2006 PWI 500 - My Thoughts

A little while back I wrote a couple of columns reflecting on some older versions of the PWI 500. Now that the 2006 edition of the PWI 500 has been released I thought that I would go through it and see if I agree.

#1 John Cena - He's one of my least favorite wrestlers. He's all hype and not much ability, but he's arguably the top guy in the business. While I personally don't agree that he should be the top guy I can't really deny it either.

#4 Samoa Joe - I've only seen him wrestle a few times on TV and I wasn't all that impressed, but from everything I've heard this guy is going to be a major star.

#7 Brock Lesnar - He's has about 3 matches since leaving WWE two and a half years ago. There is no way that he should be this high.

#21 Triple H - His stock has fallen a little bit since Cena joined RAW, but he should be higher than this.

#23 Batista - I'm a bit surprised that he isn't higher. Like Cena he is all gimmick. He's spent a lot of the year sidelined though.

#24 Ric Flair - This ranking is obviously based on his legacy rather than his current status. He can still carry a match though.

#27 Carlito - This list must have been put together before Carlito started getting buried on RAW

#29 Chris Benoit - I'm a little surprised that Benoit is this high considering the fact that he's been off TV since May.

#35 CM Punk - A pretty high ranking for someone who's only been on national TV for a month or two.

#41 Mark Henry - Eventhough he was pushed as a top-level guy there is no way that he can actually be considered one. He's a sloppy midcard jobber at best.

#44 Big Show - A World Champion this low?

#51 Bobby Lashley - I am a little surprised that a guy on the brink of being a main-eventer is this low.

#59 Undertaker - I am totally shocked that he's this low. He does only wrestle once a month, but that's more than Lesnar has.

#72 Johnny Nitro - The only thing preventing this guy from being higher is his lackluster mic skills.

#90 Matt Hardy - He continues to be way over with the fans. I'm surprised he's not higher for that reason alone.

#99 Umaga - This says a lot of what he and Estrada did for an outdated gimmick.

#134 Nicky of the S. Squad - This is way higher than I would have put him judging by what I've seen of him on TV.

#144 Khali - This is way too high for someone who is nothing more than size and not much ability.

#147 Johnny of the S. Squad - This guy is super talented. Too talented to be this low.

#153 Gregory Helms - Imagine how much lower he would be if he was still the Hurricane.

#164 Eugene - This guy might be one of the most talented guys in the WWE right now. He's trained a whole bunch of guys. He's only this low because of his gimmick.

#204 Ken Kennedy - I'd put this guy higher. It's too bad he got de-pushed. When he first started out he looked like he would be a huge star. I'm not so sure now.

#228 Kid Kash - I've always been a fan of this guy. I would personally put him higher.

#259 Boogeyman - This guys is mostly gimmick as far as I am concerned. I don't think I've ever seen him wrestle a 'real' match.

#266 Mick Foley - He only wrestled twice in the last year and I'm probably overestimating that number. He shouldn't even be on the list.

#322 Simon Dean - This is one of the most underrated guys in the business now. The whole fitness guru gimmick killed his career. Killed it.

#381 Rene Dupree - There is no reason that a guy with his ability should be so low. Perhaps it's because he's been sidelined for a while up until a few weeks ago.

#421 Teddy Hart - I have heard a lot of good things about him. If they are any indication of the future, this guy will jump a lot of spots once he makes the big time.

#492 Brian Christopher - There is no reason that a guy with this much name recognition should be this low. For all I know he could be fat and sloppy by now though.

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