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

70. Ricochet (9 ballots, 408 points, Average Rank 44.56)

High Voter: Timothy Robert Buechner (16)
Previous Rankings: 91 (2014), 20 (2016), 33 (2017), 35 (2018)

Watching Ricochet felt like watching into an alternate dimension. Flips that were done with a recklessness and speed that felt surreal. Willing to splat like a bug against a windshield at a moment’s notice. The deeper we got into the decade the less that was the case, the more “well rounded” he got. As Prince Puma it felt like he had the best blend of the all-time great high flyer and someone that knew how to put a whole match together. – Sam

69. Chuck Taylor (9 ballots, 417 points, Average Rank 49.11)

High Voter: EAMONN (10)
Previous Rankings: 73 (2017)

Chuck Taylor rules and I hope he has a great day. There’s something special about Chuck Taylor that makes him one of the most connectable and entertaining wrestlers ever. He has a sense of earnesty. Despite watching through a screen and never watching him live his charm is so big that it makes me feel like I’m in there even watching his 2010s work. LET’S GO CHUCK TAYLOR, YOU’RE THE BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD – Henry/Headcheese

The best American comedy wrestler of all time. Originally I had planned to write an article about Chuck’s case for the VP 2010s but never got around to it, which honestly might be the best tribute possible to the Kentucky Gentleman. Chuck could make it on the list for just famous spot in CHIKARA where he tried to drown Archibald Peck in a painting, but Chuck was great in and out of the ring all decade. A key part of CHIKARA and the WWN-verse, my favourite of Chuck’s work is his time in PWG. Chuck turned out to be an amazing foil to Zack Sabre Jr. in Reseda, where he fully embodied his role as the milleniall every man. The PWG magic had been fading for a few years at that point, but Chuck’s undeniable charm and ability to charm a crowd brought it back to life long enough to provide what felt like the company’s series finale. Many wrestlers had great matches in the 2010s, but few could entertain a crowd as effortlessly as Taylor did. – EAMONN

One of the most purely entertaining pro wrestlers of the decade. All time hilarious comedy work against Kikutaro or Archibald Peck, and more pure pro wrestling greatness in the Best Friends team or the Gargano team in CHIKARA. Add to that the all time feel good PWG title win against the evil brit ZSJ. On top of this you have the out of the ring work. The absolutely perfect Best Friends shoot series and incredible goofing around on PWG commentary. The Kentucky Gentleman was pure joy. – Cole

68. Yuki Ishikawa (9 ballots, 423 points, Average Rank 54.00)

High Voter: Dan Rice (24)
Previous Rankings: 26 (2010), 12 (2011), 25 (2012), 74 (2013), 46 (2014), 90 (2019)

One time in Germany, Yuki Ishikawa nodded at me and called me The Chocolate Man – EAMONN

Appreciate that he has some of the best matches of all time across Fu-Ten and BattlArts THEN comes back at the tale end of the decade as a little treat to remind us he still had that juice. – Sam

Yuki Ishikawa was much left active in the 2010s. While he may have physically slowed down it didn’t hamper his wrestling in the least. A true master of grappling violence, but what’s overlooked is his selling and the level of ass-kicking he’s willing to take. – Dan Rice 

67. Drew Gulak (9 ballots, 429 points, Average Rank 53.33)

High Voter: Dan Rice (18)
Previous Rankings: 7 (2014), 10 (2016), 85 (2018), 44 (2019)

Another guy who would not make the Good Person 100 2010s but a standout wrestler for the decade. Fun as Soldier Ant in CHIKARA and once that shutdown he really found himself in CZW and Evolve doing the sort of stuff affectionately referred to as GRAPPLEFUCK along with some other great contemporaries like Biff Busick and Timothy Thatcher. By the time he hit the WWE, he could brawl, he could grapple and he never compromised his wrestling integrity by pretending to be something he isn’t. A very admirable accomplishment purely between the ropes. – Cole

Never the best wrestler on the indies but also maybe the most consistently great across the decade. Whether it was CZW, CHIKARA, or EVOLVE, his name would be up on lists of those promotions’ best matches of the decade. – Sam

Drew Gulak spent the 2010s proving that his technical wrestling style can work anywhere. While there are obvious standout matches in EVOLVE, leading Catch Point, he was also the highlight of Chikara and CZW throughout the decade. He even made me care about his WWE work, no easy feat. – Dan Rice

66. Wotan (8 ballots, 432 points, Average Rank 47.75)

High Voter: flae (5)
Previous Rankings: –

Wotan’s matches were some of the greatest treats of the last decade. You never knew when a match would make tape. If he did, they were usually found deep in the mines of Mas Lucha, Estrellas del Ring and various other lucha Youtube pages. You might have had to throw a few dollars to Black Terry Jr. to see it. But putting in the effort to see Wotan was worth it. He is one of most maniacal bastards to grace the ring over the years. His matches with the likes of Demus, El Hijo de Fishman and Black Terry are violent miracles, filled with some of the most sickening blood and brawling you’ll see anywhere on the planet. He throws so much hatred into every strike. Wotan makes you believe he truly wants to destroy his opponent for good. It’s a shame we never got the Fishman apuestas match, because that was one of the most lightning-in-a-bottle pairings in lucha before Covid hit. – chris gibbons

