VP2010s: 90-81

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

90. Ricky Marvin (5 ballots, 286 points, Average Rank 43.80)

High Voter: chris gibbons (11)
Previous Rankings: –

Recommended Matches

w/ Taiji Ishimori vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask (NOAH, 8/22/10)
w/ Taiji Ishimori vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada (Osaka Pro, 8/14/11)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NOAH, 9/10/11)
vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH, 11/27/11)
w/ Super Crazy vs. Fenix & Pesadilla (CRAZY POWER, 1/26/13)
vs. Belial (Chilanga Mask, 11/17/13)
w/ Aerostar & Argenis vs. Daga, Hijo de Pirata Morgan & Steve Pain (AAA, 8/31/15)
vs. Dr. Cerebro (IWRG, 3/25/18)
vs. Hechicero (Lucha Memes, 10/21/18)
vs. Arez (Lucha Memes, 3/31/19)
w/ Puma King vs. Arez & Latigo (Lucha Libre GH, 7/13/19)

Ricky Marvin has seemingly wrestled everywhere and is the cliche jack of all trades. He stands out in strong style NOAH junior matches, indie spotsfests, and grimy hardcore Lucha brawls. Even in a list like this, with a group of voters very inclined to enjoy Marvin I fear we’re underrating him(myself included.) – Dan Rice

89. Keita Yano (5 ballots, 288 points, Average Rank 34.20)

High Voter: flae (6)
Previous Rankings: –

Recommended Matches
vs. Green Ant (CHIKARA, 8/29/10)
w/ Munenori Sawa vs. Katsumi Usuda & Kyosuke Sasaki (Battlarts, 10/24/10)
vs. Fugo Fugo Yumeji (EXIT, 11/28/10)
vs. Yuki Ishikawa (Batltarts, 3/21/11)
vs. Negro Navarro (Fuchu Pro, 11/20/11)
vs. Shota (BRAVES, 4/19/14)
vs. 326 (Wallabee Pro, 11/30/14)
vs. Taro Yamada (Kani KING, 1/25/15)
vs. The Great Zako (Unemployment Pro, 10/21/18)
vs. Kenichiro Arai (VKF, 10/31/19)

Keita Yano in THE HOUSE is a wrestler is so magnetic, he presence gripping. Whether wrestling for Battlearts, in a chain, or no ring (often times no ring), or the smallest room that you have ever seen wrestling in. Keita is great, unique, and I’m so happy that he is in the medium of pro wrestling. – Henry/HeadCheese

Keita Yano’s cult following is rightfully earned, yet the way he’s often spoken of doesn’t quite capture what makes him so valuable. The 2010s saw the unconventional black sheep of the later BattlArts era hold such conviction in his artistic vision that he willingly isolated himself to the fringes of the wrestling world. There’s a novel appeal to seeing a man use his wealth of experience on Che Guevara imprinted floor mats, plastered in Joker makeup, pummeling old men in the morgue-like atmosphere of derelict boiler rooms and gymnasiums for a handful of onlookers. The way Keita managed to effectively blend the physicality of BattlArts with the llaveo style taught to him by Negro Navarro created a compelling hybrid that can’t be ignored, nor reduced to simply exclaiming “Haha! What a totally wacky dude!”. We are simply living In The HOUSE that KEITA built. – chris gibbons

88. Kyle O’Reilly (7 ballots, 289 points, Average Rank 45.43)

High Voter: Henry/HeadCheese (22)
Previous Rankings: 98 (2014), 47 (2016), 94 (2017), 27 (2018), 45 (2019)

Recommended Matches:
vs. AJ Styles (ROH, 8/22/14)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG, 8/31/14)
vs. Roderick Strong (PWG, 12/12/14)
vs. Roderick Strong (ROH, 2/21/15)
vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW, 6/7/15)
vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 10/10/16)
vs. Fred Yehi (EVOLVE, 4/23/17)
vs. Matt Riddle (EVOLVE, 5/20/17)
w/ Roderick Strong vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan (WWE, 6/16/18)
w/ Roderick Strong vs. Trent Seven & Tyler Bate (WWE, 6/21/18)

