Welcome to the VP2010s where voters submitted ballots of the best in-ring wrestlers of the 2010s. To learn more about the scoring and how the list came together go to the intro-post. If you would like to review the honorable mentions click the category. Without further ado, the list continues. Also want to thank Chris G for the recommended matches on this post

10. Zack Sabre Jr. (19 ballots, 1209 points, Average Rank 30.63)

High Voter: Quentin (3)
Previous Rankings: 53 (2014), 4 (2016), 5 (2017), 2 (2018), 13 (2019)

Recommended Matches
vs. Biff Busick (EVOLVE, 9/14/14)
vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH, 11/4/14)
vs. Roderick Strong (PWG, 4/3/15)
vs. Chris Hero (PWG, 6/26/15)
vs. Roderick Strong (EVOLVE, 7/10/15)
vs. Roderick Strong (PWG, 3/5/16)
vs. Chris Hero (EVOLVE, 5/6/16)
vs. Jonathan Gresham (Beyond, 7/31/16)
vs. Mike Quackenbush (CHIKARA, 4/1/17)
vs. Lio Rush (EVOLVE, 4/23/17)
vs. Negro Navarro (Lucha Memes, 4/28/17)
vs. Chuck Taylor (PWG, 7/7/17)
vs. WALTER (PWG, 10/21/17)
vs. Darby Allin (EVOLVE, 1/13/18)
vs. WALTER (EVOLVE, 1/14/18)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 3/11/18)
vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 3/15/18)
vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 7/15/18)
vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/1/18)
vs. WALTER (PROGRESS, 10/28/18)

Apologizing in advance as this will sound somewhat backhanded but I do not mean it as such, truly. Zack was the best “surpise & delight” technical wrestler outside of Mexico for the decade. Not the best, folks like Thatcher and WALTER earn more in that regard, but Zack was always down to get into his bag of tricks. And the tricks in his bags were always showy, not an expert in close-up magic, plays better when he’s making a tiger disappear. 

Zack is also someone who benefits greatly from opportunities. With so many wrestlers, especially high-ranking ones, you don’t get to see them work across cards as much. In Japan, gets to be more of “one of the guys” in Suzuki-gun. Across all the indies he’s essentially a Tier 1 guy. In a lot of ways he feels like he takes the El Generico-type role where he travels the globe and in any indie on the planet, he can be the star attraction. – Sam

I can still remember the visceral reactions that some of the internet had toward Zack Sabre Jr. in the 2010s — bordering on personal offense that he was so pale, so slender, so… everything that Randy Orton wasn’t. At a Beyond Wrestling show in maybe 2016, I heard the most devastating crowd heckle in history, when someone on the mezzanine of Fete in Rhode Island shouted out: “HIS DAD’S NAME IS ZACK!” That ZSJ has made it to the top ten of the decade, according to the gaggle of voting freaks, is proof positive of one thing: if you wrestle for the sickos, the sickos will have your back, and from that starting point, anything — even the ugliest IWGP title belt in history — is possible. – pto

9. Hiroshi Tanahashi (14 ballots, 1222 points, Average Rank 14.07)

High Voter: Ondinhas, Ed, the_padraig (1)
Previous Rankings: 98 (2013), 52 (2016), 22 (2017), 5 (2018), 7 (2019)

Recommended Matches
vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW, 4/3/11)
vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW, 6/18/11)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 9/19/11)
vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 10/8/12)
vs. Karl Anderson (NJPW, 2/10/13)
vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 4/7/13)
vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 7/26/14)
vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 9/21/14)
vs. Roderick Strong (ROH, 5/13/15)
vs. AJ Styles (NJPW, 8/14/15)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 8/16/15)
vs. HARASHIMA (DDT, 8/23/15)
w/ Yohei Komatsu vs. HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka (DDT, 11/17/15)
vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 1/4/16)
vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NJPW, 8/6/16)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/11/17)
vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 11/5/17)
vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 8/12/18)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 3/21/18)
vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 1/4/19)

The Ace of New Japan, the man battled Nakamura, Shibata, Omega, Okada, the idea of what New Japan was and what it would be, and the passage of time itself in the decade. A true genius of professional wrestling, the Okada series will be his most important discussed and prominent work of the decade, but don’t forget the brilliantly constructed match against Minoru Suzuki in 2012 or the G1 final in 2018 against Kota Ibushi where his comeback was one of the most imspirational and affecting pieces of wrestling in the 2010s. GO ACE! – EAMONN

