Japanese wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger has missed out on a spot in the PWI Top 500 for the first time in 30 years, it was revealed today.
Liger, 55, had previously been ranked by Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine in every one of their Top 500 wrestlers lists since they began in 1991. He failed to make the Top 500 list this year after retiring at NJPW super show Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5th 2020, marking the end of his 35 year career.
The former 11 time NJPW Junior Heavyweight Champion’s highest ranked position came in 2000, when he was ranked 8th in the PWI Top 500. His two other top ten appearances came in 1997 and 1998, when he held the 9th spot for two consecutive years.
While Liger was notable by his absence, two places in the 2020 PWI Top 10 rankings were taken by fellow NJPW stars: Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada respectively took the fifth and sixth spots in the listings. Okada had previously secured the number one position in 2017, becoming the first – and to date, only – Japanese wrestler to secure the top spot.
The rest of this year’s top ten rankings saw four positions held by WWE Raw or Smackdown wrestlers, one position by an NXT superstar and three spots – including the coveted number one position – being occupied by AEW stars.
As previously reported, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley was chosen by PWI as their first placed wrestler this year. He is the last member of his former SHIELD stable to secure the PWI Top 500 first place, with Seth Rollins previously securing the top spot in 2015 and 2019, and Roman Reigns making the PWI number one spot in 2016.