Kyle O’Riley rules. Hes such a great silly guy. One of the best tag wrestlers of the decade. Super cool. Kyle rocks. – Henry/HeadCheese

An imperfect wrestler but absolutely my boy. Few men are more mystically endearing to me than Kyle O’Reilly. His strikes aren’t always good and his grappling can veer into parody but something about him just rules in spite of it all. The future shock tag work, the pwg title run, the roddy team in NXT, it all just hits deep in my bones. Maybe it’s him being Canadian, he gets leniency that others don’t, I dunno. Kool Kyle forever. – Cole

87. Dragon Lee (5 ballots, 293 points, Average Rank 32.60)

High Voter: jon (10)
Previous Rankings: 16 (2014), 29 (2016), 61 (2017), 78 (2018), 16 (2019)

Recommended Matches:
w/ Barbaro Cavernario & Negro Casas vs. Cachorro, Hechicero & Virus (5/23/14)
vs. Virus (CMLL, 12/9/14)
vs. Kamaitachi (NJPW/CMLL, 1/24/16)
vs. Kamaitachi (CMLL, 3/4/16)
vs. Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL, 6/16/17)
vs. Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW, 2/11/17)
w/ Rush vs. Hijo de LA Park & LA Park (IWRG, 6/17/18)
vs. Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL, 1/4/19)
vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW, 6/9/19)
vs. Kenny Omega (AAA, 12/1/19)

One of the most dynamic wrestlers of all time. Dragon Lee takes workrate stuff to a level that is basically untouched and maintains a stiffness and great pacing that others tend to lose along the way. The matches against Kamaitachi are untouched in terms of insanity, but he can also slow things down and work fun brawls with his brother. – jon

How quickly they fall from grace! In 2025, Dragon Lee is an afterthought working Main Event. In the 2010s, there was a year or two where he was the hottest thing on the indies. He and Kamaitachi raised the bar for aspiring spot monkeys, with an intensity that paved the way for more-is-more maximalists like Will Ospreay. – pto

Dragon Lee’s breakout moment, for me, came in En Busca de un Idolo 2014, aka the best tournament of the decade. Lee’s jaw-dropping athleticism and high flying made him stand out even in that stacked field. He went on to achieve worldwide acclaim for his series against Hiromu Takahashi, producing matches that won over virtually every segment of wrestling fandom. – Dan Rice

86. Bayley (8 ballots, 297 points, Average Rank 57.63)

High Voter: the_padraig (32)
Previous Rankings: 59 (2016)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks (WWE, 2/11/15)
vs. Sasha Banks (WWE, 8/22/15)
vs. Sasha Banks (WWE, 10/7/15)
vs. Asuka (WWE, 4/1/16)
vs. Asuka (WWE, 8/20/16)
vs. Charlotte Flair (WWE, 2/13/17)
vs. Sasha Banks (WWE, 7/24/18)
vs. Ronda Rousey (WWE, 1/28/19)
w/ Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair (WWE, 9/9/19)
vs. Charlotte Flair (WWE, 10/11/19)

Sami Zayn got me watching got me watching NXT but, Bayley kept me watching one of the first characters that got me into watching consistently. So much heart and fight. Some of my favorite times of the decade was watching the 2014-2016 NXT and alot of that was from watching Bayley. – Henry/HeadCheese

The women’s parallel to Big Match John. Nothing all decade hit quite like a Big Bayley Match in NXT, whether that was the obvious classics against Sasha Banks or the lesser known hits like the Nia Jax match and the Eva Marie carryjob. She isn’t given the space to do anything close to that work on the main roster and is pretty actively buried for a time as well, not getting the chance to show what she can really do given something good until the next decade. However, there are still bright spots in the doldrums there, managing many miracles with Charlotte Flair yet again and bringing the women’s tag belts into existence through sheer force of will with Sasha Banks. Given all this, and that her career year is a high watermark in one of the most competitively great years of wrestling all decade (2015), it’s a no brainer that she makes this list. – Cole

85. Mike Bailey (7 ballots, 299 points, Average Rank 51.14)

High Voter: Quentin (24)

