Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) has just released the digital copy of their 31st Annual PWI 500. The issue will officially hit newsstands in December.
Last year, PWI started doing something a little different with their PWI 500 list. The list had previously seen an appearance or two from a female talent, but in 2020, they decided to be more inclusive.
In PWI’s explanation of how they selected the women they have chosen, it was explained in 2020 that those who compete exclusively (or almost as such) in women’s division/promotions won’t be included. Instead, the competitors that are included are those who specifically excelled against opponents of any gender or who held traditionally “male” (or gender-neutral) championships.
From this explanation, this is why you will not see the names of Bayley, Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Deonna Purrazzo, etc. on this list.
Trish Adora, who is the first and current Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Champion, is ranked the highest among the women at number 44.
Directly from PWI, the description reads:
“Independent standout is this year’s highest-ranked woman, thanks to an impressive string of wins in intergender matches, including a 60-minute Iron Match with Tony Deppen in February…A respected technical grappler, Adora is the inaugural (and reigning) Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling champion.”
Adora was recently featured in the ROH Women’s Title Tournament where she made it to the semi-finals where she lost to Miranda Alize.
Kylie Rae was ranked the highest out of the women/gender-neutral competitors last year at 78.
Check back in with Diva Dirt for the PWI Women’s 100 once that comes out later in the year.
