Many of us waited with anticipation about who made the PWI’s Women’s 150 lists. Thus list each year gets people talking, and this list did the same thing. I was fortunate enough to have the list info before it was released, so I got to think about the list in extent before it went out to the public. For this, though, I will only be talking about the top 10.
Top 10 of the PWI Women’s 150
Bianca Belair (WWE- Raw)
Utami Hayashishita (Stardom)
Deonna Purazzo (Impact)
Britt Baker (AEW)
Thunder Rosa (AEW)
Sasha Banks (WWE- SmackDown)
Syuri (Stardom)
Io Shirai (WWE– NXT)
Tam Nakano (Stardom)
Raquel Gonzalez (WWE- NXT)
Raquel González
10. Raquel González
Making her PWI debut on the list, Raquel came in at number 10. It is a fantastic feat to start in the top 10 for a list she never ranked before. Raquel is a second-generation professional wrestler, following her father, Rick González. A former NXT Tag Team Champion, a title she held with Dakota Kai. Gonzalez is also the inaugural winner of the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which she did with Dakota. Raquel’s career has made quite the uphill turn in the past year, and though she recently lost the belt to Mandy Rose at Halloween Havoc, I am interested to see what she does next.
Tam Nakano
9. Tam Nakano
Tam Nakano wrestles under Stardom, where she is currently the Wonder of Stardom Champion. Nakano has been dominating in all her matches this past year. She is trained in kungfu and pays tribute to that with her ring gear and wrestling techniques. I am excited to see what Tam does next.
Io Shirai
8. Io Shirai
Io Shirai is one of my favorite women in wrestling right now. When she came back as a heel to do what was necessary to win the championship, she did so with perfection. Io has one of the best moonsaults in WWE. At the top of her game, Io came back from injury, competing in great matches such as a ladders match against Charlotte Flair. She renewed a rivalry with Candice LeRae and competed in the first Tables, Ladders, and Scares match at WWE’s Halloween Havoc in 2020. Io held the NXT women’s title for 304 days. She also became the NXT Women’s Tag Champion with Zoey Stark. Io has had a fantastic year, and deserving made it to the top 10.
Syuri
7. Syuri
Syuri works under Stardom, where she is the current SWA World Champion. She is proficient in shoot boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. She also formerly competed in UFC. Syuri is dominant and someone to watch in Stardom. In the last year alone, she has dominated in Stardom, and this spot fits her.
Sasha Banks
6. Sasha Banks
Now, Sasha Banks, aka The Boss, has many accolades under her belt. She was also part of the historic first-ever Women’s WrestleMania Main Event. While Sasha moved down from 3 to 6, she still made the top 10 proving her dominance in wrestling. Sasha is a 1-time NXT Women’s champion, a five-time WWE Raw Women’s Champion, a 1-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, and a two-time Women’s Tag Team Champion all under WWE. She is also the fourth woman to be a WWE Triple Crown Champion and the 3rd to become a WWE Women’s Grand Slam Champion. Sasha is also making moves outside of wrestling, appearing in two episodes of The Mandalorian as Koska Reeves.
Thunder Rosa
#5 Thunder Rosa
Thunder Rosa has been making a name for herself for years. With owning Mission Pro and making the women in her roster shine, Rosa has dominated several promotions. Rosa has held many titles in her career, but she started letting others who may not have known her work once she became a familiar figure in AEW. She is hard-working, and I believe she surpassed Britt Baker. Lol! I take what comes with what I said.
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D
# 4. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
AEW’s current Women’s champion and wrestling’s favorite dentist ranked #4 on the list. She became the champion in May 2021 after defeating Hikaru Shida. While she has been on an upswing since becoming champ, she has been booked in various matches, feuds, and promos that have her fans wanting more. I believe she was ranked too high on the list as I think she needs a bit more work on the ring. However, I can admit that she has gotten much better. A significant component was her match with Thunder Rosa, which was AEW’s first women’s main event.
Deonna Purazzo
#3: Deonna Purazzo
Since Deonna Purazzo was let go from WWE in April 2020, she has been on a roll. She had owned her greatness, becoming one of Impact’s most decorated wrestlers and doing so in a short amount of time. She had the Knockouts Championship 2 times, recently losing it to Mickie James. She was also named IMPACT Wrestler and Knockout of the year in 2020. Deonna Purazzo has proven to be exceptional, and I do not doubt that she may even take the number one spot if she continues what she is doing.
Utami Hayashisita
#2: Utami Hayashisita
I recently was introduced to Utami, and she has stunned me with just how good she is. She wrestles in Japan for Stardom. She is 23 years old and new to the wrestling game and has repeatedly shown that she will be more prominent as time goes on. Currently holding the World of Stardom Champion, she won the 5 Star GP in 2020, the 5 Star GP award, and Best Match in the same tournament. As the winner of having the Best Match of the Year award against Mayu Iwatani in November 2020. Utami participated in a dark match at Wrestle Kingdom 15 on Night 2. She could very well be number one on next year’s list.
Bianca Belair
On October 21, 2021, it was announced that Bianca Belair topped Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Women’s 150. This made her the PWI’s top women wrestler in the world. PWI’s Kristen Ashly broke the news on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast. Bianca won the Women’s Royal Rumble in January 2021. She also participated in the main event of WrestleMania 36 with Sasha Banks, where she captured the SmackDown Women’s Championship for the very first time. A historic moment in wrestling and all the Black girls and Black women who are fans of wrestling. A moment that won Banks and Belair an ESPY this year. Belair has style, grace, and in your face with everything that she presents. Her athleticism and humility, doing everything with near perfection. There was no one else deserving of this position.
I know many may disagree, but I say with the utmost kindness, you are wrong! While I disagreed with some of the spots on the overall list, it was nice to see more women added to the list. I was also a bit peeved that some great women were left off. With that being said, I cannot wait to see what the list in 2022 brings me.
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