To put together my top 100 list of the greatest wrestlers ever, I am going through each year and putting together a list for that particular year. Previously, on the podcast “Maybe Not Taue,” I compiled a list for 1985, 1990, 1997, & 2021. You can listen to those here. 1983, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2022, and 2023 are on the blog.
1992
It’s been a great year for pro wrestling, and the top-end talent really cemented themselves. However, I had a hard time ranking the first two-thirds of the list. There were a lot of really good wrestlers all vying for the same positions. I tried my best!
Notes
All of the below stats are from Cagematch. Yes, they are not perfect.
The recommended matches are not a definitive list. It’s a list of cool matches I watched for this process or were on my spreadsheet beforehand!
Honourable Mentions
- Bam Bam Bigelow
- Larry Zbyszko
- Mitsuharu Misawa
- Sakie Hasegawa
- Suzuka Minami
The List
#25
El Dandy
Previous Ranking: 1990 (2nd) & 1996 (14th)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2004, & 2010
Matches: 58
Places Worked: WCW, SWS, UWA, WWA, & AAA
Titles Won: CMLL World Middleweight Championship (twice)
Tournaments: CMLL World Middleweight Title Tournament (winner)
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Goro Tsurumi vs Naoki Sano & Ultimo Dragon, SWS, March 18
- vs Negro Casas, CMLL, July 3
- vs El Satanico, CMLL, September 18
#24
Barry Windham
Previous Ranking: none
Years Unranked: 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, & 2001
Matches: 201
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Titles Won: WCW World Television Championship & NWA/WCW World Unified Tag Team Championship w/ Dustin Rhodes (twice)
Tournaments: NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament w/ Dustin Rhodes (finals), G1 Cliamx, & WCW King of Cable Tournament
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Dustin Rhodes & Ron Simmons vs Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zybyszko, WCW, January 21
- w/ Sting’s Squadron vs The Dangerous Alliance, WCW, May 17 (#4 MOTY)
- w/ Dustin Rhodes vs Larry Zybszko & Steve Austin, WCW, February 29
#23
Takako Inoue
Previous Ranking: 1993 (19th) & 1996 (19th)
Honourable Mentions: 1994, 1995, & 2004
Years Unranked: 1997, 2004, 2010, 2015, & 2019
Places Worked: AJW & UWF
Titles Won: Japanese Tag Team Championship w/ Mariko Yoshida
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Terri Powers
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Kyoko Inoue vs Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano, AJW, June 21
- vs Aja Kong, AJW, August 9
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW, December 13
#22
Akira Taue
Previous Ranking: 1990 (15th), 1993 (24th), 1995 (1st), & 1996 (3rd)
Honourable Mentions: 1994, 2001, & 2004
Years Unranked: 1985, 1997, & 2010
Matches: 149
Places Worked: AJPW
Titles Won: AJPW World Tag Team Championship w/ Jumbo Tsuruta
Tournaments: Champion Carnival & AJPW Real World Tag League w/ Jun Akiyama (finals)
Akira Taue continued to emerge in AJPW, teaming with Jumbo Tsuruta and being a rock on that cool tag team. The few big singles opportunities he got, he really delivered, especially the Stan Hansen title match where he looked not only like he belonged with Hansen but was just as big of a menace as him.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, AJWP, January 26
- w/ Jumbo Tsuruta & Masa Saito vs Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, & Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW, May 22
- vs Stan Hansen, AJPW, July 31
#21
Yumiko Hotta
Previous Ranking: 1993 (39th) & 1995 (24th)
Years Unranked: 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021, & 2022
Places Worked: AJW & CMLL
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Suzuka Minami
Recommended Matches:
- vs Bull Nakano, September 11
- w/ Suzuka Minami vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, October 17
- w/ Takako Inoue vs Hikari Fukuoaka & Mayumi Ozaki, JWP, December 1
#20
Negro Casas
Previous Ranking: 1990 (23rd), 1994 (21st), 1996 (11th), 1997 (18th), & 2001 (14th)
Honourable Mentions: 1993 & 1995
Years Unranked: 1983, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, & 2023
Matches: 103
Places Worked: CMLL, UWA, NJPW, WWA, WAR, FMW, WWF, & AAA
Tournaments: NJPW Top of The Super Junior III & CMLL World Middleweight Title Tournament (finals)