GO ACE, GO ACE, GO ACE. Tanahashi walked into the decade already a 4x iwgp heavyweight champion and a G1 winner, undisputedly the ace of New japan, he would then spend most of the decade fighting for this title of ace with the young newcomer Kazuchika Okada. Trading back and forth the iwgp title and tokyo dome main event wins. This Storied rivalry that had some of the best matches new japan have ever seen ended with okada taking over as ace. Many wrestlers would fall down the card but not Tanahashi he rallied to win the G1 and then once again walk out of the tokyo dome a champion reclaiming the title of ace. okada vs Tanahashi is one of my favourite feuds in pro wrestling and his 2018 G1 run is my favourite tournament performance from a wrestler. No one has the connection with the crowd like Tanahashi. Knows exactly when to sell, when to make a comeback or when to just strum that air guitar. GO ACE – the_padraig

 I don’t even wanna list the matches here cause they’re all part of Great Match Canon anyways. You already know all the hits this man has under his belt. Given the support of the biggest wrestling company in Japan and some of the best talent in the world to work with, Tanahashi made miracles nearly every time he went out there in the 2010s. He is not a perfect wrestler, his elbows aren’t great and he will work a limb to a fault but by god there is magic in the air when Tanahashi goes out for a Big Match and few men had more Big Matches than him. Not only that, but once his body began to visibly crumble he still delivered the most endearing run all decade from 2016-2019 of reclaiming his crown one last time and proving that guts, heart and determination are all you truly need to succeed. – Cole

8. WALTER (18 ballots, 1223 points, Average Rank 25.17)

High Voter: Sam, Ondinhas (7)
Previous Rankings: 99 (2016), 7 (2017), 1 (2018), 10 (2019)

Recommended Matches
vs. Chris Hero (wXw, 3/7/10)
vs. Sami Callihan (CZW, 10/1/11)
vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (wXw, 3/3/12)
vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (wXw, 10/5/13)
vs. Axel Dieter Jr. (wXw, 4/29/17)
vs. Matt Riddle (PROGRESS, 8/12/17)
w/ Timothy Thatcher vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe (wXw, 10/6/17)\
w/ Timothy Thatcher vs. Homicide & Low Ki (wXw, 10/7/17)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, 10/21/17)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE, 1/14/18)
vs. Timothy Thatcher (PROGRESS, 1/28/18)
vs. Tom Lawlor (GCW, 4/5/18)
vs. PCO (GCW, 4/6/18)
vs. Ilja Dragunov (wXw, 5/5/18)
vs. Darby Allin (EVOLVE, 6/23/18)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PROGRESS, 10/28/18)
w/ Timothy Thatcher vs. Shigehiro Irie & Yuki Ishikawa (wXw, 3/7/19)
vs. David Starr (OTT, 6/23/19)
vs. Tyler Bate (WWE, 8/31/19)
w/ Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Hino & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW, 11/4/19)

In a sea of unfunny sex pests, Walter stands out as one of the few acts that holds up from the britwres boom of the mid-2010’s. Treated as more of a force than a wrestler, Walter dominated WXW, Progress, OTT. alongside his stablemates of Ringkampf. Known for his year long title reigns and loud chops, Walter is one of the best big-man pro wrestling has ever seen. Put Walter against any plucky underdog and magic was made. Highly underrated in a tag setting. Gunther is the European MVP of 2010, and by a wide margin. – the_padraig

Sure, he is a coward but for a long time it did feel like he would be the king of European wrestling and that would be beautiful. No, he backed off that and ruined that joy BUT at least he sunk years into his scene unlike others that left their territories and said “It is actually good for everyone”. Probably a top 5 tag worker of the decade. The Starr feud ranks amongst the best of the decade. Part of my gut says his entry into EVOLVE was the promotion hitting max boosters before burning completely out. He managed to leave such an impression on a promotion that was essentially dying upon his debut. Is that a point for him, against him, I think it mostly speaks to how towards the end of the decade he had a sort of gravitational pull. Even as the promotion was becoming assimilated to the WWE, he made the promotion seem still relevant as the life was squeezed out of it. – Sam

7. Kota Ibushi (18 ballots, 1225 points, Average Rank 27.78)

High Voter: Adrian (6)
Previous Rankings: 93 (2013), 85 (2014), 35 (2016), 35 (2017), 3 (2018), 5 (2019)

