PWP Nation Women’s Wrestling expert Matthew Hollie examines the annual PWI Female 50 for 2015.
Well folks, here we are again, the PWI Female Top 50 is something is women’s wrestling fans look forward to every year, and each year there are some things we all agree on, others we disagree a lot. This year however, it’s a whole another story the person who’s number #1 is a debatable topic.
And this column will tell you why as well as the things I agree with and the things that I don’t.
SANTANA GARRETT DESERVED TO BE #1
First off, I fully believe they got four of the top 5 right, but just in the wrong orders, because the have had some relevancy in the rankings, regardless of record. If it was me, mine would be Santana Garrett, Sasha Banks, Taryn Terrell, Nicole Matthews, and Bayley in the top 5. Nikki Bella would be placed no higher than 10th after sticking to us fans after she became the longest reigning Divas Champion in history, eclipsing AJ Lee‘s mark.
As I have said on PWP Nation in the past about her title reign, “The WWE has stuck it to us fans for this display, but at the end of the day, it’s all about company pride.” But Santana Garrett rose to the occasion by beating Barbi Hayden for the NWA World Women’s Championship earlier this year and beating Mia Yim for the SHINE Championship months later.
When I wrote a column about Santana here on this site months ago I have said that “while it’s obvious to see her get the top spot in this year’s Pro Wrestling Illustrated Female 50, that might change with Nikki Bella breaking AJ Lee‘s record for holding the WWE Divas Championship the longest. Nobody has worked harder than Santana this year.” And I have to believe that Nikki’s reign was a catalyst for her so-called “Top Spot,” but Santana was the better woman this year, as well as Sasha Banks.
The top 5 I disagree with a little bit, but at the end of the day you can’t question anybody’s passion for this business. That is the reason I fully believe that Santana, not Nikki, deserved to be #1 if it wasn’t for PWI showing some WWE Bias.
THE TOP 10? SOME ARE GOOD; OTHERS ARE ‘MEH’
If I wanted to round out my top 10, I would say Charlotte, Gail Kim, Courtney Rush, Cheerleader Melissa, and Nikki Bella. Charlotte did a pretty good job this year by beating Nikki for the Divas Championship, Courtney Rush has had a renaissance year but so far she hasn’t had a single championship to her credit, Gail Kim and Cheerleader Melissa had a tremendous comeback year, and Nikki deserved the bottom 10 because of her mediocre title reign that is completely gone stale at the moment.
I don’t know why PWI placed her #1, but she gets no higher than tenth in my book.
PWI HAS GONE TO THE BIASED LAND, CHARLIE BROWN!
Okay, this title is really off-key, but it doesn’t hide the fact that PWI has had a history of snubbing Joshis from Japan and Luchadoras from Mexico. Sometimes it’s not the list that gets me a bit upset, it’s the bias PWI has for WWE and TNA. Rarely does a wrestler from Japan or Mexico contend for the top spot.
Like I have said before on the original Pro Wrestling Powerhouse, you won’t find many Joshis or Luchadoras on this year’s list because of the full-blown bias they have with WWE and TNA and giving them the top spots. This is why some fans don’t take these rankings seriously, because they only cover a portion of the world. I hope they expand it to feature those around the world, not just a part.
MORE INDEPENDENT NAMES THAN THE BIG TWO COMBINED
On this year’s top 50, 26 women are independent wrestlers, five down from last year; while 11 are from WWE and 9 are from TNA, and 2 coming from Lucha Underground, which proves why the some of them have higher spots than some of the independent girls. The problem with Rankings is its all based on bias. It is this bias that makes me sick and how the rankings were conducted in that fashion. Also, there are a lot of snubs along the way. Some had good years, but they weren’t in the top 50.
While I respect the work Dan Murphy has done, but this decision is simply a way to kiss up to the WWE after they made their world heavyweight championship the ONLY recognized championship. This is a pathetic attempt to attract readers who believe in REAL women’s wrestlers, not models. Paige got a pass from me last year. Nikki does not get one this year. While I agree that there’s nothing wrong with selling magazines, but having a mediocre wrestler at #1 is just purely distasteful. Yes I know it’s a kayfabe list, but there’s always going to be a debate on who deserves it more.
PWI after recognizing only the WWE World Heavyweight Championship makes it a pro-WWE publication and nothing else. Having the wrong woman at #1 is bad for business because if the fans complain, what good will it do? There’s gonna be dispute. There’s gonna be arguments. There’s always going to be debates. And there’s always gonna be disgruntled fans taking it to social media to criticize. This list this year is a prime example.
While I respect the fact that Nikki has improved quite a bit, I wouldn’t put her in my top ten because of the mediocre reign she had was all about pride of the company, not about respect. While I have said that Nikki does not have the skill-set to be great, my opinion is that she has an ability to be the best in her craft, no matter what. That is the honest truth. Nikki just isn’t good enough to be #1 material.
Despite what many of her fans will say about this piece, I find significant evidence that she doesn’t even deserve to be number one in my opinion. Everybody on the list can outwrestle Nikki Bella in a heartbeat, and that is a fact.
While I hope to compile a list of 50 top women’s wrestlers here on PWP Nation, I would say that PWI has lost it’s credibility.