Puroresu 50


Just for fun, this is my personal ranking of the top 50 puroresu stars of 2001.

To be eligible, a wrestler must have worked at least once for a Japan based organisation in the calender year of 2001, and the ranking will be based solely on their performances in Japan. You probably won't agree with my rankings, but that's OK. This is just one guy's opinion.

Note: I've changed Keiji Mutoh and Satoshi Kojima's allegiance to their current home of AJPW, although they admittedly worked 2001 under contract to NJPW.


1. Yuji Nagata – New Japan Pro Wrestling
2. Keiji Mutoh – All Japan Pro Wrestling
 3. Jushin Liger – New Japan Pro Wrestling
 4. Satoshi Kojima – All Japan Pro Wrestling
 5. Naohiro Hoshikawa – Zero One
 6. Magnum TOKYO – Toryumon
 7. Osamu Nishimura – New Japan Pro Wrestling
 8. Dick Togo – Michinoku Pro Wrestling
 9. Shinjiro Ohtani – Zero One
 10. Toshiaki Kawada – All Japan Pro Wrestling
 11. Minoru Tanaka – New Japan Pro Wrestling
 12. Tiger Mask IV – Michinoku Pro Wrestling
 13. Shinya Hashimoto – Zero One
 14. Masato Tanaka – Freelance/Zero One
 15. The Great Sasuke – Michinoku Pro Wrestling
 16. Gedo – Freelance/New Japan Pro Wrestling
 17. Yuki Ishikawa – Freelance/UFO
 18. SUWA – Toryumon
 19. Alexander Otsuka – Freelance/PRIDE
 20. Susumu Mochizuki – Toryumon
 21. Takashi Iizuka – New Japan Pro Wrestling
 22. Genki Horiguchi – Toryumon
 23. Naomichi Marufuji – Pro Wrestling Noah
 24. Koji Kanemoto – New Japan Pro Wrestling
 25. Mitsuharu Misawa – Pro Wrestling Noah
 26. CIMA – Toryumon
 27. Takehiro Murahama – Osaka Pro Wrestling
 28. Kensuke Sasaki – New Japan Pro Wrestling
 29. Masaaki Mochizuki – Toryumon
 30. Jun Akiyama – Pro Wrestling Noah
 31. Masahito Kakihara – New Japan Pro Wrestling
 32. Tatsuhito Takaiwa – Zero One
 33. Super Delfin – Osaka Pro Wrestling
 34. AKIRA - New Japan Pro Wrestling
 35. Steve Corino – Zero One
 36. Ryo Saito – Toryumon
 37. Jinsei Shinzaki – Michinoku Pro Wrestling
 38. Genichiro Tenryu – All Japan Pro Wrestling
 39. Mitsuya Nagai – All Japan Pro Wrestling
 40. Tom Howard – Zero One
 41. Hideki Nishida – Michinoku Pro Wrestling
 42. Samoa Joe – Zero One
 43. Men’s Teioh – Big Japan Pro Wrestling
 44. Dragon Kid – Toryumon
 45. Monster Z Mandula – Osaka Pro Wrestling
 46. Daisuke Sekimoto – Big Japan Pro Wrestling
 47. Kohei Sato – Zero One
 48. SAITO – Toryumon
 49. Curry Man – Michinoku Pro Wrestling
 50. Vader – Pro Wrestling Noah