Kazuchika Okada Tops PWI Top 500 List for 2017

Pro Wrestling Illustrated announced Kazuchika Okada took the top spot for this year’s PWI Top 500 List and in the process, became the first Japanese wrestler ever to do so in the 27 year history of the magazine’s rankings.

During an interview with PWI, Okada stated he was very honored to receive the award and represent the greatness of Japanese wrestling.

“What this award signifies is that wrestling fans and media worldwide are thinking about what promotion and what wrestler deserves their attention, and the answer is Okada. It’s an indication that finally the world at large is realizing just how great Japanese wrestlers and Japanese wrestling is, and that’s special.”

Eight wrestlers from WWE and one from NJPW rounded out the rest of PWI’s Top 10 rankings. The Top 10 were revealed during a recent episode of The Ross Report podcast with PWI’s senior writer Dan Murphy as the guest.

PWI’s Top 10 List (July 2016 – June 2017):
1) Kazuchika Okada
2) A.J. Styles
3) Kevin Owens
4) Roman Reigns
5) Kenny Omega
6) Shinsuke Nakamura
7) Dean Ambrose
8) Samoa Joe
9) Bobby Roode
10) The Miz

In an interesting note, John Cena failed to be ranked in PWI’s top 10 for the first time since 2004.

In regards to the rankings process, PWI has stated in the past that championship reigns and WWE’s status as the #1 wrestling company in their eyes play a big role in their rankings, especially for the top 10.