Best Of 2010s: Wrestler Of The Decade
IMG Credit: WWE
This might be the biggest of them all and that makes things all the more interesting. It really depends on what you’re looking for in the best wrestler in the world, as you could go with the wrestling abilities or the talking abilities or some combination of the two, which is really what matters most. There are a lot of great ones in there and several ways to go with the choices.
Honorable Mention
Johnny Gargano – I know he isn’t on the main roster, but you don’t have this many incredible matches at a high level without getting some recognition. The Johnny Takeover name is very appropriate (partially because his name is Johnny) and he has become a guaranteed hit on the major shows. That’s worthy of at least a mention.
Chris Jericho – I’m not sure where to put Jericho because he’s turned it back up to another level since he became a living legend, but there was a big gap in the middle of the 2010s where he was just kind of there. The List brought him back up and then AEW put him back over the moon, but the special attraction nature for such a long time holds him back just a bit.
Hiroshi Tanahashi – This is a name where you kind of have to include him, just because of everything that he has accomplished and continues to accomplish. Every time he seems ready to be put out to pasture he just keeps hanging around, because he really is that good.
Randy Orton
I know a lot of people aren’t big on Orton, but he is one of the most talented people in wrestling history. He has the talent, the resume and the killer finisher to make it work. He’s one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster and if John Cena hadn’t been around for so much of his career, we would look at Orton in awe.
You’re going to be hard pressed to find someone as good at everything as he is and possesses the kind of talent that almost no one else has. There’s a reason why he is always around and given how good he still can be in the ring, he is going to be around for as long as he wants to be. Orton might not be popular all the time, but he’s around for a reason and had a great decade.
AJ Styles
How can you not have him in there? Styles is the rare breed of wrestler who has dominated everywhere he goes. He’s the most successful wrestler ever from TNA, then he won the IWGP Heavyweight Title and then he won several WWE Titles. Has anyone ever done that? Kurt Angle maybe? Styles really is one of the best of all time and it’s great to get to see him shine on this kind of a level.
What matters the most about Styles is that he still feels special. Styles went from being the huge fish in the small pond to finally graduating to something big in New Japan and then to the main event in WWE. He has been a featured attraction throughout and while his career is winding down, there is still a lot to enjoy about everything he does, which hopefully is the case for a long time to come.
Kenny Omega
This is another name where you have to include him whether you’re a fan of his or not. Omega has done so many things everywhere he has gone and while the style might not be your favorite, he is the rare star to get some nearly universal acclaim. I’m not big on a lot of the video game references and some of his style gets annoying a times, but dang if he can’t have one exciting match after another.
Omega is now considered one of the big stars in AEW and there is a reason to expect him to be there, at a high level, for a long time to come. When his matches get to that next level, there is almost no stopping him and he has the legendary series with Okada, including the IWGP World Title win, to cement things even further. If you can’t get into him at least a bit, you might want to check your pulse.
Kazuchika Okada
It’s very rare that you see someone who feels like he is the best in the world but that’s the feeling you get every time Okada is in the ring. He has size, the look, the completely overrated finisher (I will die on that hill if I have to) and the presence to make you feel like you’re seeing greatness in front of you. If nothing else, he might have the greatest dropkick of all time and that’s always worth seeing.
The problem with Okada is what is he supposed to do now? He’s dominated New Japan for so long now and is still relatively young. What in the world is left for him to do? I mean, other than going back to Impact and beating their heads into a wall for using him as a freaking superhero sidekick instead of LETTING HIM BE OKADA! I know the Rainmaker gimmick wasn’t there yet but put him in boots and trunks and let him do his thing. Anyway, Okada is great, in case you didn’t know that somehow.
Daniel Bryan
This is more my speed as Bryan only started in WWE at the beginning of the decade and then got thrown out almost immediately once he made it to Raw. He was back soon enough through and slowly took the company by storm, being capped off by the absolutely incredible YES Movement and the title win at Wrestlemania XXX. How in the world do you top that? By doing it again.
Bryan winning the title at Wrestlemania XXX may not have been the ultimate surprise, but him coming back to the ring after three years away certainly was. I never would have believed that he could make it back but through never giving up and being near insane in his efforts, Bryan was medically cleared, won the WWE Championship again, and reinvented himself as a psycho environmentalist. It takes someone special to do that and Bryan certainly qualifies.
And now, say it with me.
John Cena
There are very few wrestlers who can be placed on the list of true faces of the WWE. You have Bruno, Hogan, Austin, Rock and then Cena. That’s as elite of a list as you’re going to get and Cena has fought his way to make it on there, which he has certainly earned. The 2010s were Cena’s legendary time as he came in as the top star in the company and then moved on to the US Open Challenge where he would have an awesome match every week just because he could. Couple that with the part time mega legendary status that he has enjoyed since 2016 and what else can you need?
Oh yeah: that whole biggest match of his generation with the Rock. There is very little that Cena has not done yet (save for the Intercontinental Title, which you would think he would have won at some point in his career) and yet somehow you could believe he could still pop in and break Flair’s record. He’s already tied it, and that’s the kind of unreachable star that only a special someone could reach. Cena is beyond special though, and that was made clear in the last ten years.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/
And check out my Amazon author- page with cheap wrestling books at: