Top AEW Star Tops PWI 500, WWE NXT Star Comes In Second

Last night, it was announced that former WWE Champion and current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley is on the cover of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 annual issue.

This comes after an impressive year for Moxley which saw him leave WWE, an go on to work for both AEW and NJPW. Moxley has won titles in both promotions since leaving WWE, which is quite the accomplishment.

For those that don’t know, this means that Pro Wrestling Illustrated has ranked Jon Moxley as #1 wrestler in 2020. For context, Moxley’s former tag team partner Seth Rollins topped the list for 2019.

It was former NXT Champion Adam Cole who came in second. For the majority of 2019 and moving into 2020, Adam Cole held the NXT Championship. He is the longest-reigning champion in the belt’s history.

Since the cover is already making its way around online, no point in waiting any longer: Congratulations to @AEWrestling's @JonMoxley on being the #1 ranked wrestler in this year’s PWI 500! Preorder your print copy now at https://t.co/EuUXs75XJB pic.twitter.com/O0JrkyvJ6U

— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) August 27, 2020

While Jon Moxley hasn’t responded following the news breaking, Adam Cole has. Taking to social media, Cole seemed to take issue with the fact that he wasn’t ranked as the best wrestler for the year:

#2 huh? Alright…cya soon 2021. #AdamColeBayBay #1

#2 huh? Alright…cya soon 2021. #AdamColeBayBay #1 https://t.co/Q4WydPBk3a

— Adam Cole (@AdamColePro) August 28, 2020

The top 25 rankings for the PWI 500 for the year reads as follows, with names from WWE, AEW, NXT, NXT UK, NJPW and more represented:

1. Jon Moxley
2. Adam Cole
3. Chris Jericho
4. Drew McIntyre
5. Tetsuya Naito
6. Kazuchika Okada
7. Cody Rhodes
8. Seth Rollins
9. Kofi Kingston
10. AJ Styles
11. Keith Lee
12. Brock Lesnar
13. Kenny Omega
14. Roman Reigns
15. Nick Aldis
16. Bray Wyatt
17. Kota Ibushi
18. Rush
19. Braun Strowman
20. Jacob Fatu
21. Will Ospreay
22. MJF
23. Aleister Black
24. Kento Miyahara
25. WALTER

Do you agree with Jon Moxley topping the PWI 500 for 2020? If you think it should have been someone else, let us know on Twitter.

• adam cole
• Jon Moxley
• AEW
• wwe

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