MJF Tops the PWI 500 for 2026, Cody Rhodes Second and Roman Reigns Excluded

MJF has been named the number one wrestler on the PWI 500 list for 2026, replacing Cody Rhodes, who had topped the ranking in 2024 and 2025. This is the first time the AEW star takes the top spot in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s annual ranking.

As Bleacher Report reports, the magazine published this year’s top 10: 1. MJF (AEW), 2. Cody Rhodes (WWE), 3. CM Punk (WWE), 4. Mistico (CMLL), 5. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW), 6. “Hangman” Adam Page (AEW), 7. Yota Tsuji (NJPW), 8. Trick Williams (WWE), 9. Oba Femi (WWE), 10. Gunther (WWE).

The evaluation period for the 2026 PWI 500 ran from August 2025 to July 2026. During this period, MJF held the AEW World title twice; he had previously reached sixth place on the list in 2023. MJF is the third from AEW to reach number one on the PWI 500, after Jon Moxley (2020) and Kenny Omega (2021). Also, had Rhodes taken first place, he would have been the first man to win this title three years in a row.

One of the main debates after the announcement was the exclusion of Roman Reigns from the list, despite his being a world champion in WWE. The reason for the exclusion relates to PWI’s criteria for in-ring activity; Reigns had previously been twice at number one and twice at number two (2021 and 2023). Since winning the world title at WrestleMania 42, he has had more appearances and matches, which could restore his eligibility for the 2027 edition.

The list also signals the rise of new names in WWE: Trick Williams and Oba Femi enter the top 10 for the first time — Williams as a two-time United States champion, and Femi after the King of the Ring title and two wins over Brock Lesnar since April. Bleacher Report notes that this ranking’s composition reflects both the consolidation of new stars and key cross-promotion moves during the evaluation period.