This freak pervert monster is one of the sickest men to ever do it. It doesn’t matter how big or small the stage was, Kota Ibushi went out there with his dead eyes and chiseled pecs and dumped himself or other people on their skulls until someone stopped moving. I’m sure for most voters the bulk of his case is in the prestige New Japan work, the classics with Nakamura or AJ or Kenny, but the real meat of Ibushi’s case lies in his psychotic DDT outings. Shooting fireworks off himself and doing phoenix splashes onto concrete. If wrestling didn’t exist this guy would be skinning people for the thrill. – Cole

The Different Boy of Professional Wrestling. Becoming a full-time New Japan main-eventer was probably the worst thing Ibushi could have done with his career – not because of all the weird drama that played out after he fucked up his arm in that G1 final, but just because it stifled the lunatic sense of play that made his wrestling so joyful. A handsome and hyper-athletic Adonis, giving himself over with full commitment to the silliest matches possible, and always finding new ways to stretch what people would accept from the “performance art” part of wrestling as performance art. – pto

Recommended Matches
vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (DDT, 5/4/10)
vs. Yuji Hino (DDT, 6/24/12)
vs. Kenny Omega (DDT, 8/18/12)
vs. El Generico (DDT, 9/30/12)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 8/4/13)
w/ Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (DDT, 9/28/14)
w/ Kenny Omega vs. Danshoku Dino & Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 10/26/14)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 1/4/15)
vs. AJ Styles (NJPW, 7/26/15)
vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 7/29/15)
vs. Cedric Alexander (WWE, 7/14/16)
vs. Brian Kendrick (WWE, 8/26/16)
vs. TJ Perkins (WWE, 9/14/16)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 7/17/17)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 3/15/18)
w/ Kenny Omega vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (NJPW, 3/25/18)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW, 7/15/18)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/4/18)
vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/11/18)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 4/6/19)

6. Rush (17 ballots, 1227 points, Average Rank 23.71)

High Voter: chris gibbons, Sam (6)
Previous Rankings: 26 (2012), 5 (2013), 11 (2014), 45 (2016), 93 (2017), 56 (2018)

Recommended Matches
vs. Terrible (CMLL, 9/14/12)
vs. Terrible (CMLL, 1/22/12)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW/CMLL, 1/18/14)
vs. Shocker (CMLL, 3/21/14)
vs. Negro Casas (CMLL, 8/1/14)
vs. La Sombra (CMLL, 11/13/15)
vs. Maximo Sexy (CMLL, 3/18/16)
vs. LA Park (TITAN, 6/3/16)
vs. LA Park (Elite, 7/14/16)
vs. Matt Taven (CMLL, 9/23/16)
vs. Atlantis (NJPW/CMLL, 1/21/17)
vs. LA Park (Baracal, 3/11/17)
w/ Terrible vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. (CMLL, 2/23/18)
w/ La Bestia del Ring & Terrible vs. Flyer, LA Park & Volador Jr. (CMLL, 5/25/18)
w/ Dragon Lee vs. Hijo de LA Park & LA Park (IWRG, 6/17/18)
vs. LA Park (CMLL, 6/22/18)
w/ Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. King Phoenix, LA Park & Penta El 0M (CMLL, 8/3/18)
w/ Barbaro Cavernario vs. Matt Taven & Volador Jr. (CMLL, 9/14/18)
w/ Dragon Lee vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe (ROH, 6/29/19)
w/ La Bestia del Ring & Mistico vs. Hijo de LA Park, LA Park & LA Park Jr. (CMLL, 7/19/19)

Rush’s 2010s are fantastic viewing, because you can see in real time his attempts to push up against the boundaries of what CMLL would allow him to do. He would work indie shows where he could cut loose, throw beer crates at his enemies’ heads, bleed and brawl and create chaos, and then he would bring that energy back to Arena Mexico. The bigger a star he became, the more he tried to get away with. In a decade where the foremost narratives seemed to revolve around who was more important, the promotion or the star, Rush was determined to assert himself over the biggest and most historic lucha libre promotion in Mexico, or go nova trying. – pto

No one in wrestling created a sense of chaos like Rush. There was a sense “anything could happen” even if that was less “will someone bleed” and more “will Rush sandbag his opponent”. I say, do what you have to do to force me to pay attention. – Sam