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Horace Boulder & Tim Patterson vs Atsushi Onita, El Hijo del Santo, & Tarzan Goto, FMW, May 16 (#10 MOTY)
- vs El Dandy, CMLL, July 3
- vs Ultimo Dragon, WAR, September 15
#19
Kenta Kobashi
Previous Ranking: 1993 (11th), 1994 (19th), 1995 (6th), 1996 (18th), 1997 (15th), & 2004 (8th)
Years Unranked: 1989, 1990, & 2001
Matches: 156
Places Worked: AJPW
Titles Won: All Asian Tag Team Championship w/ Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
Tournaments: Championship Carnival & AJPW Real World Tag League w/ Giant Baba
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW, January 26
- w/ Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Danny Kroffat & Doug Furnas, AJPW, May 25 (#2 MOTY)
- w/ Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Masa Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa, AJPW, July 5
#18
Toshiyo Yamada
Previous Ranking: 1993 (35th)
Years Unranked: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, & 2004
Places Worked: AJW, CMLL, W*ING, & UWF
Titles Won: UWA World Women’s Tag Team Championship w/ Manami Toyota & WWWA Tag Team Championship w/ Manami Toyota
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Manami Toyota (finals)
Toshiyo Yamada is such an interesting wrestler. She’s clearly trying to fit the Crush Gals mold that was previously set as the standard for AJW superstars, but she isn’t at that level. To this point, she was the best wrestler ever at reigning Toyota in and she really added to all those classic tag matches, definitely a big part of those. However, this was probably her peak, as she was shuffled away from being featured and really blended in with the undercard. Her kicks and offense were unreal!
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Akira Hokuto vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, August 15
- vs Aja Kong, AJW, August 30
- w/ Manami Toyota vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, AJW, November 26 (#1 MOTY)
#17
“The Natural” Dustin Rhodes
Previous Ranking: 1993 (33nd) & 1994 (2nd)
Years Unranked: 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2021, & 2023
Matches: 245
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Titles Won: NWA/WCW Unified Tag Team Championship w/ Barry Windham (twice)
Tournaments: WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Tournament, NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament w/ Barry Windham (finals), WCW King of Cable Tournament
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Barry Windham vs Larry Zbsyzko & Steve Austin, WCW, February 29
- vs Rick Rude, WCW, May 1
- w/ Sting’s Squadron vs The Dangerous Alliance, WCW, May 17 (#4 MOTY)
#16
Scott “Flash” Norton
Previous Ranking: 1995 (14th), 1996 (22nd), 1996 (25th), & 2001 (16th)
Honourable Mentions: 1993 & 1994
Years Unranked: 1989, 1990, & 2004
Matches: 97
Places Worked: NJPW
Titles Won: IWGP Tag Team Championship w/ Tony Halme
Tournaments: G1 Climax & NJPW Super Grade Tag League II w/ Super Strong Machine
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Brad Armstrong vs Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto, NJPW, February 10
- w/ Masa Saito vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Big Van Vader, NJPW, July 8
- vs Bam Bam Bigelow, NJPW, August 6
#15
Dynamite Kansai
Previous Ranking: 1993 (5th), 1994 (11th), 1995 (2nd), & 1996 (24th)
Honourable Mentions: 2001
Years Unranked: 1996, 2004, 2010, & 2015
Places Worked: JWP & AJW
Titles Won: JWP Openweight Championship
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Hikari Hukuoka vs Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki, JWP, April 3
- w/ Cutie Suzuki vs Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki, JWP, August 16
- w/ Mayumi Ozaki vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, November 26 (#1 MOTY)
#14
Genichiro Tenryu
Previous Ranking: 1989 (1st), 1993 (10th), 1994 (4th), 1996 (4th), 2001 (12th), & 2004 (3rd)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1985, 1990, 1995, 1997, 2010, & 2015
Matches: 40
Places Worked: SWS, WAR, NJPW, & WWF
Tournaments: SWS Tag Team Title Tournament w/ Ashura Hara (finals)
1992 was an interesting year for Tenryu. He started the year with SWS as they died off before launching WAR. The year ended with the start of the tremendous NJPW vs WAR feud. Tenryu was unreal in all of this but was lacking in a lot of footage availability. Still, it’s Tenryu, and he was great in the flashes we got!
