PWI 500 #1 ranking validates MJF’s run at the top of AEW

For years MJF has been telling everyone who will listen that he’s better than the field, and that we knew it. To whatever degree you value the PWI 500, the former 3-time AEW world champion’s selection as the top wrestler from mid-2025 through July 2026, cements his position in the modern day pro wrestling landscape.

The annual list is always contentious, and no matter how the editorial board assesses the top 500 wrestlers over the last 36 years, the topic is always a quickly debated point. Some will agree with a selection. Others will contest why the number two or three choices were not in the top ranked spot, while others will argue their favourite wrestler ranked 26th is more deserving.

It’s a stupid list when it comes down to it, but at the same time it contextualizes everything we watch each week relative to each other and judges it based on metrics, optics and overall impact to the company they belong to. I think this is one of those years, because if we’re looking at just wins and losses, MJF didn’t outwork Cody Rhodes. He also didn’t hold the AEW title in his two combined reigns more than Cody Rhodes did the WWE title, who very nearly three-peated at the number one spot, nor did he work the most matches. But before we continue with why I think it’s a valid choice, and arguably the best choice for the period we’re talking about, here’s the top 10.

1. MJF (AEW)
2. Cody Rhodes (WWE)
3. CM Punk (WWE)
4. Místico (CMLL)
5. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW/NJPW)
6. “Hangman” Adam Page (AEW)
7. Yota Tsuji (NJPW)
8. Trick Williams (WWE NXT)
9. Oba Femi (WWE NXT)
10. Gunther (WWE)

The list breaks down with three AEW wrestlers, five from WWE, one a piece exclusively from CMLL and NJPW, and Takeshita takes home the number 6 spot with his dual contract status in both AEW and NJPW.

For anyone unfamiliar these are the criteria the PWI board judges the list by:

• In-ring Achievement
  • win-loss records,
  • championships won,
  • tournaments won.
• Influence
  • Visibility and prestige within a promotion and/or the industry.
• Technical Ability
  • Quality of moves, matches, and in-ring storytelling.
• Competition
  • Success against the most varied and highest quality opponents.
• Activity
  • Minimum 10 singles (non-tag) matches total; or,
  • barring this, six such matches in separate months

To be fair we have to look at the hard metrics given the objective component of the list hinges on prestige of winning of titles, win and losses.

Cody Rhodes had the most wins in the Top 10 across AEW and WWE

We need to make that distinction because it was actually Mistico who garnered the most overall wins in the last year. Mistico worked 114 matches and won 89 of those. Rhodes easily worked the most matches in WWE and AEW with a total of 68 matches and a winning total of 63. That also makes him the second most efficient winning wrestler with a win rate of 92.6%, only behind CM Punk who worked 31 matches and won 93.5%. Punk also, however, worked half the matches Rhodes did, but still five more than MJF. Also, if we’re looking solely at wins, losses and winning percentage, both Trick Williams and Oba Femi worked more matches (58 and 62 respectively), and had win rates between 85 and 87%. That compares to MJF’s 80.8%.

Championship Runs 

In addition to not even having the most matches or wins in pro wrestling, MJF also didn’t have the most title reigns or days held. He tied Rhodes, Punk, and Yota Tsuji with two reigns, while the remainder of the field amassed at least one. Rhodes and Punk top the list at 276 and 236 combined days on top over their two reigns respectively. MJF actually comes third at 154 days combined over his second and third AEW Championship reigns. So in terms of title wins they’re tied, and in terms of combined days as champion MJF is third.

Now, let’s look at defences. Rhodes again tops the list with 19 total defences with 17 of those being successful. He successfully defended 89.5% of the time. Of CM Punk’s two reigns he defended both belts a total of six times with five successful defences. Punk defended successfully 83.3% of the time. Looking now at MJF, he had the second most defences among them with 9, winning 7 of those for a defence rate of 77.8%.

Based on these metrics, he also falls short of objectively being number one. So in all, he was no workhorse. He also didn’t win the most matches, nor did he have the best winning rate. MJF also didn’t have the most varied opponents. So based on the objective criteria, Rhodes should at least in theory continue being number one.

MJF’s Intangibles

The hard metrics are not in favour of MJF, but I think the reason he edged out both Rhodes and Punk are his intangibles. While the metrics betray the selection, I’d argue quality wise in terms of opponents that the differences are negligible. I would additionally argue that he’s the best in ring of the three, and far and away is ahead of Rhodes on the mic and can more than hold his own against Punk.

Those are important elements as well, but I don’t think those are enough here. The category I truly think pushes MJF ahead into the number one spot is how visible he is and was as a top draw in AEW. His activity and what he brings to the show is not easily replaceable and no one like him exists in WWE right now. There’s a key point here I’d want to draw attention to though. MJF is unquestionably the MVP of AEW this year, and it’s within his title losses that his successes pay off and catapult his opponents forward.

This firmly established his value as something beyond just what he can do in the ring, and more so transformed into a lightning rod to draw success to other people on the roster to cement themselves off the back of his own dominance. I’d point directly to how his programs with Darby Allin and Kenny Omega shaped up and concluded within the judgment window that respectively re-established Omega’s place in the main event pantheon after years of injuries, and further cemented Allin’s place in AEW history.

Going beyond his world title programs as champion, I’d point to the quality of his feud with Hangman Page from late 2025 through early 2026 where he won his second AEW title and then defended it in a blood feud against Page for the soul of AEW. The execution of that story eliminated Page from world title contention forever. These are the types of stories that are being told in AEW with MJF. I’d argue these aren’t as readily present in WWE and especially so with Rhodes and Punk when they were champions. His role as heel is to be hated, excel as a dickhead, and in the process make everyone around him better. He’s the fixture in the ring, in the eyes of the fans who watch, and what AEW tries to present.

In that regard, even if the quantitative metrics don’t quite get him there, I believe his work as the foundational piece of AEW’s main event scene and how the company can create off his work is a huge factor to his and the company’s success. Comparing what he’s done over the last year against Rhodes and Punk, with the whole picture in mind and for whatever the PWI list is worth, the ranking is a valid assessment of MJF and his place in pro wrestling.