I’m not sure how to quantify aura but Wotan has it.  A menacing force in the Mexican indie scene engaging in blood-soaked brawls throughout the decade. His matches with Black Terry and Demus are transcendent and need to be seen by any wrestling fan. – Dan Rice

65. Hiromu Takahashi (11 ballots, 432 points, Average Rank 52.64)

High Voter: KungFu Grip (15)
Previous Rankings: 19 (2017), 17 (2018)

People were talking about he should go heavy and be the face of the company. Hiromu was talked about as like the heir to Okada, or at least should be. WELL ABOUT THAT! At his peak though, you could get it. Had that Shinsuke Nakamura-type energy, could put together great rivalries like with Dragon Lee and KUSHIDA. You can’t take that away from us. – Sam

64. Low Ki (9 ballots, 434 points, Average Rank 47.89)

High Voter: Dan Rice (5)
Previous Rankings: 73 (2011), 99 (2017)

The big Low Ki matches are fewer and more spread out compared to the previous decade, but when he was up for it Low Ki could still deliver something high end. From dream matches with legends to tournaments in Germany, Low Ki remained compelling and unpredictable wrestler who was always worth keeping an eye on for one reason or another. Shout out to the team with LayCool! – EAMONN

From ‘15-’17, Low Ki did what now I would call a Dream Match tour. Averaged less than a match every other week. It made every match an event, at least to me a nerd at home, and all of them delivered in some form or fashion. Some were great, some were outright classics, and some were just so distinctly Low Ki that my brain felt scratched after watching. – Sam

Low-Ki entered the 2010s with nothing left to prove—and still spent the decade reminding everyone why he’s one of the most singular forces in wrestling history. His appearances were sporadic at best, but in MLW, Impact, Europe, or miscellaneous indies, Low-Ki carried himself like the legend he is, a legitimate menace in the ring and backstage. He made every match feel like a dream match, from actual dream matches like the Red or Rey Mysterio classics to random tv matches. There was never any wasted motion with Low-Ki, every strike, every motion mattered. – Dan Rice

63. Brodie Lee/Luke Harper (10 ballots, 438 points, Average Rank 57.20)

High Voter: Simon (33)
Previous Rankings: 54 (2011), 27 (2013), 10 (2014)

I’m biased but one of the most magnetic live performers I’ve experienced in 2CW. In the Upstate NY region, he was a hero. Didn’t matter where he was at on the card, and for the promotion it didn’t really matter since he was going to be the most over guy on the card no matter what, he delivered. It was clear he could scale up to the WWE, gets put into one of the biggest acts of the 2010s that syncs up with WWE adopting format built around them and the other biggest act of the 2010s where Brodie could have bangers on a somewhat weekly basis. – Sam

62. Daniel Makabe (8 ballots, 439 points, Average Rank 46.13)

High Voter: HD (25)
Previous Rankings: 81 (2018), 32 (2019)

Have you guys heard about this Daniel Makabe guy? – EAMONN

I didn’t discover Daniel Makabe until late in the 2010s through his epic matches with Timothy Thatcher. Despite appearing on my radar so late in the decade he became an instant favorite. A wrestling genius you might say. – Dan Rice

The indies were defined by technical wrestling in the 2010s. Other go-go-go styles scaled up well to the “majors”, eventually just becoming the style of largest promotions. While that was happening, technical wrestling seemed to flourish. The most prominent indie was dominated by grappling, “shoot style” type events were popping up in the US and Canada as a way for certain wrestlers to “play” a technical wrestler while also allowing purists to show what makes their brain go brrrr.

This is about Daniel Makabe, I promise. He’s someone who if he had blown up at any other time (disregarding the state of technology that allowed for it), he would have found success. Maybe not the most athletic dude on the planet but he could adapt. In the 2010s though, he was allowed to be the most Daniel Makabe he could be. The tape nerd, putting together his own melting pot of grappling that looks as good against Timothy Thatcher as it does against Negro Navarro. Sure, if it was a different time and place I’m sure Makabe would be considered the greatest CHIKARA wrestler that we don’t see anymore (RIP Hallowicked). But we got the purest form of Makabe and for that I’ll always be thankful. – Sam

61. Jun Kasai (7 ballots, 443 points, Average Rank 38.29)

High Voter: A. BASTARD (6)
Previous Rankings:

The crazy monkey had a fantastic decade. Known most for his work in freedom where he would have classics against the likes of Masashi Takeda and MASADA. Kasai shows what makes a truly great deathmatch wrestler. It is not just the ability to take and deal out violence its About the heart he brought in every single performance. The deathmatch wrestler of the decade – the_padraig

Best spectacle deathmatch wrestler of the decade. The fact that he wrestled in CZW and didn’t phone it in was cool too. – Sam