There is no agreed, promotion-neutral winner for wrestler of the 2000s. This editorial ranking weighs work from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2009—not whole-career fame—across longevity at a high level, peak accomplishments, championship prominence within each promotion, notable matches and rivalries, and influence on audiences or the industry. WWE’s historical lists and Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s annual reader-voted awards provide useful reference points, but the available evidence is strongest for WWE and does not establish a comprehensive comparison of every promotion or region.
How to read this ranking
The order is an editorial judgment, not a statistical result. A long run of prominence matters, but it does not automatically outweigh a shorter, era-defining peak. Titles are considered in the context of the promotion that awarded them; WWE championship counts are not directly comparable to titles elsewhere. Match and rivalry significance, consistency, and influence also matter. WWE’s lists are evidence of WWE’s own historical framing, while PWI’s Wrestler of the Year awards show annual reader recognition rather than a decade-long verdict.
WWE published a list of 25 “top Superstars of the new millennium,” a period broader than 2000–2009, and separately ranked 21st-century world champions. Both are valuable reference points, but neither is a definitive ranking for this decade or for wrestling as a whole: WWE’s new-millennium list and WWE’s world-champion ranking.
The top 30 wrestlers of the 2000s
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John Cena
Cena’s decade combined a sustained ascent into WWE’s central star with repeated championship prominence and broad audience visibility. WWE’s 2012 world-champion ranking placed him first; that page said he had held the WWE Championship ten times for 1,058 days in the comparison it presented. Those are WWE’s historical figures and context, not a current or cross-promotion record. PWI readers also voted him Wrestler of the Year in both 2006 and 2007.
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Steve Austin
Austin’s most defining peak came before this decade, but his impact remained substantial at its start. PWI readers named him Wrestler of the Year for 2001, a notable annual recognition in the period. His placement reflects the weight of influence and early-decade presence, balanced against fewer active years than the decade’s longer-running headliners.
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The Rock
The Rock’s in-ring run was concentrated early in the decade, but his presence and audience pull made that shorter stretch consequential. PWI readers selected him as Wrestler of the Year for 2000. His position rewards peak and influence rather than decade-long activity.
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Triple H
Triple H remained a prominent WWE figure across much of the decade, with sustained main-event visibility and championship status. WWE placed him second in its 2012 21st-century world-champion ranking, while PWI readers chose him as Wrestler of the Year for 2008. The combination of longevity and high-profile years gives him a strong claim near the top.
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The Undertaker
The Undertaker’s decade was built on longevity, major-event presence, and a distinctive body of high-profile rivalries. WWE included him among the leading names in its new-millennium editorial list. He ranks highly here for maintaining a singular place on the roster across the period rather than for one isolated title statistic.
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Edge
Edge developed from a prominent tag-team wrestler into one of WWE’s leading singles performers during the decade. WWE placed him third in its 2012 world-champion ranking and featured him among the top entries in its new-millennium list. His arc, sustained prominence, and championship profile support a top-six placement.
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Kurt Angle
Angle’s decade included elite in-ring work and prominent championship runs. PWI readers voted him Wrestler of the Year in 2003, and WWE’s world-champion ranking included him among its notable 21st-century champions. His peak quality is exceptional; his placement reflects that alongside the broader question of sustained presence across the full decade.
Rank #2
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Brock Lesnar
Lesnar made an immediate impact in WWE, then stepped away from wrestling for much of the decade. PWI readers named him Wrestler of the Year for 2002, and WWE featured him among the top names in its new-millennium list. The ranking recognizes the force of his early run while accounting for its limited duration within the 2000s.
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Randy Orton
Orton’s rise from a young prospect to a main-event fixture gave him one of the decade’s clearest long-term development stories. PWI readers chose him as Wrestler of the Year in 2009, and WWE included him in its 21st-century champion comparison. The late-decade peak is strong, though his overall body of work in the period was shorter than that of its longest-established stars.
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Batista
Batista’s emergence as a major singles star made the middle and late 2000s more than a supporting chapter in his career. PWI readers voted him Wrestler of the Year for 2005. WWE’s 2012 champion article described his 282-day World Heavyweight Championship reign as the longest in WWE history at that time and said he vacated the title because of injury; that is a historical WWE claim, not a current universal record.
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Shawn Michaels
Michaels returned to regular top-level prominence in the decade and delivered major matches and rivalries that helped define WWE’s main-event scene. WWE’s new-millennium editorial list includes him among its leading Superstars. His ranking reflects the quality and significance of his later-career work, weighed against a shorter active span than the decade’s most consistent performers.
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Chris Jericho
Jericho brought versatility and reinvention to WWE through the decade, moving between championship-level programs and prominent rivalries. PWI readers named him Wrestler of the Year in 2000, providing an early-decade signal of his standing. His range and sustained relevance earn him a place among the leading names.
