HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''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 bi-monthly issues and annual special issues such as their "Almanac and Book of Facts". 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 professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...
. In recent years, the ''PWI'' has moved away from reporting on storylines as actual news and mixed in editorial comments on the behind-the-scenes workings. Since 1991, ''PWI'' has been publishing its annual "Top 500 Wrestlers" listing the top 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. 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'' was released in 1979. The magazine soon became known for not breaking
kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...
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 promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails mana ...
s, as it also covers multiple independent promotions in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. ''PWI'' also publishes other special issues, which include: ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts'' since 1996, ''Women of Wrestling'' and a weekly newsletter entitled ''PWI Weekly'' from 1989 to 2000. It was eventually acquired by Golden Boy Enterprises.


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 the big promotions, some select independents, and overall rankings in singles and tag teams. 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 Manager of the Year may refer to: * Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award * League Managers Association Manager of the Year * Premier League Manager of the Season The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...
(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, ''PWI'' has only recognized a few top versions as valid World titles at any one time. With regard to the NWA World Heavyweight championship, ''PWI'' has generally recognized the lineage retrospectively traced by the NWA from its 1948 formation back to George Hackenschmidt in 1905. ''PWI'' has also recognized any tag team title corresponding to a recognized World title as a
World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promo ...
. Until March 1991, ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' and its sister publications steadfastly referred to 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 World title as the "NWA/WCW World Championship" (and likewise with other WCW championships).Editorial, Wrestling '91, Spring 1991 edition Subsequently, after
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
left WCW and was stripped of the
WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...
in July 1991, ''PWI'' and its sister publications nonetheless continued to recognize the WCW title as held by
Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for h ...
,
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...
, Vader and Ron Simmons as the rightful continuation of the historic
NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus (wrestler), ...
. 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 World title. In 1983, ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' withdrew world title recognition from the WWF, citing how champion
Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/ World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, whe ...
was not facing contenders from outside the WWF territory and was only facing rulebreakers.Item: "Those Samoans Are Tough – Especially The Fourteenth Time!" 1983 Year In Review. Pro Wrestling Illustrated March 1984 This coincided with the WWF's withdrawal from the NWA in summer 1983. PWI reinstated world title recognition in 1985"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
/ref> on account of the WWF's massive mainstream media profile. The AWA was stripped of world title recognition in January 1991 when the promotion was in its final months. By this time, the
AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...
was vacant and would remain so until the promotion's closure in August that year. ECW was finally granted world title status in 1999 only for the promotion to close two years later.


Retrospective recognition

As of August 8, 2021, ''PWI'' recognizes the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand di ...
,
WWE Universal Championship The WWE Universal Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two world titles for WWE's main roster, a ...
, AEW World Championship, Impact World Championship,
ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Claudio Castagnoli, who is in his second ...
, MLW World Heavyweight Championship,
NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus (wrestler), ...
from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, the AAA Mega Championship and
CMLL World Heavyweight Championship The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship established in 1991 and promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL introduced the ...
from
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
, as well as the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship,
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. History The championship was established after the unification of its then-flagship title the PWF World Heavyweight Championsh ...
, World of Stardom Championship and
GHC Heavyweight Championship The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the Pro Wrestling Noah brand division. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, a ...
from
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
. ''PWI'' also recognizes the independent wrestling titles IWTV Independent Wrestling World Championship and Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Championship. According to the latest ''PWI'' almanac, ''PWI'' also recognizes select world title reigns from May 4, 1905 – January 28, 1946, before the formation of the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...
(NWA) in July 1948.


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. , Jushin Thunder Liger has appeared in the most editions of the ''PWI 500'', with 29 appearances. In 1993, Miss Texas (Jacqueline Moore) was the first woman to be ranked in the list at No. 249. Since 2008 men and women have their separate lists, but some female wrestlers are still occasionally listed in the ''PWI 500''.


''PWI Women's 150''

''PWI'' has published a list of the top female professional wrestlers each year since 2008 in a special edition magazine, the ''Women's 100'' (formerly known as ''Female 50''). As with the list of male professional wrestlers, ''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. In 2018, after ten years of the list including 50 wrestlers, it was expanded to 100 and renamed from ''Female 50'' to ''Women's 100'' and expanded to 150 in 2021.


''PWI Tag Team 100''

''PWI'' published a list of the top tag team in 2020. ''PWI'' writers choose the position of the wrestler following a designated evaluation period starting from October; a minimum of 10 matches or 4 months as a tag team is required. The ranking included both male and female tag teams.


References

*''2005 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts''.


External links

* {{Kappa Publishing Group Monthly magazines published in the United States Sports magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1979 Magazines published in Pennsylvania Professional wrestling magazines