Rush could have easily cruised along and been CMLL’s next whitebread babyface, maybe even listlessly turning heel a couple years later when a new version showed up, but instead when he he first heard the backlash from the crowd he ran with it and became the violent insane man that is one of the best wrestlers around. Rush’s character blurs the line of real and fake, as he clearly does not like to lose, so if he is going to lose it is going to take a lot. Once this ego matched up with LA Park’s, we got some of the wildest matches in wrestling history. – jon

5. Timothy Thatcher (17 ballots, 1233 points, Average Rank 19.35)

High Voter: Sam (3)
Previous Rankings: 50 (2013), 3 (2014), 37 (2016), 20 (2017), 19 (2018), 9 (2019)

Recommended Matches
vs. Biff Busick (EVOLVE, 8/9/14)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE, 8/15/15)
vs. Chris Hero (PWG, 8/29/15)
vs. Biff Busick (Beyond, 9/26/15)
w/ Axel Dieter Jr. & WALTER vs. Absolute Andy, Jurn Simmons & Marius Al-Ani (wXw, 2/18/17)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE, 2/25/17)
vs. Daniel Makabe (3-2-1 Battle, 7/28/17)
w/ WALTER vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe (wXw, 10/6/17)
w/ WALTER vs. Homicide & Low Ki (wXw, 10/7/17)
w/ WALTER vs. David Starr & Jurn Simmons (wXw, 10/8/17)
vs. WALTER (PROGRESS, 1/28/18)
w/ WALTER vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Munenori Sawa (EVOLVE, 4/5/18)
vs. Daniel Makabe (3-2-1 Battle, 7/13/18)
vs. Fred Yehi (wXw, 10/4/18)
w/ Axel Dieter Jr. & WALTER vs. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler Bate (wXw, 12/22/18)
w/ WALTER vs. Shigehiro Irie & Yuki Ishikawa (wXw, 3/7/19)
vs. Yuki Ishikawa (wXw, 3/9/19)
vs. Hideki Suzuki (GCW, 4/4/19)
vs. Oney Lorcan (wXw, 10/6/19)
vs. Eddie Kingston (Beyond, 10/10/19)

A lesson in depth rather than breadth, Timothy Thatcher’s uncompromising vision of pro wrestling allowed him to operate in a variety of different roles and environment without ever betraying his character. It didn’t matter if he was a heel or a babyface, in a singles match or a tag match, a technical classic or a wild brawl, the adopted home town favourite in Germany or an invader in California and Seattle, Thatcher was always Thatcher and he forced the rest of the world to adapt to him. Some of the most emotional moments I’ve ever seen in wrestling have been because of Tim, including being live in the Turbinenhalle when he won the wXw title which had fans sobbing and hugging. DIE MATTE IST HEILIG – EAMONN

Timothy Thatcher is one of those wrestlers I would want to see compete against any wrestler because hes so unique and interesting. His quirky selling, great faces, and uncompromising wrestling. He rules. – Henry/Headcheese

I became familiar with Thatcher in 2012/2013 via the WKO forums. An old-school grappler on the US indies? Consider me sold early. We had his run in the sickenly short-lived, PREMIER Wrestling that was tailor-made for Thatcher. When he goes to EVOLVE, the timing seemed perfect. Despite the fans being dumb as shit, not giving him flowers in Gabeland, the work eventually bared fruit. The same wrestler who was having plebs across the states sit on their hands, went to Germany with the same style in hand, and took over. Now, I don’t care if people like the wrestlers I like but there are people who do and they are deeply annoying (and usually racist). So there was some vindication when he became one of the most appreciated wrestlers on the indie circuit. – Sam

Through PWG and EVOLVE, he was the US indie wrestler of the decade. Through WXW and PROGRESS, he was the 2nd wrestler in Europe behind only his teammate Walter. I didn’t truly appreciate Thatcher’s decade until I sat down and thought about it. For me, the undisputed indie wrestler of the decade, Thatcher almost feels out of place in the 2010s, they just didn’t make guys like him anymore, so technically sound, so mean, and punishing in offense. Never winked at the camera or made jokes on Twitter. Thatcher feels real in a way so many wrestlers don’t. Watch any match against Makabe, ZSJ, or a tag with Walter and you’ll see how good Thatcher is. – the_padraig

