Wrestling Inc. Prestige Rankings 11/10/23: The Top 25 In The Pro Wrestling Conversation
Welcome to another Friday, and welcome to another edition of Wrestling Inc.'s Prestige Rankings! Every week, we take stock of the wrestling conversation, analyzing online trend and traffic data to determine which wrestlers' names are currently foremost in the minds of our readers, fans of the industry, and the public as a whole.
We're now five weeks into this exercise, and not only have we refined both our methodology and the name of the column, but we're starting to see some stability in the overall stable of talent that represent the top of the industry. For the first time, 23 of the 25 wrestlers who made the rankings last week are back this week, with only Becky Lynch and LA Knight making way for new or returning faces (Knight continued his odd trend of being reasonably high in the rankings one week and out of them completely the next). While the list still got significantly shaken up — Roman Reigns and GUNTHER, WWE's two longest-tenured champions, both experienced big drops, while The Miz and Ronda Rousey shot upwards — it's pretty clear at this point that there are the 20-ish wrestlers who lead the conversation, and then there's everyone else.
#25 GUNTHER (down from #13)
GUNTHER made history thisas the longest reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion, but his last big premium live event title defense was at "WWE SummerSlam" against Drew McIntyre.
"The Ring General's" next opponent is going to be The Miz, who earned the title shot on the November 6 edition of "WWE Raw," after defeating Reed, Ricochet, and Ivar in a Fatal Four-Way that saw Ricochet reportedly sustain a concussion.
#24 Chris Jericho (down from #21)
Chris Jericho is usually the star of his own show, but as he teams with Kenny Omega, much to the chagrin of the Young Bucks, Jericho finds himself becoming part of an ensemble and when the ensemble has as much history as Omega and The Bucks, people like Jericho can feel like an odd man out. Such is the nature of this former world champion's slide from #21 to #24. Maybe a win against The Bucks at Full Gear can help Jericho become a bigger part of the conversation.
#23 Drew McIntyre (up from #25)
Following his loss to Seth Rollins at WWE Crown Jewel, Drew McIntyre was approached by "WWE Raw" correspondent Jackie Redmond for an interview, for which McIntyre declined to speak. Despite his glaring quietness on "Raw," McIntyre rises two spots in this week's rankings, with many fans speculating that the Scotsman may be added to this year's men's WarGames match at Survivor Series 2023.
#22 Damian Priest (debuting)
Señor Money in the Bank Damian Priest makes his awaited debut on the Prestige Rankings following his newsworthy night at WWE Crown Jewel. After Seth Rollins retained the World Heavyweight title against Drew McIntyre in the opener, Priest attempted to cash-in his MITB contract, only for Sami Zayn to thwart his plans. To make it worse, Priest came up short to Cody Rhodes later in the event courtesy of an assist from Jey Uso.
#21 Mercedes Mone (up from #22)
With it looking as though Mercedes Mone will appear in AEW once she recovers from an ankle injury, the former multi-time women's champion has kept quiet on her social media pages as she continues to heal. The former Sasha Banks was last seen in the audience at AEW All In back in August.
#20 Asuka (down from #19)
As of late, Asuka has been quiet — her last WWE televised ring match was on the October 10 episode of "WWE NXT," in which she defeated former WWE "NXT" Women's Champion Roxanne Perez. Days prior, Asuka and Charlotte Flair lost to WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY at the WWE Fastlane premium live event.
#19 Charlotte Flair (down from #18)
Charlotte Flair, for the first time in years, had to take a backseat to her father once again, as the former women's champion slipped a spot in the rankings, with most of the Flair-related wrestling conversation on her father, his new tenure in AEW, and how that might affect Charlotte going forward. She's also taken a backseat on WWE programming, unable to dethrone WWE Women's Champion IYO SKY.
#18 Jey Uso (down from #16)
Jey Uso has yet to wrestle in the month of November, but he did make his presence felt at WWE Crown Jewel and "WWE Raw" this week. After Uso helped Cody Rhodes fend off the Judgment Day's ringside shenanigans at Crown Jewel, the duo rushed down to aid Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn to even the odds against the faction on "Raw." In the midst of the chaos, Adam Pearce officially announced the return of the Men's WarGames match — a contest that will once again include Jey Uso.
#17 MJF (up from #20)
AEW World Champion MJF continues to climb up in the rankings this week following his successful defense against the up-and-coming Daniel Garcia on "AEW Dynamite." While MJF's potential challenger list continues to grow, one veteran in Paul Wight believes MJF is the most modern-day Ric Flair he's ever seen.
#16 Adam Copeland (down from #14)
Despite not having appeared on AEW programming since the November 1 episode of "AEW Dynamite", Adam Copeland continues to trend, as he prepares for his match at Full Gear on November 18. The former Edge of WWE fame will be facing TNT Champion Christian Cage, Nick Wayne, and Luchasaurus as he teams with Sting and Darby Allin.
#15 Saraya (making her return)
Former "AEW" Women's Champion Saraya doesn't want to admit that something is rotten on Outcast Denmark. In one of her last televised appearances, the November 3 episode of "AEW Rampage," she refused to admit to Soho and interviewer Alex Marvez that they lost some of their edge.
In Saraya's last televised match, she lost the AEW Women's Championship to Hikaru Shida.
