SmackDown Champion Bayley has the honor of topping the Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) list of Top 100 Women’s Wrestlers this week. With it, she defeated the likes of Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks.
An Amazing Year For Champion Bayley, Leads The Top 100
A couple of years ago, nobody would have guessed the success Bayley would have , or that she would even make the PWI list. While she was great at NXT, she never got a true opportunity on the main roster.
Things changed however when Bayley turned heel. Now, she made number one on the PWI list of top 100 women’s wrestlers.
To determine list rankings, PWI incorporates a number of factors. These include championship wins, wins and losses, overall activity, and pushes.
With her win, Bayley has beaten some of the company’s best wrestlers. Becky Lynch, Asuka, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks all made it into the top five.
Interestingly, there are some wrestlers from rival promotions in the top ten. These include Hikaru Shida, Tessa Blanchard, Riho, and Mayu Iwatani.
Another interesting fact is that Becky Lynch still made the list even though has not been active for some time due to her pregnancy.
Even though she is currently at home, Becky Lynch still took the number two spot on the list. That is quite an achievement on its own.
The Four Horsewomen Taking Over
When you look at the top five, it is clear that it contains all of the WWE’s four horsewomen. This could be a testament to the company pushing the stars after their arrival from NXT.
Still, you can’t push someone who has no talent. And talent these women have in bucket loads.
Ironically, Bayley was the one who was struggled the most on the main roster. Charlotte and Sasha Banks got the most attention, with Bayley and Becky in the background.
Things changed however when both wrestlers changed their personas. However, fan support was already present for Becky Lynch with her original persona.
There was quite a bit of support for SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley too, but she failed to speak to the large masses.
Bayley had to make some serious changes to be taken seriously. Her new persona certainly underlined that change.
And while not everyone (including myself) was on board with the new persona, it paid off for her. Since capturing the championship, she had quite the dominant reign.
In conclusion, SmackDown Women’s Champion making the top of the top 100 list is undoubtedly the crowning achievement.
Of course, there are more women who had fantastic years. And I have no doubt that some factors played a role in the final ranking.
The fact Becky Lynch left due to pregnancy probably cost her first place. Of course, she is getting a much bigger gift at the moment.
As for Charlotte, she has been out of the picture for a little while because of corrective surgery. As for Sasha, she has been playing second fiddle to Bayley.
Will Bayley top the list in 2021 too? Chances are she will rank high again!
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