Hawke’s Top 10 Wrestlers of 2017 (So Far)

2017 has seen a lot of great wrestlers have great years so far. Here are the top ten. There are some honorable mentions at the bottom of the list.

10. WALTER

The most frustrating wrestler on this list is WALTER. That comment is not for anything he does in the ring. It’s because he actively chooses to limit his bookings so that he never will work in more places than wXw and PROGRESS. In those places though, he managed to already have two standout matches with Matt Riddle while also being this incredible backbone for wXw’s annual 16 Carat who helped to both solidify David Starr’s place as an indie star on the rise and make Ilja Dragunov into a potentially major player for the European scene. This guy has the talent to be a major star in any company in the world. He could main event Wrestlemania or Wrestle Kingdom. We should be grateful for what we get from him though.

 

9. Donovan Dijak

Donny D is right up there with Riddle, Keith Lee, and Lio Rush in terms of brightest prospects who should be a big star yesterday. 2017 has already been a super eventful year for him as he finished up strongly with ROH, debuted for Evolve and wXw, and appears to be on the path to WWE. He has also solidified his status as one of the most consistent performers for the growing Nova Pro while continuing his outstanding work for Beyond. This is the kind of wrestler that everyone should be trying to bring in right now while they still can.

 

8. Dragon Lee

Dragon Lee is probably the most exciting pure high flyer going today. If he’s missing *some* of the physical gifts of a Ricochet or a Will Ospreay, he outstrips wrestlers like them as an overall performer with his willingness to present each of his big matches like a necessary fight to the death. This year already he has rekindled the ultimate junior rivalry with Takahashi, did very well on the Fantastica Mania tour, and returned to ROH with much in-ring success.

 

7. Fred Yehi

Fred Yehi might be the most naturally gifted professional wrestler in years. No one else makes producing great professional wrestling seem as effortless as Fred. He moves about in the ring like he is in complete command of everything and everyone. He usually brings out the best in his opponents and gives them their best matches. What is truly amazing is just the wide variety of ways in which his greatness has shined through. He worked total underdog in the match of Brian Cage’s life.  He went twenty with Kyle in the kind of competitive grappling battle that Kyle has been trying (and mostly failing) to produce for years. He showed up cold in Nova Pro and delivered big time with their main star, Arik Royal. He’s just such an incredibly capable performer who should be booked everywhere in the world.

 

6. Drew McIntyre/Drew Galloway

Drew Galloway returned from injury in 2017 like a man on a mission to remind the world that he is still one of the very best talents in the entire world. He delivered multiple times for WWN (though the Matt Riddle feud was somewhat disappointing in the ring overall), had one of the best indie matches of the year with Zema Ion in AAW, and had what will likely be the MOTY in his first match back in the WWE. All the pieces are in place for Drew to become a major star in the WWE. He’s got the look, presence, and in-ring ability to lead WWE into the future. Only their predictable incompetence and lack of vision will prevent that.

 

5. Keith Lee

Of all the ROH follies of the last six years, their inability to capitalize on having access to Keith Lee might go down as the most hilariously pathetic. Anyone who watched him outside of Ring of Honor before this year was screaming to the top of their lungs that this guy was a future star. It was so painfully obvious that there is no possible excuse for ROH opting to never position him as anything more than an undercard tag guy.

With every match in Evolve so far in 2017, Lee has made sure to embarrass all those who did not take advantage of his talents. He’s taken Hero’s spot as the “automatic good match” guy for the company, as he has delivered with a wide variety opponents every time out there so far. The fans clearly see him as something special, and now it’s just up to Evolve to make him an indie wrestling mega star.

 

4. Matt Riddle

Matt Riddle was clearly a top ten guy so far this year, but it was genuinely surprising to find out just *how* many good matches he has already had this year. He’s hit the ***+ mark over 20 times this year which puts him on an output pace that would genuinely seem impossible for virtually any other wrestler. He has not just been churning out the solid midcard matches during this stretch either. He has had some great matches mixed in too with a wide variety of opponents. There is no more innately talented wrestler in the world, and the professional wrestling world genuinely owes a bit of a debt to him.

With all of that in mind, why is he not the number one so far? Riddle has finally started to show some flaws. He has become increasingly reliant on no-sell spots late in his matches. It’s been an understandable crutch for him to lean on given that it gets an incredible reaction the majority of the time.  It will hopefully be something he gets away from though sooner rather than later given that it is best used sparingly at best (and preferably close to never). Also, there was that moment captured in the gif above. Trash wrestling.

 

3. AJ Styles

AJ Styles ending his career in the WWE is going to do wonders for his legacy. Besides having the full weight of the WWE marketing campaign behind for what will likely be the rest of his life, there has possibly been no better suited wrestler for WWE television than AJ Styles. In the last four months, besides delivering in every expected manner, he has also managed to make Shane McMahon of all fucking people look like a credible pro wrestler on the biggest stage in wrestling all the while contributing to the continuing success of The Big Breakfast. Week in and week out, AJ Styles has been the most reliable performer that the WWE has had for quite some time.

 

2. Hiromu Takahashi

The NJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship division has been an overgrown forest of dead and dying trees for too long. While veterans like Liger are still great, KUSHIDA has not been up to the task of saving the whole division all by his lonesome. That’s not really a shot at KUSHIDA as it was a mighty job. TAFKA Kamaitachi has burned the forest and started anew by remaking the division in his image. (I’m probably conflating metaphors at this point but oh well.)

Takahashi is the exact kind of wrestler that every junior division needs. He works like a man who genuinely believes that death is a worse fate than defeat. He brings a sense of danger to his matches that brings out the best in his opponents. That kind of mentality has already been paying off major dividends for NJPW.

He started off the year having a phenomenal match with KUSHIDA on the biggest wrestling show in Japan this year. He followed it up with yet another worthy chapter in the (what will hopefully be) neverending feud with Dragon Lee. He then continued his feud with KUSHIDA in a manner that a NJPW feud has desperately needed for far too long. If not for the underwhelming match with Ricochet, he would be #1.

 

1. Io Shirai

There is arguably no better wrestler in the world right now than Io Shirai. She basically has all of the best qualities you would want in a wrestler while simultaneously being the kind of ace that can work a wide variety of matches and bring out the best in her opponents. This year, she has already slain the monster Viper, survived the violence of Shayna Baszler, and defeated Kairi Hojo one final time in Stardom. She works with an incredible sense of urgency. She can play the massive underdog AND the ass-kicker who can deal out punishment. She can also fly around with a sense of reckless abandon like no other.

 

Honorable Mentions

Get this Guy in More Places Award

Sonjay Dutt – Standout matches with Dijak, Trevor, and Scurll

 

Benefits from Being on #SDLive Award (tie)

The Big Breakfast – Already hit SEVEN ***+ matches this year

Dean Ambrose – Also hit seven already

 

People Would Care But You’re In TNA Award

Bobby Lashley – Killed it with EEEE, Davey, and JOSH BARNETT

 

The, Yes, Timothy Thatcher Is Still Good Award

Timothy Thatcher

 

A Great Feud That Led to Many Good Matches Award

All Eggo and Darby Allin

 

I Am a Brock Mark Award (tie)

Brock Lesnar

Goldberg