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

60. Nick Gage (10 ballots, 444 points, Average Rank 46.70)

High Voter: A. BASTARD (8)
Previous Rankings: 46 (2017), 98 (2018), 67 (2019)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Yuko Miyamoto (CZW, 12/11/10)
vs. John Wayne Murdoch (IWA MS, 5/27/15)
vs. Tim Donst (AIW, 7/10/15)
vs. Matt Tremont (GCW, 6/3/17)
vs. Ciclope (GCW, 9/16/17)
vs. Matt Tremont (GCW, 9/16/17)
vs. Matt Tremont (GCW, 12/16/17)
vs. David Arquette (GCW, 11/16/18)
vs. SHLAK (GCW, 2/16/19)
vs. Mance Warner (AIW, 4/4/19)

 ITS MDK ALL FUCKING DAY. THE MAN. THE KING. THE FUCKING GOD OF THIS SHIT. NICK FUCKING GAGE.

Gage misses a lot of decades because of his two trips to jail. Missing all of 2010-2014, then 5 active months in 2015 before fully returning in 2017. What we do get is great, 2010 is your standard nick gage year, the highlights being his work against jon moxley and drake young in CZW. Then his 2015 return to CZW match against Gulack has an electric crowd going crazy for his every move. In 2017 Nick Gage’s decade finally properly starts with his work in GCW where he becomes the promotion’s biggest and most reliable star. Gage is great for the reason he’s always been a man whose matches feel so real because he is so real. Also he doesn’t know what a squirtle is. – the_padraig

The God of This Shit has a weird decade. In prison for attempting to rob a bank for the half of the 2010s, you would maybe not expect him to make a list like this due to a lack of volume. What he has instead is an absolutely unmatched aura once he gets out of prison, a deathmatch wrestling folk hero who came back to his people in their time of need and reinvigorated the American deathmatch scene. His series with Matt Tremont peaks so high with their all time nasty cinder block canvas match that more volume isn’t needed. In the late 2010s a Nick Gage match in even the smallest building was must see wrestling and few men can boast that. – Cole

Nick Gage spent most of the decade locked up, and when he got out, he had something to prove. He spent everything that he had left in his body in 2017, but that one good year is better and more memorable than most wrestlers’ entire careers. – pto

Nick Gage is quite possibly the only American independent wrestler from the 2010s to be truly terrifying. After getting out of prison and returning to the scene, he made every match feel like a must-see event. His peak was short, but it was special. – Dan Rice

59. Trevor Lee (8 ballots, 455 points, Average Rank 32.63)

High Voter: Henry/HeadCheese (4)
Previous Rankings: 89 (2014), 5 (2016), 32 (2017)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Roderick Strong (PWG, 2/27/15)
w/ Andrew Everett & Biff Busick vs. Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Super Dragon (PWG, 8/29/15)
vs. Roy Wilkins (CWF MA, 2/27/16)
vs. Cedric Alexander (CWF MA, 4/30/16)
vs. Chris Hero (AAW, 4/9/16)
vs. Andrew Everett (CWF MA, 6/18/16)
vs. Brad Attitude (CWF MA, 12/30/17)
vs. Chip Day (CWF MA, 3/25/17)
vs. Arik Royal (CWF MA, 9/9/17)
vs. Cain Justice (CWF MA, 2/16/19)

One of the promotions I had the most attachment to in the 2010s was CWF Mid Atlantic. It was built all around Trevor Lee especially during the time I got into it.  There were other great wrestlers too (Arik Royal, Andrew Everett, Nick Richards, and more), but it felt like it was revolving around Trevor (even before his title win). One of the best aces of the decade, When his title matches there was a certain feeling.

He would be high on my list only counting his CWF-MA work but he was great everywhere he went in a variety of roles. He rocked as a bully, as a coward, as a hero, as an antagonist, as a wrestler, as mid-match dance off partaker, as someone to be the focus, and as someone to help other look great. – Henry/Headcheese

Trevor Lee may have had the best world title run for an independent wrestler since Samoa Joe in Ring of Honor. He turned CWF Mid-Atlantic into appointment viewing. It’s a shame he retired in 2019. – Dan Rice

58. Andrade “Cien” Almas (12 ballots, 455 points, Average Rank 58.92)

High Voter: jon (22)
Previous Rankings: 89 (2010), 82 (2012), 79 (2014), 24 (2017), 16 (2018), 38 (2019)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Volador Jr. (NJPW/CMLL, 1/22/12)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 5/31/13)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 7/20/13)
vs. Volador Jr. (CMLL, 9/13/13)
vs. Dragon Rojo Jr. (CMLL, 3/2/14)
vs. Atlantis (CMLL, 9/18/15)
vs. Rush (CMLL, 11/13/15)
vs. Johnny Gargano (WWE, 1/27/18)
vs. Aleister Black (WWE, 4/7/18)
vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE, 1/15/19)