4. LA Park (17 ballots, 1243 points, Average Rank 22.18)

High Voter: jon (1)
Previous Rankings: 11 (2010), 22 (2011), 16 (2013), 49 (2016), 31 (2018), 88 (2019)

Recommended Matches
vs. La Parka (AAA, 6/6/10)
vs. El Mesias (AAA, 12/5/10)
vs. El Mesias (AAA, 6/18/11)
vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (AAA, 11/15/12)
vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (Todo x Todo, 5/11/13)
w/ Atlantis & Volador Jr. vs. Dr. Wagner Jr., La Sombra & Rush (CMLL, 8/28/15)
vs. Rush (TITAN, 6/3/16)
vs. Rush (Elite, 7/14/16)
vs. Rush (Baracal, 3/11/17)
vs. Fenix (The Crash, 4/14/18)
w/ Flyer & Volador Jr. vs. La Bestia del Ring, Rush & Terrible (CMLL, 5/25/18)
w/ Hijo de LA Park vs. Dragon Lee & Rush (IWRG, 6/17/18)
vs. Rush (CMLL, 6/22/18)
w/ King Phoenix & Penta El 0M vs. Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe & Rush (CMLL, 8/3/18)
w/ Caristico & Hijo de LA Park vs. Diamante Azul, King Phoenix & Penta El 0M (CMLL, 9/14/18)
vs. PCO (MLW, 10/4/18)
vs. Nick Gage (AIW, 11/23/18)
vs. Sami Callihan (MLW, 12/13/18)
vs. Jacob Fatu (MLW, 11/2/19)
vs. Blue Demon Jr. (IWRG, 12/15/19)

There is only one L.A. Park. There will only ever be one L.A. Park. There is only one man who can work for CMLL, the staunchest, most staidly traditional wrestling promotion on the planet, and announce to the crowd on a hot mic: “Before they cut the mic on me, everyone can go fuck their mothers,” and not just be brought back later, but put in main events. Everything is permitted, all sins can be forgiven, so long as you are L.A. Park, the most charismatic man in the history of professional wrestling. – pto

The easy pick for best wrestler of the decade and best wrestler of the century. One of the few draws in wrestling and one of the most versatile wrestlers of all time. Odds are that he has potatoed your favorite wrestler and they would happily work with him again. He can show up in CMLL and do workrate stuff then turn around and put on some of the wildest brawls ever with Rush and Wagner. These are some of the longest running and greatest feuds in wrestling history, with every match an organic escalation of violence that continues on today. It has been going on for years now and neither feud has devolved into a “greatest hits” routine. The “realest” wrestling around (in that he has been fired for his matches being so legitimately out of control) and it’s a guy in a skeleton suit that often takes time to dance during his matches. This sport is so beautiful. – jon

3. Katsuyori Shibata (18 ballots, 1324 points, Average Rank 22.11)

High Voter: pto, Adrian (1)
Previous Rankings: 59 (2013), 38 (2014), 13 (2016), 49 (2017)

Recommended Matches
vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW, 6/22/13)
vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 8/4/13)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 7/21/14)
vs. Shelton Benjamin (NJPW, 7/28/14)
vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW, 8/1/14)
vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 8/3/14)
vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW, 9/21/14)
vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (NJPW, 7/5/15)
vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 7/29/15)
vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 2/11/16)
w/ KUSHIDA vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata (NJPW, 4/23/16)
vs. Go Shiozaki (NJPW, 7/24/16)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 7/30/16)
vs. Go Shiozaki (NOAH, 10/23/16)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (RevPro, 11/10/16)
vs. Chris Hero (RevPro, 11/11/16)
vs. Matt Riddle (RevPro, 1/21/17)
vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW, 2/11/17)
vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 3/19/17)
vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 4/9/17)

The prodigal son returned to New Japan, and beat the shit out of everyone in sight. He had a genre defining series of matches with Tomohiro Ishii, matches with Tanahashi where the bitter history between the two men shined through and the best IWGP heavyweight title match of the decade against Okada. Even after they removed his brain Shibata was still excellent, making an entire arena cry by just taking a bump in the ring and telling them he’s alive. He was alive, and he made you feel alive watching him wrestle every time. I recently watched Maria, a biopic about the opera singer Maria Callas which highlights how producing art can sometimes be destructive on the bodies of the people who produce it, and it’s hard not to think about The Wrestler in that context. The man makes you question your complicity in the damage wrestlers do to their bodies, something I’ll never have truly perfect answer on. Art should make you think and feel, and no other wrestler in the 2010s caused me to have as much introspection as Katsuyori Shibata did – EAMONN