#14 The Miz (up from #24)
Ricochet's concussion was unfortunate, but the ending of Monday's Fatal Four Way match going screwy meant great things for The Miz, who earned a shot at ending GUNTHER's historic WWE Intercontinental Championship. His win, along with fans keeping up with all of the confusion surrounding the match's end in the days that followed, led to the multi-time Intercontinental Champion rocketing a full 10 places in the rankings from No. 24 to No. 14.
#13 Bryan Danielson (up from #17)
While he remains sidelined with a fractured orbital bone, Bryan Danielson is expected to be back in action by the end of 2023. With this return timeframe in mind, "The American Dragon" was keen on setting himself up for a major rematch in early 2024, prompting him to challenge Kazuchika Okada to a face-off at Wrestle Kingdom 18. As Danielson seeks revenge for the broken forearm he suffered in their previous encounter, NJPW has since confirmed that the two will square off at the January 4 event.
#12 Roman Reigns (down from #1)
Despite remaining at the top of WWE's food chain, Roman Reigns slipped down several spots from #1 this week. Reigns was able to keep his historic Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign intact by defeating LA Knight in the main event of WWE Crown Jewel. However, his infrequent appearances may be keeping him out of sight, out of mind for fans.
#11 Dominik Mysterio (up from #15)
The reigning North American Champion found himself in a pull apart brawl involving Judgment Day, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Seth "Freakin" Rollins during the closing moments of "Raw," which led to General Manager Adam Pearce announcing that Dominik and his fellow heels would settle their differences with the latter four men in a WarGames match at Survivor Series.
#10: Cody Rhodes (down from #7)
Ever since Cody Rhodes made his iconic return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, he has been dealing with two of the most popular WWE stables — The Bloodline and Judgment Day. In his last match, Rhodes did get a win over Judgment Day by defeating Damian Priest last weekend at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He and partner Jey Uso will be getting a shot at the tag titles next week against Finn Balor and Damian Priest, before they face Judgment Day in a WarGames match at WWE Survivor Series later this month.
#9 Kenny Omega (up from #12)
Kenny Omega rebounded in the rankings after the previous list came following his disheartening loss to MJF, thus ceding to MJF the record for longest reign in AEW world champion history. Now Omega is preparing for a street fight against the Don Callis Family, and also has a tag match against his longtime friends The Young Bucks at Full Gear waiting, giving fans plenty of Kenny Omega news to chew on and helping him jump from 12 to 9.
#8 Seth Rollins (same spot)
Seth Rollins maintains his position in the ratings after two successful title defenses this week. Following his victory over Drew McIntyre at WWE Crown Jewel, Rollins put his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Sami Zayn on "WWE Raw." While Rollins and Zayn were adversaries on "Raw," they will soon find themselves in the same corner battling against members of The Judgment Day in the 2023 Men's WarGames match.
#7 Rey Mysterio (down from #5)
Rey Mysterio's third United States Championship reign came to an end this week at WWE Crown Jewel, which may have resulted in dropping down a couple of spots. Mysterio was defeated by internet sensation Logan Paul, although it may have come as a result of an accidental assist from LWO's Santos Escobar.
#6 Rhea Ripley (up from #9)
Rhea Ripley is coming off a successful WWE Women's World Championship defense against Shayna Baszler, Raquel Rodriguez, Zoey Stark, and Nia Jax at Crown Jewel last Saturday. Fans learned that Stark is next in line for a shot after winning a No. 1 Contenders Battle Royal this past Monday on "Raw."
#5: John Cena (down from #2)
It looks like John Cena's WWE run, which started back in August, could be over now that the SAG-AFTRA strike officially ended on November 8. It might be good for a break since he didn't have any luck last Saturday at Crown Jewel when he took on the Bloodline's Solo Sikoa, instead losing after taking several Samoan Spikes.
What's next for the 16-time WWE Champion? Fans may have to look to the big screen for that answer.
#4 Ronda Rousey (up from #10)
Fans are wondering what is next for Ronda Rousey; after finishing up her tenure with WWE over the summer, many believed that Rousey was done with professional wrestling, until she returned at Lucha VaVoom, teaming with Marina Shafir to take on Brian Kendrick and Taya Valkyrie. News about her return, as well as her upcoming match with Shafir, helped Rousey jump from No. 10 to No. 4.
#3 Logan Paul (same spot)
Logan Paul remains in the top three after dethroning Rey Mysterio to become the new United States Champion at WWE Crown Jewel. Following his title win, Paul revealed his celebratory photoshoot, which featured an image of him showering with the championship strapped around his waist, seemingly imitating Shawn Michaels' 1996 spread in Playgirl magazine. Paul also included photos of him wearing the title while on a treadmill, on a roof, and in bed with his fiance.
#2 Randy Orton (up from #6)
Randy Orton continues climbing the ranks despite still being out of action. Fans haven't seen "The Viper" in the ring since May 2022, but that hasn't stopped rumors from swirling about a potential return at this month's Survivor Series event. Plus, WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg has shared his excitement about seeing the former world champion back in action.
#1 CM Punk (up from #4)
Sigh; we know we're asking for it with this No. 1 ranking, which makes it seem like a great time to remind our lovely readers that this list is based on objective criteria and actual data.
Although the future of his professional wrestling career is in limbo and it remains to be seen whether he will sign with WWE, Impact Wrestling, another promotion or potentially stay a free agent, CM Punk has remained in the pro wrestling conversation whether you like it or not, so much so that there's speculation Punk could be under that devil mask in AEW.