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Masao Orihara vs The Great Kabuki & Tatsumi Kitahara, WAR, July 14
- w/ Koki Kitihara vs Kengo Kimura & Shiro Koshinaka, WAR, October 23
#13
Mayumi Ozaki
Previous Ranking: 1993 (12th), 1994 (25th), 1995 (9th), & 2001 (6th)
Honourable Mentions: 1996
Years Unranked: 1997, 2004, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, & 2023
Places Worked: JWP, AJW, & Seishin Kaikan THE KENKA
Titles Won: JWP Tag Team Championship w/ Cutie Suzuki
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Devil Masami vs Cutie Suzuki & Dynamite Kansai, JWP, August 16
- w/ Dynamite Kansai vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, November 26 (#1 MOTY)
- w/ Hikari Fukuoka vs Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta, JWP, December 1
#12
Manami Toyota
Previous Ranking: 1990 (8th), 1993 (13th), 1994 (6th), 1995 (3rd), 1996 (20th), & 1997 (3rd)
Years Unranked: 1989, 2001, 2004, 2010, & 2015
Places Worked: AJW, CMLL, W*ING, & UWF
Titles Won: UWA World Women’s Tag Team Championship w/ Toshiyo Yamada, WWWA Tag Team Championship w/ Toshiyo Yamada, & IWA World Championship
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix (finals) & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Toshiyo Yamada (finals)
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong & Bison Kimura, AJW, March 20
- w/ Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue, AJW, July 15
- w/ Toshiyo Yamada vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki, AJW, November 26 (#1 MOTY)
#11
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Previous Ranking: 1985 (17th) & 1989 (3rd)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1990, 1993, & 1994
Matches: 218
Places Worked: WCW
Titles Won: WCW World Television Championship & NWA/WCW Unified World Tag Team Championship w/ Shane Douglas (twice)
Tournaments: WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Tournament (finals) & NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament w/ Nikita Koloff
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Sting vs Rick Rude & Steve Austin, WCW, January 21
- w/ Sting’s Squadron vs The Dangerous Alliance, WCW, May 17 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Rick Rude, WCW, June 20
#10
Keiji Muto
aka The Great Muta
Previous Ranking: 1989 (22nd)
Honourable Mentions: 1996
Years Unranked: 1985, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2010, 2015, 2019, 202, & 2022
Matches: 153
Places Worked: NJPW & WCW
Titles Won: IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Tournaments: G1 Climax, NJPW Suger Grade Tag League II w/ Bam Bam Bigelow
Muto had an interesting 1992. The first half of the year was focused on the great tag team in Hiroshi Hase. They were legit great. In the latter half, he donned his Great Muta gimmick and took the IWGP Title. His few WCW appearances were not that great, which kept him lower in the top 10.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Hiroshi Hase vs Brad Amstrong & Scott Norton, NJPW, February 10
- w/ Hiroshi Hase vs Bam Bam Bigelow & Big Van Vader, NJPW, May 1
- vs Masahiro Chono, NJPW, August 10
- vs Hiroshi Hase, NJPW, December 14
#9
Bret “Hitman” Hart
Previous Ranking: 1985 (23rd), 1989 (11th), 1990 (18th), 1993 (9th), 1994 (1st), 1995 (4th), & 1997 (1st)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1996, & 2010
Matches: 210
Places Worked: WWF
Titles Won: WWF Intercontinental Championship & WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Recommended Matches:
- vs Roddy Piper, WWF, April 5
- vs The British Bulldog, WWF, August 29
- vs Shawn Michaels, WWF, November 25
#8
“Macho Man” Randy Savage
