Strength probably falls just shy of conditioning as a wrestler’s most important physical asset. While it’s true that the most impressive feats of strength a wrestler demonstrates within a ring are usually assisted in some way, there’s no way you’re lifting up even the world’s most cooperative 300 lb man unless you’ve got some serious muscle on you. It stands to reason, then, that the strongest wrestlers would have a pretty impressive bench press max to their name. After all, the bench press has become the cultural standard for raw strength, even if other workouts are technically more impressive in terms of the actual strength they require.

Still, the question “Which wrestler can bench the most” does tend to come up quite often. What’s surprising are the answers to that question. There are some wrestlers who you’d think would be able to bench press the world which actually can’t lift all that much and there are some who you’d never suspect would be capable of lifting a finger that are setting the bench press standard. What’s truly amazing is how many strong men exist outside of WWE. This is how much the 10 wrestlers in WWE and the 10 outside of WWE can bench press.

20 WWE - Elias (405 lbs)

Via: cagesideseats.com

Elias is quickly becoming one of the best heels in WWE. His drifter/musician gimmick didn’t really get over in NXT, but Triple H felt that it would do better on the main roster. He’s proven to be right so far. Samson is the rare breed of heel that doesn’t really care if the audience likes him. Nevertheless, they’re starting to like him.

Samson is a man of many talents, but he doesn’t necessarily come across as a strongman.

While it’s true that he doesn’t rank among the absolute strongest in WWE, Samson’s reported 405 lb bench press is certainly nothing to sneeze at. That puts him ahead of some guys you might think would be stronger and at the low-end of WWE’s strongest (in terms of bench press).

19 Outside WWE - John Morrison (400 lbs)

via pinterest.com

So, there is some debate about this one. Morrison has always been one of the more physically gifted and athletic wrestlers out there, but there’s nothing about his physique or performance that would suggest he’s particularly gifted when it comes to raw strength. Nevertheless, he is supposedly capable of benching 400 lbs. The “supposedly” disclaimer is particularly useful in this instance as it was Morrison himself who once claimed that he achieved that more than respectable figure. Do we believe him? Well, 400 isn’t the most unreasonable number we’ve ever heard for someone that hits the gym as much as Morrison likely does, and his height and weight certainly don’t lead us to believe that 400 lbs is an impossible figure. Still, it’s pretty impressive.

18 WWE - Cesaro (405 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

Cesaro has been billed as the Swiss Strongman for good reason. While he’s not your typical WWE “strong man,” anybody can take one look at Cesaro and tell you that the dude is not someone that you’d want to challenge at the gym. Furthermore, Cesaro has found incredible ways to utilize his strength within the confines of the ring. All that said, you might think that Cesaro’s reported 405 bench press feels a bit...low. There’s a very good reason for that.

Cesaro himself thinks that the bench press is a pretty stupid way to measure someone’s strength.

He prefers a different form of training that focuses more on conditioning and overall body strength. As such, his 405 lift is actually pretty impressive when you consider it’s based largely on residual strength.

17 Outside WWE - The Rock (425 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

We suppose you could technically argue that The Rock is a WWE wrestler, but since he’s free to go wherever he wants - if he didn’t have that world-famous acting career - we’re going to count him as an outside WWE performer. As many of you may have noticed, The Rock has gotten considerably bigger since he stopped wrestling for WWE full-time. While there are some interesting...theories regarding why that is the case, there is no denying that The Rock is superhuman when it comes to his training regime and rigorous diet.

Whatever his methods, the Rock’s bench press supposedly hovers around the 425 lb mark.

He could probably lift more he solely devoted himself to do so, but The Rock is another guy who prefers full body conditioning.

16 WWE - Roman Reigns (445 lbs)

Via: wwe.com

We’re not sure why, but Roman Reigns doesn’t typically enter the conversation when we’re talking about the strongest guys in WWE. It’s not like any reasonably minded person thinks that Reigns is weak, but rather that Reigns gets lost in the shuffle during such discussions. So how strong is Roman Reigns? Pretty strong, even if his reported bench press max checks in lower than some other big WWE names. Of course, 445 lbs is not a number that we’d ever dare sneeze at. What’s truly impressive about that number is that Reigns is another guy who is actually surprisingly athletic for his size. The fact he is able to lift so much while remaining a very agile performer is even more impressive than the number itself.

15 Outside WWE - Batista (450lbs)

Via: pinterest.com

Batista is absolutely itching to return to wrestling in one way or another, so we’re going to count him as an outside of WWE wrestler. Whatever his classification, Batista is an incredibly strong individual. Unlike The Rock who put on muscle during his post-WWE career, Batista has remained one the most physically intimidating stars of his kind in recent memory.

“The Animal” got over based on his raw strength and intimidating muscle mass.

