Cross Examination: Top 10 Wrestlers Of 2015

I have been doing a lot of research for the upcoming fantasy football season, because I’m a huge nerd. That research has entailed reading a lot of lists. Top 10 quarterbacks, top 10 sleepers, top 10 potential busts…

While doing this, I was rewatching the John Cena-Seth Rollins broken nose match, and it occurred to me that both men were enjoying excellent 2015s. That got me thinking; who are the top 10 wrestlers of the year so far?

I hope to revisit this at the end of the year and see how my opinion is changed. But, for now, these are the power rankings.

Honorable mention (listed alphabetically): Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Kota Ibushi, KUSHIDA, Rusev

Kevin Owens

Owens has had the quickest ascent of any wrestler over the past calendar year. He’s gone from Ring of Honor to NXT Champion to John Cena foil, and although it’s been surprising, it hasn’t been undeserved. Owens overcomes his large frame with above-average athleticism and promo snark that hasn’t been seen CM Punk decided to work for Dana White. He needs to show that he can remain interesting on the WWE main roster without feuding with an all-time great, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t.

Ethan Carter III

Despite its horrendous booking, TNA still has some quality wrestlers, and EC3 is at the top of the list. He’s a great all-around talent who entertains on the mic and has had good matches all year. He’s only been TNA World Heavyweight Champion for a month and a half and he’s already defended it against Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, P.J. Black and Drew Galloway. He’s also proof of how low-card WWE talent can succeed when given an opportunity.

Brock Lesnar

The only reason he’s this low is that he’s wrestled four matches this year and two of them were squash matches. However, the other two consist of the best match of the year and the most talked-about match of the year. Lesnar brings a mystique to the ring only his SummerSlam opponent can match. Along with Paul Heyman, he’s the most unique talent in the business and brings intrigue like no other.

Kazuchika Okada

The youngest wrestler on this list at 27 (including the honorable mentions), Okada has actually been keeping a lower profile than usual this year. After failing to take the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 9, he began a long midcard feud with Bad Luck Fale that led to Okada taking the IWGP title from AJ Styles. The Rainmaker is one of only three wrestlers to have had multiple 4.75+ star matches this year so far and is coming off a great G1 Climax.

Roderick Strong

Strong has been the best in-ring technician in Ring of Honor in 2015. He’s had three 4+ star matches so far, including one 60-minute Broadway with Jay Lethal. Mr. ROH also got the first and only clean pin on Moose and was John Corrigan’s MVP of the two War of the Worlds shows after excellent matches with KUSHIDA and Tanahashi. He’ll return to Philly this week, when he gets his rematch with…

Jay Lethal

Lethal isn’t quite on Strong’s level as a worker, but he’s much more complete. Lethal has rendered his mouthpiece, Truth Martini, completely irrelevant. He’s had good matches with the likes of Strong, Jay Briscoe, Alberto El Patron and Jushin Thunder Liger, and he’s remained in everyone’s good graces despite holding the only two singles championships in the company. Apart from Adam Cole (who missed this list mostly because he’s wrestled less matches than Cameron in 2015) Lethal is the most WWE-ready wrestler that isn’t already there.

Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is perhaps the most over wrestler in the world. Although it’s been five years since he’s held a world championship, he has made the IWGP Intercontinental Championship – a title that was established in 2011 and first awarded in Philadelphia – more important than any non-heavyweight title in professional wrestling. He’s racked up five 4+ star matches and hasn’t had a rated singles match under 3.5 stars. He’s also Daniel Bryan’s dream opponent, but most importantly, he’s the muse of Mark Whited, so there was no way I couldn’t put him on the list.

John Cena

I’ve written about this before, but this is likely Cena’s greatest all-around year. He’s had four 4+ star matches. He’s had solid matches nearly every week. He’s still winning a lot, but he’s not winning in unrealistic ways and he’s making his opponents look good. His feud with Kevin Owens has been one of the best of the year. Thanks to his recent acting success, we may not see much more of Cena as a full-time wrestler, so it’s good that he’s submitted a stretch like this.

A.J. Styles

Styles can have a good match with anyone. As the top member of the Bullet Club, he’s gone from being simply a great technical wrestler to a solid, entertaining character as well. He’s had six 4+ star matches and had one of the best matches in Philadelphia this year, defeating Adam Cole at War of the Worlds. Although his IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign only included one successful title defense, Styles made the most of it by parading the belt around the independent scene. There’s nothing like seeing great wrestling in a small venue, and right now, he’s the best wrestler you can see in that setting.

Seth Rollins

There isn’t much in professional wrestling that Seth Rollins cannot do. He’s one of the only wrestlers that can get near-unanimous legitimate heel heat from any crowd. He has the ability to anchor a show by talking and by wrestling. He plays off his Authority mates perfectly. He shows cowardice better than anyone. He has the strength to pull off a turnbuckle powerbomb and the skill to execute a phoenix splash. He can easily turn face and be over, although he shouldn’t. Rollins has exceeded all expectations in his ascent to the main event. Here’s hoping he stays there for a very long time.

Wrestledelphia.com columnist Evan Cross can be reached at . Follow him on Twitter .