Wrestling

For the second time in his career, undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns is atop the PWI 500.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated released its annual list of the top 500 pro wrestlers in the world on Wednesday, and Reigns paced the field for the first time since 2016:

As just announced on @BustedOpenRadio, Roman Reigns is again the #1 wrestler in the #PWI500. The 32nd annual "500" list is featured in our latest issue, available now for print preorder at https://t.co/ylNeV87zar

The digital edition is available now at https://t.co/CBIZbQfbOb pic.twitter.com/XJiDhbbTBR

— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) September 14, 2022

Per Fightful's Jeremy Lambert, the top 10 for the 2022 PWI 500 is as follows:

1. Roman Reigns
2. Kazuchika Okada
3. CM Punk
4. "Hangman" Adam Page
5. Bobby Lashley
6. Cody Rhodes
7. Bryan Danielson
8. El Hijo del Vikingo
9. Big E
10. Jonathan Gresham

Reigns somewhat controversially finished second on the list to AEW's Kenny Omega last year, with Omega getting the nod because he held world titles in AEW, Impact Wrestling and AAA during the evaluation period.

The evaluation period for the 2022 PWI 500 ran from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, and Reigns was a world champion in WWE for the entirety of that time.

Reigns has surpassed 700 days as universal champion, and at WrestleMania 38 in April, he added the WWE Championship to the fold by defeating Brock Lesnar in the main event.

The PWI 500 is based largely on factors like win-loss record and championship wins, making it difficult to argue against Reigns at No. 1 since he didn't lose a single match of consequence over the course of the year.

Coming in second on the list is New Japan Pro-Wrestling star, Kazuchika Okada, who was No. 1 in 2017, and was the IWGP world heavyweight champion from January 2022 until June 2022.

AEW's CM Punk made his return to the PWI 500 at No. 3 after a lengthy absence because of his hiatus from pro wrestling.

Punk returned to wrestling in August 2021 after more than seven years away, and he quickly established himself as one of the faces of AEW.

He became AEW world champion late in the evaluation period by beating No. 4 finisher "Hangman" Adam Page at Double or Nothing, leading to his best placement in the PWI 500 since finishing first in 2012 and second in 2013 while he was in WWE.

Reigns taking the top spot in the PWI 500 breaks a two-year run of dominance by AEW, which saw Jon Moxley take No. 1 in 2020, followed by Omega in 2021.

The Tribal Chief is just the second WWE Superstar in the past six years to top the PWI 500, joining former Shield stablemate Seth Rollins, who was No. 1 in 2019.

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Stone Cold Praises Star Power of Lesnar, Reigns

WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is arguably the biggest draw in professional wrestling history, so his opinion on the stars of today tends to carry a great deal of weight.

In an interview with veteran wrestling journalist Bill Apter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Austin gave his take on the biggest stars in the business currently:

"[Brock Lesnar] is still, after almost 20 years, the biggest draw, him and Roman [Reigns], in the business today. Brock Lesnar has had one of the most amazing, different runs in the history of the business, and no one will ever do it like Brock Lesnar has done it. Whether it is Suplex City or in the Octagon."

There is little doubt that WWE agrees with Austin's assessment, as it has gone back to the Lesnar vs. Reigns feud on multiple occasions, including three times at WrestleMania.

At WrestleMania 38 in April, Austin made his in-ring return and had his first match in nearly 20 years, beating Kevin Owens in the main event of Night 1. Naturally, Night 2 was headlined by Reigns defeating Lesnar to unify the WWE and Universal Championships.

Lesnar got a rematch at SummerSlam in a Last Man Standing Match, and The Tribal Chief was victorious again thanks largely to interference from The Usos.

Since making his WWE main roster debut in 2002, Lesnar has been a major attraction. His stock was bolstered even more after a stint in UFC that saw him hold the UFC heavyweight title.

WWE has been trying to push Reigns as a top star from the start of his time on the main roster as well, and while he wasn't well received for quite some time, everything changed two years ago when he turned heel and embarked on the best run of his career.

While WWE has many other performers who are on the brink of top star status, Lesnar and Reigns are the old standbys at this point, and that will likely continue to be true for as long as they are with the company.

