "Various News: Ronda Rousey Tops The PWI Women's 100 List, WWE Free Match, Today's Wrestling Birthdays". 411 Mania. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ "Becky Lynch tops PWI Women's 100 list". Diva Dirt. October 31, 2019. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
- ^ "2020 PWI Women's 100: Top 10 reveal and full ranking details". Bell To Belles. October 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ "Bianca Belair Tops the PWI Women's Top 150 List". October 21, 2021. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- ^ Wilkinson, Nick (October 27, 2022). "Syuri Tops 2022 PWI Women's 150 List". diva-dirt.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (October 18, 2023). "Rhea Ripley Tops 2023 PWI Women's 250". fightful.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Carrier, Steve (October 15, 2024). "Toni Storm Tops PWI Women's 250 List For 2024". ringsidenews.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Haley (November 11, 2025). "Mercedes Moné Tops PWI Women's 250 — Find Out Who Made the Top 10". VICE. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
- ^ @OfficialPWI (November 18, 2020). "Criteria: Momentum Wins & Losses Chemistry Activity It Factor Evaluation period: 10/1/19 – 9/30/20" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @OfficialPWI (November 18, 2020). "Full cover reveal at 4 p.m. EST. The evaluation period for the PWI #TagTeam50: October 1, 2019 – September 30, 202…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Middleton, Marc (November 18, 2020). "FTR Takes Top Spot On The Inaugural PWI Tag Team 50 List". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ Martínez, Sebastián (December 2, 2021). "The Young Bucks se afianzan el primer puesto de los Top 50 Tag Team de PWI". Solowrestling.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 6, 2022). "The Usos Top 2022 PWI Tag Team 100". Fightful. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ Russell, Skylar (November 22, 2023). "FTR Tops The 2023 PWI Tag Team 100, Aussie Open, Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn, More Round Out The Top Ten". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 9, 2024). "Bianca Belair And Jade Cargill Top 2024 PWI Tag Team 100". Fightful. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 19, 2025). "The Hardys Top 2025 PWI Tag Team 100". Fightful. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
External links