Katsuyori Shibata is an anomaly in New Japan, in the same way that Daniel Bryan was an anomaly in WWE. Not only are both great wrestlers, but they were given an extra oomph by the palpable tension between their promotion’s set level for them, and the fans’ extremely vocal desire for their favorite wrestlers to have more. Shibata was a perennial NEVER champion who the fans tried to psychically will into being a world title contender. It worked. – pto

2. AJ Styles (20 ballots, 1500 points, Average Rank 20.20)

High Voter: SolPosting (1)
Previous Rankings: 6 (2014), 2 (2016), 1 (2017), 20 (2018), 79 (2019)

Recommended Matches
vs. Kurt Angle (TNA, 1/4/10)
vs. Bully Ray (TNA, 6/12/11)
w/ Kurt Angle vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian (TNA, 6/10/12)
vs. Roderick Strong (ROH, 1/4/14)
vs. Chris Hero (SMASH, 1/26/14)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 7/26/14)
vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 8/1/14)
vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 1/4/15)
w/ Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. ACH, Cedric Alexander & Matt Sydal (ROH, 1/24/15)
vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 4/5/15)
vs. Jimmy Rave (Pro South, 5/8/15)
w/ Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Beretta, Kazuchika Okada & Romero (ROH, 5/16/15)
vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 7/26/15)
vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 10/12/15)
vs. Jay Lethal (ROH, 12/18/15)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 1/4/16)
vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 5/2/16)
vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/21/16)
vs. Brock Lensar (WWE, 11/19/17)
vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE, 10/30/18)

AJ spends the first four years in TNA and it really feels like TNA finally sees him as the guy once again, giving him the world title on two occasions. And since its TNA styles would leave because they didn’t offer him enough money. Then in new japan as the leader of bullet club prince Devitt was on his way out styles would debut and take over as leader, doing something Devitt wasn’t capable of winning the IWGP Heavyweight championship on two occasions. Styles’ time in new japan is maybe his peak with fantastic matches against Suzuki, Tanahashi, Okada, Ibushi and especially Nakamura. Then styles would go to the WWE with a memorable debut in the royal rumble, a series of fantastic matches against John Cena, a disappointing feud with nakamura but while having a year long world title reign. What a decade front the phenomenal one. – the_padraig

Coming into this decade, being an AJ Styles fan was to suffer. In the absolute pit of one of the worst eras of TNA, being passed over for past-their-prime ECW guys and doing a bad Ric Flair copycat gimmick, things were not looking up for Mr TNA. What makes his decade so remarkable is not only the degree to which he bounced back beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, but also how early that bounce back was. The real “career resurgence” comes when he’s given the stage in NJPW to have some of his best work against guys like Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi. Then going on to WWE and doing way better than anyone expected, a multiple time world champion with marquee feuds against Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and John Cena as well as getting to run back the Samoa Joe pairing on the big stage. However the real case for his decade comes in a lot of the smaller work he was able to get done. Pulling great matches out of total mediocrities like Bully Ray, Bobby Roode and Stardust Genius Naito. Working the NWA travelling champion gimmick and having some real quiet hits in small settings against old rivals like Jimmy Rave and Amazing Red. The great trios work with the Young Bucks. The once in a lifetime smash hits against Brock Lesnar and Shinsuke Nakamura. It’s a resume that almost feels mythical when viewed in totality, but it’s just a reality for the Phenomenal One. – Cole

If someone is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world, but they work for Impact Wrestling, do they make a sound? AJ Styles was a trailblazer in one of the key narratives of the 2010s: betting on yourself. He left Impact in the dirt and hit New Japan at just the right moment to make sure the entire wrestling world saw how amazing he really was. Everyone who chooses to turn down the steady paycheck that keeps them standing around in catering owes something to AJ Styles. – pto

1. Daniel Bryan / Bryan Danielson (19 ballots, 1830 points, Average Rank 6.21)

High Voter: A. BASTARD, HD, Henry/HeadCheese, EAMONN, Simon, Quentin (1)
Previous Rankings: 4 (2010), 7 (2011), 4 (2012), 3 (2013), 18 (2014), 11 (2018), 3 (2019

