That being said, an opportunity to make a list such as this comes up once every ten years. Hopefully, the World, the Internet, this blog and I will be around this time in 2019, just so I can compare my list in the future to the following list. What following list? Seventy-five guys who I think have a more than decent chance of being on the Wrestler of the Decade for the 2010s:
John Cena
Triple H
Randy Orton
Cody Rhodes
Ted DiBiase, Jr. - El Hijo del Million Dollar Man seems to be the one guy among all their young lions that they're grooming for greatness, and why not? He's got the genes from one of the best heels of all-time. While you the blog readers aren't as high on Jr. as you were on Sr., he may be destined for bigger and better accomplishments than his father.
The Miz
Kofi Kingston
Jack SWAGGAH~!
MVP
Evan Bourne - High-flyers have a way of getting over in the WWE. From Jimmy Snuka to Rey Mysterio, the ability to amaze is never lost on WWE crowds. It might take awhile, but I have a feeling Bourne will eventually become a franchise player in the WWE.
Santino Marella
CM Punk
John Morrison
Chris Jericho
Edge - Edge made a big impact in the '00s, but he has a chance to really build on his legacy in the coming decade... provided he doesn't get hurt every other year. With his rapid accumulation of title wins, he may pass both Ric Flair and the guy who's a lock to pass Ric Flair (Triple H) before the '10s are over.
Dolph Ziggler
Tyson Kidd
JTG
Shad Gaspard
Mike Knox - In addition to having the most righteous beard in wrestling history, Mike Knox is also the man most likely to fill the role that Kane and Undertaker will most certainly leave when they retire - the athletic big man. He's also got a really quirky psychological heel character that could make him a great foil to several main event faces.
Drew MacIntyre
Rey Mysterio, Jr.
Christian
Shelton Benjamin
Sheamus O'Shaunessy - I've touted the Pale Ginger Warrior's greatness before, and I'll do it again. He could very well be the Irish Stone Cold, and a guy I envision having fantastic matches with the likes of Triple H, John Cena and Mike Knox among others.
Yoshi Tatsu
Paul Burchill
Vladimir Kozlov
Bryan Danielson
Zack Ryder - Woo woo woo, you know it!
Nigel McGuinness
Joe Hennig
Justin Angel
Heath Slater
Low-Ki/Kaval - A guy who shuttled back and forth between TNA and ROH with varying degrees of success, whatever they decide on calling him could have a decent career in the WWE. He has a modern offense with great kicks, and I can see him getting over based on the stiffness of his feet alone, if he ever gets healthy.
AJ Styles
Kurt Angle
Samoa Joe
Hernandez - He is TNA's best hope for a truly homegrown star outside of AJ Styles to help break them into the next level of consciousness. They're giving him the beginnings of a shot now, and if they give him a good faith push and let him establish their identity, it could mean good things.
Alex Shelley
Chris Sabin
Eric Young
Suicide
Cody Deaner - He's been a true revelation in TNA, the funniest guy in wrestling right now not named Santino. I'm not sure what else he has in the bag, if this character is his one trick or not, but hey, stranger stars have been created.
Austin Aries
Chris Hero
Claudio Castagnoli
Eddie Kingston
Kenny King - I think the '10s will be a decade where black wrestlers really break through. MVP is almost there, but I think Kenny King can be a big star in his own right. He's athletic, he can talk and he's got dat swagga.
Human Tornado
Davey Richards
Colt Cabana
Homicide
El Generico - Generico hasn't spoken a lick of English in character to my knowledge, yet he connects with the crowd in such a way that it's impossible to boo him. Impossible. The guy gets the best face reactions without by just posing and urging the crowd to repeat "Olé! Olé, olé, olé! Olé! Olé!" Even if he stays in the indies and ROH, he could prove to have a huge impact on the wrestling scene on the whole, especially as the indies grow in importance and start giving us viable competition to TNA and maybe eventually, Titan.
Kevin Steen
Nick Jackson
Matt Jackson
Arik Cannon
Tyler Black - The emo Jeff Hardy. I think he can get a lot of the same crowd as Hardy appealed to as well as tapping into an older male crowd with his darker side.
Necro Butcher
Kenny Omega
Ken Anderson
Umaga
Delirious - I've sung this guy's praises before, and honestly, wrestling needs nonsensical comedic characters like him around. His ability to connect with crowds by doing nothing more than spastically running around the arena and speaking gibberish is a true gift.
Ken Doane
Player Dos
Ricky Steamboat, Jr.
Colin Delaney
Kota Ibushi - I don't know how many Japanese stars want to come over to the US and all, but I think that Ibushi could prove to be a bigger star than guys like Tajiri or Muta were over here mainly because of the insane way he can fly. Much like Evan Bourne, he can fill the need for American crowds to be wowed by aerial acrobatics.
PAC
Bobby Dempsey
Grizzly Redwood
Tim Donst
UltraMantis Black - Finally, a pipe dream, I know, but there's something strangely enticing about UMB. No, it can't be the Eye of Tyr talking... can it?
Of course, someone totally unknown now can burst out and make a splash, but that's what will make looking back at this post so fun. The stuff I got right and the stuff that I was way wrong on.