Previous Rankings: 80 (2014), 72 (2016), 65 (2017), 53 (2018)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Biff Busick (PWG, 2/27/15)
vs. AR Fox (Beyond, 4/26/15)
vs. Roderick Strong (PWG, 6/26/15)
vs. Chris Hero (PWG, 7/24/15)
vs. Drew Galloway (PWG, 8/29/15)
vs. Sami Callihan (CZW, 2/13/16)
w/ Dick Togo vs. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo (DDT, 8/28/16)
vs. Matt Riddle (wXw, 3/11/17)
vs. Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 7/2/17)
vs. Shuji Ishikawa (DDT, 1/5/18)

It is hard to get people to believe that Bailey wasn’t always like this. That a decade ago he felt like the future. Bringing martial arts to the table but not MMA, like a link that never got fully made after Red versus Ki. At his peak, he was a wrestler who seemed like he fully understood what he brought to the table. Strikes with speed and violence, and a keen sense of how to do all killer, no filler. Now match times have ballooned and the editor in him is lost, but for a little while there was some magic in what seemed like unlimited potential. – Sam

A wrestler who probably misses a 2020s version of this list due to his brain being melted by England. Mike Bailey, in his young form in PWG and CZW and eventually DDT, is one of the most obviously likeable and exciting wrestlers you will ever see. Stiff kicks, crazy dives and a general willingness to be thrown and hit as hard as possible. The Roddy title match in PWG is the crown jewel of his case, possibly the best title match in the promotion’s history. A total blitz of sickening bumps and brutal offense that perfectly encapsulates why young Speedball was one of the most promising wrestlers on the independent scene. – Cole

84. Demus (8 ballots, 300 points, Average Rank 57.25)

High Voter: jon (16)
Previous Rankings: 30 (2010), 28 (2011), 52 (2012), 57 (2013)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Shockercito (CMLL, 10/16/15)
vs. Black Terry (WMC, 8/16/16)
vs. Iron Kid (Lucha Memes, 6/18/17)
vs. Black Terry (WWCI/ANCLA, 6/24/17)
vs. Wotan (Generation XXI, 12/18/17)
vs. Fuerza Guerrera (Innova Aztec Power, 2/4/18)
vs. Wotan (Club Apolo, 4/1/18)
vs. Bam Bam (RLL, 2/16/19)
vs. Virus (RLL, 2/16/19)
w/ Dement Extreme vs. Angel o Demonio & Black Skeller (Zona 23, 6/2/19)

Demus spends much of the decade in cmll’s Mini-Estrella division, beside a brief period of time where he won a tournament to leave the division an aquesta loss to virus would soon to send him back. Demus is still very good during this time but seems held back by how safe cmll likes to play their matches. Once demus leaves and wrestles mostly on the indies he’s allowed to have more scrappy bloody brawls.demus is a wrestler made for the environment of a zona 23. And once he’s there he produces some fantastic matches. – the_padraig

A beautiful, violent little monster. Able to switch from stooging for Mascarita Dorada’s flippy spots to unhinged violence like stabbing guys with a ripped up soda can. Amazing technique and the threat of unhinged chaos breaking free. What more can you ask for in a wrestler? – jon

Demus started the decade in CMLL, working more traditional lucha mini matches and excelling at them as a violent base. By the end of the decade, he had transformed into a VIOLENT PERSON, putting on gritty, disgusting spectacles against the likes of Wotan and Black Terry, fights that rank among the best matches of the decade.  – Dan Rice

83. Fred Yehi  (9 ballots, 301 points, Average Rank 56.44)

High Voter: Quentin (20)
Previous Rankings: 7 (2016), 17 (2017), 100 (2018)

Recommended Matches:
vs. Kyle Matthews (BACW, 9/?/12)
vs. Slim J (Anarchy, 3/28/15)
vs. Drew Gulak (EVOLVE, 3/19/16)
vs. Chris Hero (EVOLVE, 4/2/16)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE, 10/16/16)
vs. Anthony Henry (Style Battle, 1/7/17)
vs. Matt Riddle (EVOLVE, 3/31/17)
vs. Mance Warner (SCI, 8/3/18)
vs. Eddie Kingston (AAW, 5/25/18)
vs. Daniel Makabe (Pizza Party, 4/3/19)