Recommended Matches
vs. Eddie Kingston (CHIKARA, 6/26/10)
vs. Jon Moxley (DGUSA, 9/26/10)
vs. Munenori Sawa (EVOLVE, 9/11/10)
vs. Sheamus (WWE, 4/29/12)
vs. CM Punk (WWE, 5/20/12)
vs. CM Punk (WWE, 7/15/12)
w/ Kane & Ryback vs Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (WWE, 12/16/12)
w/ Kane & Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (WWE, 6/11/13)
vs. Antonio Cesaro (WWE, 7/22/13)
vs. John Cena (WWE, 8/18/13)
vs. Randy Orton (WWE, 12/16/13)
vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE, 1/26/14)
vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton (WWE, 4/6/14)
vs. Triple H (WWE, 4/6/14)
vs. Roman Reigns (WWE, 2/22/15)
vs. AJ Styles (WWE, 10/30/18)
vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE, 11/18/18)
vs. AJ Styles (WWE, 12/16/18)
vs. Kevin Owens vs. Mustafa Ali (WWE, 3/10/19)
vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE, 4/7/19)

The greatest wrestler of all time had his greatest achievements, if not his greatest matches, in the 2010s. From game show NXT to getting fired for being too violent to retiring, nobody overcame as many obstacles as the American Dragon. I thought the world of Danielson when he was first signed, but I assumed his ceiling would be a Regal or Finlay type: An excellent technician in the midcard making company projects look good. And when asked to fill that role Danielson excelled, one only needs to look at the magic he worked in those tag team matches against the Shield, but Danielson did so much more than just make other people look good. He had the best babyface performance and best heel performamce in Wrestlemania history, he anchored three hour RAWs, he made a comedy tag team with Kane a huge success, he gave HHH the best match since the quad tear, he starred in a reality TV show,bhe became the most popular wrestler in America since Steve Austin. Nobody else in the decade had to fill as many different roles as Danielson, and nobody did it better than the GOAT – EAMONN

After a decade of being the best wrestler on the US indies the American Dragon is off to the WWE.  It had a rough start of being mentored by The Miz and getting fired, Bryan would soon find himself in the upper midcard in and around the US, Tag and heavyweight scene. With this, Bryan shows a new side of himself, something he was never capable of on the indies, being a phenomenal  tv wrestler, perhaps the ebay since mysterio. Find yourself a 2012 raw Daniel Bryan match and you will have yourself a hoot of a time. But then bryan once again changes, the yes movement happens and Bryan becomes the best under dog ever seen in pro wrestling, a man so talented, so over that WWE had to let him main event WrestleMania no matter how they hated doing so . Yes Movement Bryan has one of the most organic baby face rises pro wrestling will ever see. But then he gets hurt, has to give up the world title, comes back, gets hurt again, and then retires. Bryan missing 2 years obviously hurts his case and even once he returns it takes a while for him to find his foot. Tagging with shane o’mac is not how I would have had him returned.  But once he kicked AJ Styles in the balls and won the WWE  titles magic was made every week. The planet champion Daniel Bryan is another incredible run, featuring the best promo work of his career, Bryan just yelling “FICKLE, FICKLE, FICKLE” at the crowd was beautiful. And it led to Bryan being the heel in someone else’s yes movement. The parallels between Bryan and Kofi to winning the big one at Mania is what makes pro wrestling brilliant and pay off with an incredible match. What a decade for Daniel Bryan. – the_padraig

One of the defining factors of pro wrestling in the 2010s was Vince McMahon’s attempt to assert his will over WWE fandom once and for all. They were going to cheer for who he wanted them to cheer for, God damn it, and if they didn’t like it, then too bad, pal. The road to Wrestlemania 30 is an anomaly, not just within the decade but within WWE’s history as a whole. The fans wouldn’t play ball. Their love for Daniel Bryan was too strong, their support too vocal, and the more that WWE tried to feed them Roman Reigns or Batista or Randy Orton or whoever else, the louder the fans chanted “YES!” until WWE had no choice but to climb aboard. Daniel Bryan is a wrestler so beloved that he changed the course of a mighty river, in a way that no wrestler achieved before, and that no wrestler will ever achieve again. – pto

He spent a good chunk of the decade on the shelf, but when he was around he was still one of the best of all-time. His talent forced WWE to change direction on WrestleMania plans, something that almost never happens, and then dragged some of the most boring minds in wrestling to the greatest WrestleMania of all time. – jon