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| Publisher | Stu Saks |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | Kappa Publishing Group[1] |
| First issue | September 1979 |
| Company | Sports and Entertainment Publications |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | www.pwi-online.com |
| ISSN | 1043-7576 |
Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.[1]
Contents |
History
The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979. The magazine soon became known for not breaking kayfabe in its articles as it traditionally treated all "angles", or storylines, as real. However, in more recent years, the magazine has taken an editorial approach between kayfabe and "Shoot" writing, differentiating between on-screen feuds and controversies behind the scenes. PWI is not limited to covering only prominent professional wrestling promotions, as it also covers multiple independent promotions in the United States. PWI also publishes other special issues, which include: Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts since 1996, Women of Wrestling, and a weekly newsletter entitled PWI Weekly from 1989 to 2000.
PWI has given out annual awards and recognitions since its inception. These awards had previously been given out by another Victory Sports Magazine property-The Wrestler. PWI has also given out monthly rankings for the big promotions, some select independents, and an overall rankings in singles and tag teams. Additionally, readers are given the ability vote for the winners of the year-end awards with ballots being included in special year-end issues. A special PWI Awards magazine is issued annually, which reveals winners and the number of votes counted. The following is a list of categories in which PWI has issued awards.
- Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Tag Team of the Year (since 1972)
- Match of the Year (since 1972)
- Feud of the Year (since 1986)
- Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (since 1978)
- Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
- Rookie of the Year (since 1972)
- Stanley Weston Award (since 1981)
- Comeback of the Year (since 1992)
- Woman of the Year (since 1999)
- Manager of the Year (1972 to 1999)
- Girl Wrestler of the Year (1972 to 1976)
- Midget Wrestler of the Year (1972 to 1976)
- Announcer of the Year (1977)
PWI 500
PWI has published its list of the top 500 professional wrestlers each year since 1991 in an annual special edition magazine called the PWI 500. Here are the top ten ranked wrestlers for each year:
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Hulk Hogan | Lex Luger | Ric Flair | Randy Savage | Sting | Scott Steiner | Ricky Steamboat | Arn Anderson | Rick Steiner | |
| 1992 | Sting | Randy Savage | Rick Rude | Bret Hart | Ricky Steamboat | Jerry Lawler | Scott Steiner | The Ultimate Warrior | Steve Austin | |
| 1993 | Bret Hart | Big Van Vader | Shawn Michaels | Sting | Yokozuna | Ric Flair | Lex Luger | Rick Rude | Mr. Perfect | Scott Steiner |
| 1994 | Hulk Hogan | Ric Flair | Big Van Vader | Shawn Michaels | Steve Austin | Razor Ramon | Sting | Ricky Steamboat | Owen Hart | |
| 1995 | Diesel | Shawn Michaels | Sting | Bret Hart | Sabu | Hulk Hogan | Big Van Vader | Randy Savage | Razor Ramon | Mitsuharu Misawa |
| 1996 | Shawn Michaels | The Giant | Kenta Kobashi | Ahmed Johnson | Kevin Nash | Rey Misterio, Jr. | Hulk Hogan | Sabu | Ric Flair | |
| 1997 | Dean Malenko | Mitshuaru Misawa | Steve Austin | Diamond Dallas Page | Lex Luger | Undertaker | Shinya Hashimoto | The Giant | Jushin Liger | Chris Benoit |
| 1998 | Steve Austin | Bill Goldberg | Mitsuharu Misawa | Undertaker | Kenta Kobashi | Booker T | Ken Shamrock | Chris Jericho | ||
| 1999 | Rob Van Dam | Rey Misterio, Jr. | The Rock | Diamond Dallas Page | Keiji Mutoh | Undertaker | Goldberg | Taz | ||
| 2000 | Triple H | The Rock | Chris Benoit | Kenta Kobashi | Jeff Jarrett | Justin Credible | Mike Awesome | Jushin Liger | Chris Jericho | Kensuke Sasaki |