It should come as no surprise to hear that his bench press numbers are noticeably well-above average even when average is the WWE roster. With his 450 lb bench press, Batista is our first entrant in the “whoah” section of this list. Sure, there are a few names above him, but would you tell Batista that?

14 WWE - Brock Lesnar (475 lbs)

Via: getmuscularity.com

We’re going to admit...it’s hard not to be a little shocked by this number. WWE has done a tremendous job of billing Brock as the ultimate wrestling machine. They’ve said that he’s more of a tank than a man. For his part, Brock has done a tremendous job of carrying himself like the absolute baddest man in the world. All told, you’d think he’d rank among the very best in WWE in terms of his bench press. While that’s technically true, we would have guessed that Brock would be even stronger than his admittedly incredible 475 lb bench. This is probably another case of Brock Lesnar sacrificing some pure strength in favor of some mobility and general athleticism. Besides, it’s not like that number makes Brock less intimidating.

13 Outside WWE - Jack Swagger (457 lbs)

Via: wwe.com

When Jack Swagger entered WWE, some people speculated that he might just be the next Kurt Angle. Both were accomplished amateur wrestlers who utilized a similar gimmick. As it turns out, though, Kurt Angle had one thing that Swagger didn’t: personality. Well, that and in-ring psychology. Oh, and overall talent. Look, Angle had a lot of things that Swagger didn’t have, but that doesn’t mean that Jack Swagger wasn’t the real deal.

He was an incredibly gifted athlete who may not have been great for professional wrestling, but was a very good wrestler.

His bench press is also pretty incredible for a guy his size. Swagger checks in at an astonishing 457 lb bench press, which you might notice puts him ahead of even Batista.

12 WWE - John Cena (481 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

We’re constantly reminded that John Cena is an incredibly strong human being, but there are sometimes when you have to stand back and appreciate just how true that is. Cena has always been billed as a stronger wrestler, but it wasn’t until he started to get over with the crowd that he really seemed to double down on the gym time. We’ve seen him lift up guys like The Big Show and stack multiple wrestlers on his shoulders for the Attitude Adjustment.

Even he’s not technically the strongest guy on the roster, Cena is able to lift some considerable weight for a guy his size.

His 481 lb bench press is particularly impressive when you consider that Cena is another guy who doesn’t seem to put much value in your bench max.

11 Outside WWE - Jeff Cobb (500 lbs)

Via: reddit.com

First off, this one requires a bit of speculation. See, we know that Jeff Cobb is inhumanely strong. They call the dude Mr. Athletic for a reason. We’ve seen him perform tremendous acts of strength in the ring and we’ve seen him perform similar acts in the weight room. The problem is that Jeff Cobb hasn’t ever specifically stated what his max bench press is. As such, we have to look at some of his other known weightlifting accomplishments and compare them to his size and weight in order to find his likely max. So far as that goes, we’d guess that Jeff Cobb is good for a 500 lb press, but it could be slightly less or slightly more based on how much he focuses on his max.

10 In WWE - The Big Show (500 lbs)

Via: wrestlingnewsco.com

Here’s an interesting one. You’re probably not surprised to hear that The Big Show is strong. In fact, we’d be more surprised to hear that The Big Show is strong. Actually, we’d be absolutely shocked to hear that any guy his size doesn’t possess a tremendous amount of strength. That’s the thing, though. A guy his size is going to possess so much natural strength that you kind of have to wonder how much of their strength comes from work and how much is just naturally gifted. So, when we hear that The Big Show can supposedly bench 500 lbs, we’re impressed...but a little curious about whether or not he’d be able to hit an even higher number if he solely devoted himself to doing so.

9 Outside WWE - Tyrus (525 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

Many wrestling fans will tell you that WWE absoluted wasted Tyrus (who went by the name of Brodus Clay in WWE). WWE felt that he was best used as a dancing big man who appealed to the kids with his old-school family friendly gimmick. It was a decent idea on paper and Tyrus did what he could with the gimmick. The problem was that it was hard for anyone to look at the guy and not think “man, that guy would be a tremendous monster heel if they let him be one.”

Tyrus is a physically intimidating due who can back up his monster looks in the weight room.

With his reported 525 lbs bench press, Tyrus is theoretically capable of benching just about any wrestler.

8 WWE - Titus O’Neil (545 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

We’re a little surprised by this one to be honest. Maybe it’s because the guy is hardly ever on television, but Titus O’Neil never really jumps to mind when we’re thinking about the strongest guys in WWE. There’s also the matter of how O’Neil really hasn’t been booked as an exceptionally strong guy during his WWE run, which is odd considering how often Vince likes to book people like that. It doesn’t really matter, though.

Whether he’s booked to be strong or not is actually irrelevant. O’Neil is incredibly strong.