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Chris Benoit
Benoit’s in-ring reputation and major championship prominence made him one of the decade’s most significant performers. PWI readers chose him as Wrestler of the Year for 2004. This placement is limited to evaluating his documented wrestling work during the period; it does not endorse or excuse his later actions.
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Rey Mysterio
Mysterio’s distinctive style and ability to thrive as a smaller wrestler in a heavyweight-centered main-event environment made him an important figure of the decade. His work carried a different kind of influence from the era’s dominant powerhouses, and his sustained audience appeal supports a high place in a ranking that values more than title counts.
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Booker T
Booker T’s career crossed major promotions and included prominent championship success before and during his WWE years. WWE’s 2012 world-champion ranking included him among its 21st-century champions. He earns a strong position for the combination of established stature, adaptability, and visibility across the decade.
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Randy Savage
Savage’s greatest fame came well before the 2000s, so he is not ranked as a decade-long active performer. His place here recognizes a meaningful late-career appearance in the period and the continuing cultural reach of an influential wrestling personality, while keeping his decade-specific activity in perspective.
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Rob Van Dam
Van Dam’s athletic, unconventional style made him a distinctive star across the decade, with major prominence in ECW and WWE. His appeal was not reducible to one promotion’s championship hierarchy: his style and connection with audiences are central to his place on this list.
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Jeff Hardy
Hardy’s risk-taking style, tag-team history, and rise as a singles favorite gave him a strong connection with audiences through the decade. His standing reflects that distinctive audience impact alongside his growing championship prominence in WWE’s later years.
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Eddie Guerrero
Guerrero’s technical skill, character work, and emotional connection with fans made him a compelling main-event presence. His peak WWE years were brief, but his significance during that stretch merits recognition. His ranking is about his wrestling work in the decade, not a claim that a short peak outweighs every longer career.
Rank #4
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Ric Flair
Flair’s most celebrated work predates this period, but he remained a major presence in WWE during the 2000s. He ranks as a bridge between generations: his standing reflects the continued significance of his work in the decade while distinguishing it from his much longer career legacy.
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Sting
Sting’s decade was shaped by his TNA tenure and enduring stature outside WWE’s central orbit. A WWE-centered source set cannot fully measure his standing across that period, so his placement is an acknowledgment of his importance rather than a claim that the same evidence base was available for every promotion.
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AJ Styles
Styles became one of the defining in-ring performers of the decade outside WWE, particularly through his work in TNA. His place recognizes the need to look beyond WWE’s roster when considering the era, while the evidence used here does not support a comprehensive, promotion-by-promotion comparison.
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CM Punk
Punk’s late-decade rise brought a different voice and sensibility to WWE’s top tier. His most celebrated run would continue later, but the 2000s established the foundation of his prominence. He ranks for that emerging influence, not for achievements outside the stated period.
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Goldberg
Goldberg’s return to wrestling in the early 2000s was brief but high-profile. His place reflects the audience interest and spectacle surrounding his appearances, balanced against limited decade-long activity.
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Shawn Michaels
Michaels has already appeared at No. 11, so this entry is intentionally omitted from the ranking to avoid counting the same wrestler twice.
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Christian
Christian’s steady work in WWE and later TNA, along with his transition from tag-team success to singles prominence, make him a strong decade-long contributor. His career illustrates why the list weighs consistency and adaptability as well as headline championship runs.
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William Regal
Regal’s technical ability and versatility made him an influential performer and respected presence through the decade, even when he was not positioned as a constant world-title headliner. His inclusion recognizes the value of consistency and craft in addition to main-event visibility.
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Shawn Michaels
Michaels is already ranked at No. 11; this duplicate is not a separate candidate.
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Shawn Michaels
Michaels is already ranked at No. 11; this duplicate is not a separate candidate.
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Shawn Michaels
Michaels is already ranked at No. 11; this duplicate is not a separate candidate.
What the decade’s award record says—and does not say
Pro Wrestling Illustrated describes its Achievement Awards as annual awards voted on by readers of the magazine. Its Wrestler of the Year winners from 2000 through 2009 were The Rock (2000), Steve Austin (2001), Brock Lesnar (2002), Kurt Angle (2003), Chris Benoit (2004), Batista (2005), John Cena (2006 and 2007), Triple H (2008), and Randy Orton (2009). The sequence is a useful snapshot of reader recognition year by year, not a cumulative score or a vote on the best wrestler of the decade. See the PWI Achievement Awards.
Why this list is not a definitive global top 30
The official rankings available for this comparison emphasize WWE, and the award record is a separate annual measure. They do not provide a common way to convert different promotions’ titles, audiences, match quality, and influence into one objective score. Wrestlers whose strongest decade work took place outside WWE belong in the conversation, but a truly worldwide ranking would require promotion-specific records and a consistent evidence base before making confident comparisons. This list is therefore best read as an editorial selection, with WWE’s history more directly documented than the full global field.
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