WWE Superstars, Employees Reportedly Happy Under New Management

Many within WWE have reportedly seen their morale improve since a change in management occurred in July.

Vince McMahon stepped down from his roles as chairman, CEO and head of creative and entered retirement in July amid a WWE board of directors investigation into allegations that he paid millions of dollars in hush money to multiple women who previously worked for WWE in exchange for them remaining silent about alleged sexual relationships and encounters with McMahon.

In place of McMahon, Triple H was named the new head of creative, and McMahon's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, became chairwoman and co-CEO along with Nick Khan, who previously served as WWE president.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, the management change has "energized" people across the company, including wrestlers, production workers and other employees.

Those who work for WWE reportedly have a better work-life balance than they did under Vince McMahon and are under less stress since they don't feel obligated to keep up with Vince's breakneck pace.

It was also suggested by those who spoke to Johnson that there was a fear of repercussions or the possibility of getting fired if a misstep was made under Vince, whereas that isn't the case with Stephanie, Triple H and Khan calling the shots.

There is no question that the WWE product has been received far more favorably by fans since the management change occurred, and it has been far more unpredictable in a positive way as well.

A big part of that has been Triple H bringing back talent that was either released or didn't re-sign when McMahon was at the helm.

Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Dexter Lumis, Hit Row, Johnny Gargano and Braun Strowman have all been surprise returns, and it has made it feel like anything can happen in WWE.

The on-screen product has been more fun to watch, and based on Johnson's report, that good feeling has permeated backstage as well.

Bobby Fish Open to WWE Return

Former NXT star Bobby Fish isn't ruling out a WWE return now that his brief run in AEW has come to an end.

In an interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston (h/t Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone), Fish confirmed last week that he could not come to terms on a new contract with AEW, making him a free agent.

In that same interview (h/t WrestlingInc's Phil Hall), Fish said he was keeping the door open for any and all offers, including WWE: "I'm open to all options and offers at the moment. I do know that there have been quite a few people have gone back through those doors."

Fish was referring to Superstars who have made their return to WWE under Triple H after getting released while Vince McMahon was in charge. Most of those who have returned thus far worked closely with Triple H in NXT.

That was the case for Fish as well, as he was part of the NXT roster from 2017 to 2021, spending most of that time as part of the Undisputed Era stable with Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong.

Strong is still in NXT, while Cole and O'Reilly are in AEW. Fish teamed with them briefly in AEW, but Cole and O'Reilly got injured, and Fish's contract expired at a time when he wasn't being used.

The Undisputed Era reunion in AEW ultimately fizzled, and Fish will now have the opportunity to go off on his own, which isn't something he has done much of over the past several years.

It is unclear what WWE's level of interest would be in bringing back Fish at 45 years of age, but there could be some interest in pairing him with Strong again in what would be a semi-reunion of Undisputed Era.

Fish was a multi-time tag team champion in NXT and took part in no shortage of memorable matches and rivalries, so a return would likely be well received by the fans.

If nothing else, Fish could be a valuable asset in terms of helping to develop younger Superstars thanks to his extensive experience.

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Former WWE star Velveteen Dream was arrested for misdemeanor battery and trespassing on a property after warning in connection to an incident at a gym on Aug. 20 in Orlando, Florida, according to TMZ Sports.

Per TMZ Sports, an employee of the gym told police he instructed Dream, whose real name is Patrick Clark, to leave an area of the gym that was temporarily closed in order to be cleaned.

Clark then allegedly became "irate and argumentative," which prompted the employee to demand he exit the gym altogether. Things escalated from there, with Clark threatening the employee before allegedly punching him in the face and biting him. Police saw bite marks on the employee's "left chest near the left armpit."

TMZ Sports first reported on Clark's arrest on Aug. 30 but was unable to provide details on what led to the charges. The outlet noted it was his second arrest within a week since he had been booked for violating the terms of his probation, allegedly from a previous drug case.

Clark last wrestled in a televised match in December 2020. WWE released him in May 2021 as the company made sweeping roster cuts throughout the year.

His departure followed allegations in April 2020 that he sent an explicit photo to an underage fan, which Clark denied. Another wrestler came forward that August to detail more allegations of misconduct.

Prior to news of his recent arrests surfacing, Clark appeared to push for a possible return to WWE.