A cool masked wrestler turning out to be this handsome is bullshit – EAMONN

Andrade had a phenomenal run as La Sombra in CMLL. He’s just physically impressive in every way, oozing charisma, and getting over in every promotion he wrestled. In a crowded field of talented luchadors, he still stood out. Then he went to NXT and defied the odds by being great there too. He’s an honest-to-God superstar. – Dan Rice

57. Akira Tozawa (9 ballots, 457 points, Average Rank 40.44)

High Voter: Adrian (4)
Previous Rankings: 66 (2011)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Chris Hero (PWG, 9/5/10)
vs/ Kevin Steen (PWG, 12/11/10)
w/ Kevin Steen vs. El Generico & Ricochet (PWG, 5/27/11)
vs. Chris Hero (PWG, 5/28/11)
w/ BxB Hulk & Low Ki vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, PAC & Ricochet (DGUSA, 3/31/12)
w/ BxB Hulk vs. Naruki Doi & Ricochet (DG, 7/21/13)
vs. Kzy (DG, 2/28/15)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, 1/2/16)
vs. Eita (DG, 5/11/16)
vs. Gran Metalik (WWE, 8/26/16)

If El Generico was the heart of golden era PWG and the Young Bucks were the backbone, then Akira Tozawa was the lungs: alternating between gutteral screaming and telling the crowd to SHUT THE FUCK UP! Tozawa in PWG was the best excursion I’ve ever seen, managing to have the best Chris Hero match of all time and forming an absolutely electric team with Kevin Steen. Beyone just becoming a legend in Reseda, Tozawa was also a revelation when he returned to Dragon Gate as he was a key part arguably the best heel stable (Mad Blankey) and face stable (Monster Express) in company history. In particular, the dissolution of Monster Express is one of the all time heartbreakers in pro wrestling that highlights when an engine for emotion Tozawa can be. The other highs in his home promotion include an absolute belter against Shingo Takagi in 2011 and several world class tags and multimans. The conversation of “who is the best wrestler to never be world champion” crops up a lot in wrestling fan circles, but few wrestlers have ever made as compelling a case for themselves as The Stamina Monster in the 2010s – EAMONN

Despite only a few matches in the promotion, he’s a PWG wrestler to me. And he’s a PWG wrestler in all the best ways. – Dan Rice

56. Roman Reigns (11 ballots, 457 points, Average Rank 50.36)

High Voter: KungFu Grip (13)
Previous Rankings: 15 (2013), 48 (2014), 8 (2016), 2 (2017), 65 (2018), 98 (2019)

Recommended Matches:
w/ Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan, Kane & Ryback (WWE, 12/16/12)
w/ Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust (WWE, 10/6/13)
w/ Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper (WWE, 2/23/14)
w/ Dean Ambrose & Seth Rolilns vs. Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke (Harper, WWE, 3/3/14)
vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE, 2/22/15)
vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins (WWE, 3/29/15)
vs. Sheamus (WWE, 12/14/15)
vs. AJ Styles (WWE, 5/22/16)
vs. Kevin Owens (WWE, 1/29/17)
vs. Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe (WWE, 8/20/17)

Survivor of the Politcal Hit. Not the best wrestler in the Shield but the best Shield Wrestler. Oh, and the Brock match is such an all-timer that hard to not have him on the list – Sam

55. Jun Akiyama (9 ballots, 468 points, Average Rank 49.00)

High Voter: HD (16)
Previous Rankings: 41 (2010), 52 (2011), 22 (2012), 33 (2013), 9 (2014), 91 (2016), 73 (2018)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 5/2/10)
w/ KENTA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata (NOAH, 7/24/10)
vs. Suwama (AJPW, 10/23/11)
vs. Takao Omori (AJPW, 2/3/12)
w/ Kenta Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitamiya (Diamond Ring, 2/11/12)
w/ Go Shiozaki vs. Manabu Soya & Takao Omori (AJPW, 3/17/13)
vs. Masakatsu Funaki (AJPW, 4/27/13)
w/ Takao Omori vs. Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara (AJPW, 12/6/14)
w/ Yuji Nagata vs. Naoya Nomura & Ryouji Sai (AJPW, 2/3/18)
w/ Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Manabu Soya & Takao Omori (AJPW, 12/11/18)

Jun should not have been able to go as hard as he did but gawd damn. To me things kick into the next gear when he goes to AJPW and he is putting on phenomenal matches with folks I think are good but not great (sorry Omori and KAI) or continually stringing great tag wrestling together with a rotating cast of partners. It may have been the decade that cemented Jun Akiyama as the greatest tag wrestler ever in my eyes. – Sam

54. Barbaro Cavernario (10 ballots, 470 points, Average Rank 44.80)

High Voter: Sam (4)
Previous Rankings: 36 (2012), 53 (2013), 2 (2014), 53 (2016), 66 (2018), 40 (2019)

