Top 5 Best WWE Wrestlers Of The 2020s: WWE is going through a purple patch at the moment. Ever since the change in regime in 2022, the on-screen products have been interesting, the shows are getting sold out, and the brand has grown its presence in the mainstream.
But in a decade that has been a hit, as we near the halfway mark, who have been the greatest wrestlers of the 2020s? Or more simply, which have been the greatest wrestlers of the last five years.
It seems that wrestling and the world itself have gone through a lot in this decade so far. Starting from the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, Vince McMchon’s final year in charge of the company, and then the Triple H era.
So, who are the top 5 greatest WWE wrestlers of the 2020s? Which WWE superstars have been the greatest in this decade?
Top 5 Best WWE Wrestlers Of The 2020s
5) Gunther
The current World Heavyweight Champion was the NXT UK Champion at the start of the decade and went by his former name, ‘Walter’. While he regularly put up some of the best WWE matches in memory, fans were skeptical about whether the Austrian wrestler would be so dominant on the main roster.
After holding the title for 870 days, he had a short stint at the regular NXT before getting to the main roster. But when he won the Intercontinental Champion on April 8, 2022, no one knew that Gunther was about to become one of the most popular WWE superstars in the upcoming years.
His reign with the IC title was a historic one under the new Triple H regime. He held the title for 666 days and had the best matches in the WWE. It seemed like every time he defended his title, he delivered a classic. Being a dominant champion who was among the greatest in-ring wrestlers made him rise up the ranks in the company rapidly.
After losing the IC title to Sami Zayn earlier this year, he immediately set his sights on the World Heavyweight Championship. He won the King of the Ring and then defeated Damian Priest at SummerSlam. He has been dominant ever since but has also improved greatly on the mic.
Check Out: Top 5 Greatest WWE Wrestler Of The 2020s
4) Rhea Ripley
So far, the 2020s have been the greatest decade for women’s wrestling in the WWE. This started with the first women’s main event in WrestleMania history in 2019. Since then, several women’s wrestlers from NXT have come to the main roster and done well, but none have been as dominant as Rhea Ripley.
At the start of the decade, she was the NXT Women’s Champion. Then in 2021, as soon as she came to the main roster, she finished second in the Royal Rumble behind Bianca Belair (who could have also taken this spot). Then, on WrestleMania 37, she defeated Asuka to become the RAW Women’s Champion, her first main roster title. She dropped and regained the title again this year.
But the best time of her career began with her joining the Judgment Day. Initially a member of the group behind the founder, Edge, she soon turned into the de facto leader of the stable. Her partnership with Dominik Mysterio became the most must-watch thing on RAW. After winning the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble, Ripley became the SmackDown Women’s Champion at WrestleMania 39 after defeating Charlotte Flair in an all-time classic.
Rhea Ripley was the most dominant women’s champion arguably in WWE history, defeating any comers to her title. She only lost the belt after a year-long reign as she got injured. Since returning midway through 2024, she has been feuding with the new Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan, and what is now her former stable in The Judgment Day.
3) Drew McIntyre
At the start of this decade, Drew McIntyre was handed the responsibility to be the next face of WWE. He won the 2020 Royal Rumble and eliminated a dominant Brock Lesnar in that match. He then defeated Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 36. Unfortunately, that was WWE’s first Covid show, and no fans were in attendance. He literally carried the company through the pandemic as the WWE Champion but lost the title at the start of 2021 to Bobby Lashley. Finally, he got the chance to win the big one in front of fans at ‘Mania 37 but lost his title match to Lashley and fell down the pecking order.
For the next two years, Drew would sporadically challenge for titles; most memorably, he challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Clash of the Castle 2022, the first WWE PLE in the UK in 30 years, but lost. He was an upper-mid carder for the next year before slowly starting his heel turn in the latter half of 2023, turning completely right around the start of 2024 as he planted the seeds for a feud with a recently returned CM Punk at the Royal Rumble.
At WrestleMania 40, he defeated Seth Rollins to become the World Heavyweight Champion but was attacked by an injured Punk after the match, due to which Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank and ended McIntyre’s five-minute reign. But at least he did win the big one in front of a packed stadium.
Now, in 2024, Drew McIntyre had one of the most memorable, brutal, and best feuds of the past decade against CM Punk. While there was no title on the line, the sheer hate the two characters shared was palpable. This rivalry culminated at one of the best Hell in a Cell match of all time at Bad Blood 2024.
Check Out: Top 5 Best WWE Wrestlers Of The 2020s
2) Cody Rhodes
It was Cody Rhodes’ return to the WWE that changed everything. After playing a massive role in the birth of the rival promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Rhodes left the promotion he co-founded and returned to the Stanford-based promotion at WrestleMania 38 in 2022. That year, he had a solid feud with Seth Rollins, culminating in a memorable Hell in a Cell match at the namesake PLE, a match he wrestled with a torn pec muscle.
When Cody returned to the ring in early 2023, now under the Triple H administration, he was immediately placed as the new good-guy face of the WWE, who would end Roman Reigns ‘tyrannical’ reign as world champion. The former Stardust did win the Royal Rumble in 2023 but failed to win the title in the main event of WrestleMania 39.
For the rest of the year, he was still one of, if not the most popular superstars in the WWE. He had high-profile feuds that year and even won the tag team titles. Then, when 2024 rolled around, he won the Royal Rumble again. But then came a twist, as it was announced that The Rock would face Reigns at WrestleMania 40. What followed was two months of top-tier storytelling as Cody tried to take his main event back, which ended when Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to become the WWE Champion.
Since then, Rhodes has been the face of the company as its popular champion. He has had several challengers and has already had some fantastic matches in his title reign.
1) Roman Reigns
In the latter half of the 2010s, WWE tried making Roman Reigns their next megastar, their next John Cena or Hulk Hogan. But when that experiment ultimately failed, the 2020s brought a new approach. Missing months of programming due to Covid, Roman returned in mid-2020 as a heel with Paul Heyman, winning the Universal title in August 2020, starting his historic reign.
For over a year, he dominated all-comers for his title. He defeated Edge and Daniel Bryan in the main event of WrestleMania 21, beat Jey Uso in a Hell in a Cell match, and defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 38 to become a double champion.
For over a year from here, he was the only men’s world champion in WWE. In this time, he defeated Drew McIntyre in the UK, beat Kevin Owens multiple times, defended his title against Seth Rollins, and practically beat every upper-mid-carder and main eventer in what had ballooned up to be a two-plus year title reign.
After defeating Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 39, he became the first champion in the modern era to hold a title for a thousand days. In 2023, he had classic defences against the likes of Sami Zayn, LA Knight, Rey Mysterio, and Jey USo. After finally losing his title to Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 after being the champion for 1316 days at the end of one of the greatest storylines in WWE history, Roman took a break from the company.
Since then, Roman, who by now has not only been accepted by the fans but has become the face of the industry, has been a babyface as he takes on the New Bloodline, headed by Solo Sikoa. More interestingly, he has had to face his family members, whom he mentally assaulted in his over three-year reign as the Tribal Chief.
Check Out: Top 5 Best WWE Wrestlers Of The 2020s
Get the Latest WWE News at IceCric.News and Follow for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
