WWE has been the top wrestling promotion globally for over two decades, and it seems to be the destination for professional wrestlers from all over the world. If a person can make it in WWE, they have reached the top of their profession as one of the best wrestlers of all time. There are also cases where WWE has dropped the ball with too many great superstars over the years.
At the end of the day, most of the best wrestlers in the world have worked in WWE. There are only a handful of top talents who have not worked in the company, which means that when looking at the best wrestlers in the sport's history, at least in America, they have worked in WWE. Here are the 10 men that Cagematch.net determines to be the WWE's greatest wrestlers of all time.
Updated on September 1, 2021, by Shawn S. Lealos: Throughout WWE history, there have been several superstars that have reigned supreme for the company, and while most have been monster stars, not everyone can be called the best wrestlers of all time. Those that do put on five-star matches on a regular basis are few and far between, although there are some in WWE who continue to impress. A perfect example is WALTER, who not only is one of the best wrestlers in WWE today but is constantly moving up the list as the best of all time. It is also hard to just cap off a list like this with only 10 names, as there are some great wrestlers who deserve honored as the best WWE wrestlers.
15 Ricky Steamboat (9.37)
Widely considered the best match trilogy in wrestling history, Ricky Steamboat left WWE and fought Ric Flair for the WCW Championship. While winning his only world title, Steamboat proved he was one of the best wrestlers of all time. However, he was great before he ever went to WCW.
In WWE, Steamboat never got a chance at the big titles but got a run with the Intercontinental Championship. The match where he won that title was, for years, the best in WrestleMania history, a true WWE Mount Rushmore match. Ricky Steamboat vs. Macho Man Randy Savage displayed two of the best WWE wrestlers of all time at their peak, and Steamboat retired as one of the best in-ring tacticians ever to work in WWE.
14 CM Punk (9.39)
CM Punk just returned to professional wrestling after seven years out of the sport, and he showed up in AEW. However, before that, he made his name as one of WWE’s best in-ring workers and left wrestling at the top of his game.
CM Punk held the world title longer than anyone in the modern WWE timeline, and he had consistently great matches every time out. He brought out the best in men like John Cena and deserved the title of Best in the World.
13 Bruno Sammartino (9.39)
Bruno Sammartino is not the flashiest wrestler anyone will ever see. Many modern-day wrestling fans probably couldn’t sit through a match from Bruno’s era, but that does not discount what he meant to WWE.
Sammartino held the WWE title longer than anyone in history, and that is because he knew how to sell himself to the fans. He was slow and methodical, but he knew how to tell a story in the ring that got the crowd invested in him. That is why he ranks so high for his in-ring skills.
12 Asuka (9.41)
Asuka was a star before she ever showed up in WWE. However, once the Japanese sensation stepped foot in an NXT ring, she became dominant. No one could beat Asuka in NXT and she destroyed everyone placed in front of her.
Her shine lessened on the main roster, but her talent in the ring never diminished. Asuka remains one of the best in-ring women’s wrestlers in the United States, even if she doesn’t always win as many matches as she should.
11 Bret Hart (9.41)
He calls himself the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. While it was a perfect heel catchphrase when he was rising up the ladder, it eventually became a way of life for Bret “The Hitman” Hart. The Hitman won every title he could in WWE and then moved on to WCW, where he won the biggest titles there as well.
Sadly, his days in WCW diminished his ranking somewhat, but when he was in WWE, there was no one better. He made Stone Cold Steve Austin a star, worked Shawn Michaels best 1990s matches, and turned in classics with his brother, Owen Hart. At one time, there was no one better than Bret Hart.
10 Kurt Angle (9.45)
Kurt Angle is an Olympic gold medalist and took his wrestling skills to WWE, where he became one of the best professional wrestlers of all time and one of the best mic men to ever work in the business.
By the time he retired, he was a six-time world champion in WWE, in addition to winning five other titles there. Kurt Angle was also a star in TNA, a six-time world champion there, on top of winning the X-Division title once and the tag titles twice. Angle is in the TNA, WWE, and USA Wrestling Hall of Fames.