His 545 lbs bench press max puts him above some really notable names in the industry and ensures that he sits comfortably amongst the very strongest wrestlers of-all time. Not bad for a guy that we don’t immediately think of as strong.

7 Outside WWE - The Great Khali (550 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

We’re entering the 550 club here which seems to be the max for many mere extremely strong mortals. First up, we have The Great Khali. If you’re suddenly thinking “That’s pretty good for a guy that looks like he could barely walk,” then allow us to educate you. See, before Khali came to WWE, he toured the world on various indie circuits. For quite a few years, he was seen as one of the more athletically gifted wrestlers of his size. Unfortunately, he suffered some nasty injuries before entering WWE that severely limited his in-ring abilities. At one point, though, Khali was able to lift an astonishing 550 lbs. We’re not exactly sure when that lift occurred, but Khali might be able to do something similar today.

6 In WWE - Braun Strowman (550 lbs)

Via: ibtimes.com

This one is, admittedly, another max that is something of a guess. As you probably know, Braun Strowman is a ridiculously strong guy. It’s kind of his whole gimmick. Well, gimmick isn’t really the best word in this instance as that implies that there might be a degree of exaggeration to his ability. However, Strowman is a legit strongman whose accomplishments outside the ring are even more impressive than his strongman accomplishments inside the ring. However, Strowman’s exact bench press max remains somewhat elusive. Using the formula of logic and known numbers, we can tell you that the guy most likely benches somewhere around the area of 550 lbs. However, we honestly wouldn’t be surprised if that number is higher especially when we look back on Strowman’s strongman days.

5 Outside WWE - Ryback (550 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

Ryback’s WWE tenure was a strange one. There was a time when WWE seemed committed to the idea of pushing him as the next Bill Goldberg (who we’ll be talking about in a bit). The problem was that Ryback wasn’t very...good. Neither was Goldberg, but Goldberg could get by with squash matches. The moment that WWE asked Ryback to do anything more than look intimidating was the moment that his push fell apart. Still, the guy was legitimately among the strongest in WWE during his time with the company.

Ryback claims that his max bench is 550, which we honestly have no reason to doubt given his size and the intensity of some of his workouts.

He might actually be able to hit more now that he doesn’t have to follow WWE’s PED rules.

4 WWE - Big E (575 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

Many fans have long wondered why Big E Langston never really got a respectable singles push. He was an impressive NXT champion, but WWE has mostly chosen to book him as the big man sidekick on the main roster. It’s strange because Big E is charismatic, a fairly good in-ring performer, and freakishly strong. That last part is the key as Vince traditionally likes to book big men to the moon. Considering that Big E has stated that he can bench press 575 lbs...well, there was a time when that would have earned him a WrestleMania main event spot. In fact, we’re reasonably confident that Big E Langston’s bench press mark is the highest posted by an active WWE performer in some time. There’s just one guy in the company that has him beat...

3 Outside WWE - Bobby Lashley (550lbs, At Least)

Via: training.com

Here’s yet another instance of a wrestler whose max bench press is something of a mystery. Lashley has never disclosed his full bench press max to anyone so far as we are aware. However, he is regularly described as one of the strongest wrestlers alive and we have seen some footage from his workouts which seem to give a pretty good indication of what his range is. Then there are the unofficial reports. Those suggest that Lashley might actually be able to bench somewhere closer to 600 lbs if he really wanted to. Since that sounds like it might be a little exaggerated, we’re going to conservatively place him closer to the 550 mark. Mind you, that does seem to be the mark that separates the freaks from the regular strongest wrestlers.

2 In WWE - Mark Henry (585 lbs)

via wwe.com

WWE loves to book people as the “World’s (blank) Man,” but it’s rarely a true claim. However, there was at least a time when the “World’s Strongest Man” booking they applied to Mark Henry was absolutely true. Henry is considered to be one of the absolute greatest strong men in the history of powerlifting. He has accomplished lifts that were deemed to be impossible by us mere humans.

A quick look at his max lifts reveal some shocking figures that require you to make sure you just read them right.

That’s especially true of Henry’s reported 585 max bench press lift which is even more impressive when you consider that Henry isn’t just a block pure muscle built for nothing else but an impressive max bench press.

1 Outside WWE - Goldberg (565 lbs)

Via: youtube.com

Goldberg may have last appeared for WWE, but he’s not contractually obligated to appear solely for the company (so far as we are aware of). If we do assign Goldberg free agent status, then he might just be the strongest of the free agent wrestlers out there. That’s probably not that surprising to hear considering that Bill Goldberg got over as one of the strongest and most intimidating wrestlers in the world. Still, it’s entirely possible to be a muscular wrestler who is all show and no go. It’s all about what you’re able to do at the gym and in the ring. Goldberg certainly lives up to his billing in both arenas. His reported 565 lbs bench press is just a jaw-dropping figure.