Despite being firmly entrenched in GrappleFuck EVOLVE, always still seemed more like a cult fave than a big indie star. Maybe that was the corners of the internet that praised him where his booking in the major indies didn’t quite match. In 2025, he’s nowhere to be found, a shame. The Slim J best of 5 in ‘15 was one of the best series of matches we got in the decade. His work in EVOLVE was rarely the #1 highlight, wasn’t put in that spot often, but felt foundational to making EVOLVE feel like the #1 indie. You could put him anywhere and that was almost always a net positive for the cards. Then when he got the shot in major tag matches he delivered. Oh also, shoutout to him and Ki from MLW. That is a match that is like a sneaky dream match, it rocks, but also it is MLW so the chance of anyone remembering in 2025 feels all too low.  – Sam

Fred Yehi might be one of the most underappreciated technical wrestlers of the 2010s. Though it may be a case of if everyone says he’s underrated, can he truly be underrated? Nevertheless, Yehi’s ability to blend explosive bursts of stiff strikes with his methodical mat work stood out as unique in the crowded grapplefuck landscape of Evolve. Also I think he’s cancelled for thinking the earth is flat and Target is turning children satanic or something. In the world of wrestling cancellations that’s fairly wholesome. – Dan Rice

82. Will Ospreay (7 ballots, 332 points, Average Rank 32.14)

High Voter: Quentin (15)
Previous Rankings: 19 (2016), 25 (2017), 10 (2018), 4 (2019)

Recommended Matches:
vs. AJ Styles (RevPro, 2/15/15)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PROGRESS, 5/25/15)
vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE, 4/1/16)
vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW, 4/10/16)
vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW, 6/7/16)
vs. Matt Riddle (PROGRESS, 11/17/16)
vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 2/11/17)
vs. Matt Riddle (WWN, 4/6/18)
vs. Jimmy Havoc (PROGRESS, 8/27/18)
vs. Dragon Lee (NJPW, 6/9/19)

At the time in terms of matches I spreadsheeted from 2016-2019 nobody appeared more than Will Ospreay. He is a wrestler I’m not sure how to feel about even in 2025. There was a charm, inmatch vulnerability wrestling as underdog, and sense of playfulness with hjs work that really connected with me that seemed to go away in the 2019. There still glimpses of it today. – Henry/HeadCheese

81. Mil Muertes/El Mesias (8 ballots, 336 points, Average Rank 59.00)

High Voter: SolPosting (24)
Previous Rankings: 61 (2011), 89 (2012), 89 (2016)

Recommended Matches:
vs. LA Par-K (AAA, 12/19/10)
w/ Extreme Tiger & Jack Evans vs. Decnis, Halloween & LA Par-K (AAA, 5/18/11)
vs. LA Par-K (AAA, 6/18/11)
vs. AJ Styles (AAA, 11/3/13)
vs. Fenix (LU, 1/25/15)
vs. Aerostar vs. Psycho Clown vs. Texano Jr. (AAA, 3/18/15)
vs. Fenix (LU, 3/21/15)
vs. Prince Puma (LU, 4/19/15)
vs. King Cuerno (LU, 1/31/16)
vs. Cage vs. Jeremiah Crane (LU, 6/26/16)

The big bad of Lucha Underground deserves a place on this list for his contributions to that promotion alone. I honestly think LU doesn’t work without him. On top of that he had several high end matches in AAA in the decade. Muertes brought a menace and presence to the ring that few could match, making him one of the decade’s most memorable monsters. – Dan Rice

Often I feel the Lucha Underground love is overblown. It was a nice show, but often treated as this paradigm shifting program that never truly changed the biz the way people thought. What wasn’t overblown was El Mesias, one of sickest parts of the LU precursor Wrestling Society X, donning a new gimmick for this show. He has the best match in the show’s history with Fenix, and is essentially the backbone for the show’s run. – Sam

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Co-Founder of Violent People, Host of Talking Tourneys, We Don't Know Wrestling, Desert Island Comp.