9 Daniel Bryan (9.45)
For years, Daniel Bryan was considered the best wrestler not to work for WWE. He was a major star in Ring of Honor, where he won the world title there and put on five-star matches in his sleep.
Trained by Shawn Michaels and William Regal, he finally made his way to WWE and forced his way into the world title scene thanks to the fans' passion. Bryan is still wrestling today, and he has held several titles in WWE, including five world championship reigns.
8 AJ Styles (9.46)
AJ Styles was the best wrestler that ever worked in TNA, a homegrown talent who won 19 titles there, including three world titles, before he finally left the company. He moved on to Japan, where he was successful, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship twice. Then, he made his way to WWE.
AJ Styles continued his work as a star in WWE. In his time there, he has won two world championships, the IC title once and the US title three times, and finally won the tag team titles at WrestleMania in 2021.
7 Steve Austin (9.48)
When many fans look at 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, they see a brawler who got by on his immense charisma. However, Austin is one of the best professional wrestlers of all time and knows how to tell a story in the ring better than almost anyone in the industry.
Austin won six titles in WCW before making his way to WWE to become a star, and then ended up as the most popular wrestler in history, winning the world title six times before he finally retired due to a neck injury.
6 Eddie Guerrero (9.48)
Eddie Guerrero came from the legendary Guerrero family and ended up as the best wrestler in the entire group. He made his name in Japan and Mexico before he made his mark in the United States. He worked in WCW, where he won three titles, and ECW, where he won two titles.
Guerrero then moved on to WWE, where he finally reached the top, winning his only world championship. Add in nine other WWE titles, and Guerrero was a massive star before he tragically passed away at the age of 38.
5 WALTER (9.49)
It might seem shocking to anyone who doesn't watch NXT UK or NXT in general, but Walter is an outstanding professional wrestler. The former WWE UK Champion held that title for 870 days, the longest title reign in WWE's modern-day era. WALTER is only 33 and has been wrestling for 14 years now, mostly in the U.K.
He was a major star in Progress before making his way to WWE, holding their Atlas Championship three times and World Championship once.
4 Undertaker (9.50)
Undertaker is a wrestler that many consider a special attraction. He is a big man, and younger fans might not realize how good he really was. His early WWE matches were slow and lumbering, but that was all about his character. Undertaker's later matches in WWE were nowhere near what he was capable of in his prime.
However, look at his career from the Attitude Era until around 2010, and Undertaker was one of the best wrestlers and characters in WWE. He put on great matches with just about anyone, and he retired as a seven-time world champion.
3 Io Shirai (9.51)
Out of the top 10 wrestlers in WWE history based on Cagematch.net, only one was a female. That was former NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai. At only 30 years old, Shirai got her start in Mexico and became a major star in Stardom, where she won 13 titles in seven years.
She joined WWE in 2018 and went to NXT, where she became the backbone of the women's division. Shirai held that title for 304 days before losing it to Raquel Gonzalez at NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver in 2021.
2 Chris Jericho (9.52)
Chris Jericho has done just about everything there is to do in professional wrestling. He got his start in Mexico and moved on to success in Japan and then back to America, where he got noticed by ECW. Soon, he was in WCW and was one of their top rising stars. After several title reigns there, he moved on to WWE and became a massive star.
Chris Jericho won six world titles in WWE, on top of a record-nine Intercontinental Championship title reigns, and seven tag title reigns with five different partners. Jericho is now in AEW, where he was their first world champion, and is still going strong at over 50.
1 Shawn Michaels (9.60)
The greatest wrestler in WWE history based on Cagematch.net ratings is Shawn Michaels. HBK got his start as a tag team wrestler as part of the Rockers with Marty Jannetty. However, it was after that team broke up that Michaels became a star. He went on to win four world titles, three IC titles, six tag team titles, and even held the European Championship.
Shawn Michaels' nickname is Mr. WrestleMania, and while his win/loss record there wasn't great, he was still always in one of the best matches every time he stepped into the ring on the Grandest Stage of Them All.