Recommended Matches
w/ Espiritu Maligno & Skandalo vs. Black Metal, Pegasso & Triton (CMLL, 6/14/13)
w/ Negro Casas & Dragon Lee vs. Cachorro , Hechicero & Virus (CMLL, 5/23/14)
vs. Rey Cometa (CMLL, 9/19/14)
w/ Felino & Negro Casas vs. Dragon Lee, La Sombra & Stuka Jr. (CMLL, 3/24/15)
vs. Mascara Dorada (CMLL, 3/28/16)
vs. Black terry (Cara Lucha, 6/11/16)
w/ Volador Jr. vs. Valiente & Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL, 2/24/17)
vs. Mistico (CMLL, 5/24/19)

Bursting onto the scene in the En Busca de Idolo tournament, Cavernario quickly became one of the best luchadors in the world. A big guy taking wild risks and incorporating funny schtick when needed. Always a joy to watch as he can adjust his act to fit any slot on a card. – jon

Being the wrestler I want to watch most on the planet counts for everything. – Sam

Cavernario took one of lucha libre’s most time-honored gimmicks, the wild caveman, and turned it into something special. He’s so good at the schtick that he could’ve been a lazy wrestler, but instead, he’s one of the hardest-working wrestlers in the business. Just a brutal high-flyer, two descriptors that don’t always go together. Like others on this list, his En Busca de un Idolo 2014 run (the tournament of the decade) put him on the map, and from there, he delivered classics again and again. – Dan Rice

53. Randy Orton (10 ballots, 482 points, Average Rank 47.80)

High Voter: flae (17)
Previous Rankings: 46 (2011), 63 (2013)

Recommended Matches:
vs. CM Punk (WWE, 5/1/2011)
vs. Christian (WWE, 5/22/2011)
vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE, 9/16/12)
vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE, 12/16/13)
vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE, 2/3/14)
vs. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. Christian vs. Cesaro (WWE, 2/23/14)
vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens (WWE, 8/10/15)
vs. Luke Haryper (WWE, 2/12/17)
vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE, 9/16/18)

Randy Orton wrestled 1,157 matches in the decade. That is objectively a lot of matches. A lot of people saw those matches. That’s a lot of people seeing a lot of matches. If you tried to argue those matches didn’t happen you’d look like a fool. Randy Orton was certainly a wrestler in the 2010s. – Dan Rice

52. Go Shiozaki (11 ballots, 494 points, Average Rank 56.09)

High Voter: Ed (13)
Previous Rankings: 78 (2014), 90 (2018), 91 (2019)

Recommended Matches
vs. Kensuke Sasaki (NOAH, 7/24/10)
vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 8/15/10)
vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 7/10/11)
w/ Jun Akiyama vs. Manabu Soya & Takao Omori (AJPW, 3/17/13)
vs. Suwama (AJPW, 7/14/13)
vs. Joe Doering (AJPW, 1/3/15)
vs. Kenou (NOAH, 11/19/17)
w/ Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Kenou & Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 4/11/18)
vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 8/18/18)
w/ Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 5/4/19)

Failure as a box office Top Guy isn’t the same as being a failure as a Top Guy archetype. It is unfortunate how the brain works because I will always view Go Shiozaki as a big deal for his wXw work (2011 16 Carat is a formative tournament for me) and the two Wrestle Kingdom matches to start the decade that still feel more monumental to me than they probably should – Sam

No one managed to make more out of nothing than Go Shiozaki in this decade. Like literally nothing, NOAH did not want to give him shit compared to Sugiura and he didn’t really find himself until he followed Jun Akiyama to All Japan and restarted BURNING but boy did he click. Not just in the tags with Akiyama but also in singles with cool matches against Suwama and KAI as well as an oddity with Akebono. Once he went home to NOAH again he found himself being a great mentor to Kaito Kiyomiya and right at the end of the decade was poised to claim the throne he was always destined for as NOAH’s beloved Ace. – Cole

51. Shingo Takagi (9 ballots, 519 points, Average Rank 27.11)

High Voter: EAMONN (6)
Previous Rankings: 78 (2016), 67 (2018), 1 (2019)

Recommended Matches
w/ YAMATO vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (DGUSA, 1/23/10)
vs. BxB Hulk (DG, 7/11/10)
vs. Bryan Danielson (DGUSA, 7/24/10)
vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (Diamond Ring, 2/11/12)
w/ Akira Tozawa vs. Eita & T-Hawk (DG, 7/20/14)
vs. Akira Tozawa (DG, 5/8/15)
vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (DG, 11/1/15)
vs. YAMATO (DG, 7/24/16)
vs. Shuji Ishikawa (AJPW, 4/29/18)
vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW, 6/5/19)
vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 8/8/19)

There might not be a more consistent wrestler in the 2010s than Shingo Takagi. An amazing wrestler no matter what continent he was on who spent most of the decade establishing himself as the greatest Dragon Gate wrestler of all time. In 2018 he left his home promotion and went on a tear throughout wrestling, competing in both the Champion Carnival and BOLA before landing in New Japan and opening the eyes of more people to just how undeniably great he was. – EAMONN