| 2001 | Kurt Angle | Steve Austin | Keiji Muto | Booker T | Triple H | Scott Steiner | Mitsuharu Misawa | Rhyno | ||
| 2002 | Rob Van Dam | Undertaker | Keiji Muto | Chris Jericho | Eddie Guerrero | Kurt Angle | Edge | Yuji Nagata | The Rock | Triple H |
| 2003 | Brock Lesnar | Triple H | Kurt Angle | Keiji Muto | Chris Jericho | Big Show | Booker T | Kenta Kobashi | Eddie Guerrero | Rob Van Dam |
| 2004 | Chris Benoit | Eddie Guerrero | Triple H | Kenta Kobashi | Randy Orton | Toshiaki Kawada | John Cena | A.J. Styles | Shawn Michaels | Chris Jericho |
| 2005 | Batista | John Cena | Satoshi Kojima | Triple H | JBL | Kurt Angle | A.J. Styles | Edge | Shelton Benjamin | Hiroyoshi Tenzan |
| 2006 | John Cena | Kurt Angle | Edge | Samoa Joe | Místico | Rey Mysterio | Brock Lesnar | Kenta Kobashi | Shawn Michaels | Jeff Jarrett |
| 2007 | Edge | Místico | Kurt Angle | Undertaker | Shawn Michaels | Christian Cage | Perro Aguayo, Jr. | Bobby Lashley | Takeshi Morishima | |
| 2008 | Randy Orton | Kurt Angle | Triple H | Samoa Joe | Edge | Undertaker | Shawn Michaels | Nigel McGuinness | John Cena | Shinsuke Nakamura |
| 2009 | AJ Styles | Chris Jericho | John Cena | Edge | Kurt Angle | Nigel McGuinness | Hiroshi Tanahashi | CM Punk | Sting | Último Guerrero |
PWI Top 50 Females
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Awesome Kong | Beth Phoenix | Gail Kim | Mickie James | MsChif | Sara Del Rey | Roxxi Laveaux | Melina | Michelle McCool | Candice Michelle |
| 2009[2] | Mickie James | Angelina Love | Melina | MsChif | Tara | Awesome Kong | Beth Phoenix | Michelle McCool | Maryse | Taylor Wilde |
All-Time Top Fives
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wrestlers | Hulk Hogan | Ric Flair | André the Giant | Antonio Inoki | Bret Hart |
| Tag Teams | The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) |
The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner) |
The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts & Terry Gordy) |
The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) |
British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid) |
Recorded accomplishments
Pro Wrestling Illustrated has recorded select singles and tag team championships of six professional wrestling promotions as "world" level accomplishments, which include those of the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Of the six professional wrestling promotions, only WWE, TNA, and the NWA remain active. Though different championships within these promotions have been recorded by the magazine, its criteria for selection remains undefined and unexplained. As there is no collectively official method of determining what constitutes a "world" level accomplishment in professional wrestling, it should be noted that the views presented in the following list are solely those of Pro Wrestling Illustrated and are neither authoritative nor definitive. The following championships are listed by what they are currently referred to in Pro Wrestling Illustrated and currently are or previously were recorded by the magazine.
- AWA Heavyweight Championship
- AWA Tag Team Championship
- ECW Heavyweight Championship
- ECW Tag Team Championship
- NWA Heavyweight Championship
- NWA Tag Team Championship
- TNA World Championship
- TNA World Tag Team Championship
- WCW Heavyweight Championship
- WCW Tag Team Championship
- WWE Heavyweight Championship
- WWE Tag Team Championship
- WWE World Championship
- WWE World Tag Team Championship
Notes
- ^ a b Martin, Adam (2009-08-14). "Wrestling magazines bought back". Wrestle View. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1250287837.php?. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ Kelly, Chris (2009-09-11). "PWI Top 50 Female Wrestlers list". Wrestle View. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1252704430.php?style=dark. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
References
- 2005 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts.
External links
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