Previous Ranking: 1985 (18th), 1989 (5th), & 1990 (10th)
Honourable Mentions: 1995
Years Unranked: 1983, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, & 1997
Matches: 164
Places Worked: WWF
Titles Won: WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Tournaments: WWF Royal Rumble
The Macho Man had an amazing 1992, coming back from being a heel for so long and moving back up the card to the WWF World Title. This was the height of his character work, as shown in the Roberts feud and the WrestleMania feud. Afterward, he became an amazing Champion and oh-so-good when given a chance to show it inside the WWF system.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Jake Roberts, WWF, January 27
- vs Shawn Michaels, WWF, April 19
- vs Ultimate Warrior, WWF, August 29
#7
Kyoko Inoue
Previous Ranking: 1993 (3rd), 1994 (15th), 1995 (5th), 1996 (7th), 1997 (7th), 2001 (24th), & 2004 (20th)
Years Unranked: 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, & 2023
Places Worked: AJW, W*ING, & CMLL
Titles Won: All Pacific Championship
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Aja Kong (winner)
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Takako Inoue vs Akira Hokuto & Bull Nakano, AJW, June 21
- w/ Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, July 15
- w/ Aja Kong vs Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa, AJW, October 17
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW, November 26 (#6 MOTY)
#6
Sting
Previous Ranking: 1989 (24th) & 1993 (34th)
Years Unranked: 1990, 1994, 1995,1996, & 2023
Matches: 193
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Titles Won: WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Tournaments: WCW King of Cable Tournament (winner)
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Sting’s Squadron vs The Dangerous Alliance, WCW, May 17 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Cactus Jack, WCW, June 20
- vs Big Van Vader, WCW, July 12
- vs Big Van Vader, WCW, December 28 (#9 MOTY)
#5
Aja Kong
Previous Ranking: 1990 (6th), 1993 (8th), 1994 (3rd), 1995 (7th), 1996 (9th), 1997 (5th), & 2001 (10th)
Honourable Mentions: 2004
Years Unranked: 2004, 2010, 2015, 2019, & 2023
Places Worked: AJW, CMLL, & W*ING
Titles Won: WWWA Tag Team Championship w/ Bison Kimura & WWWA World Championship
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix (winner) & AJW Tag League The Best w/ Kyoko Inoue (winner)
After years of trying, 1992 was the year Kong became the Champion and ace of AJW. Her chasing and alliance with Nakano was perfect pro-wrestling. Her destructive matches against others were all delights, too. You can’t go wrong with Kong in 1992.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Bull Nakano, AJW, April 25 (#7 MOTY)
- w/ Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, August 15
- vs Toshiyo Yamada, AJW, August 30
- vs Bull Nakano, AJW, November 26 (#3 MOTY)
#4
Big Van Vader
Previous Ranking: 1989 (19th), 1993 (4th), & 1994 (17th)
Years Unranked: 1985, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, & 2001
Matches: 159
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Titles Won: IWGP Tag Team Championship w/ Bam Bam Bigelow & WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Tournaments: WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge WCW King of Cable Tournament (finals)
Not only was he the dominant monster champion in WCW, but he was also part of a dominant monster tag team in NJPW. The Sting series is undeniable, but that is only a small part of his resume in 1992.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Bam Bam Bigelow vs Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto, NJPW, May 1
- w/ Bam Bam Bigelow vs Masa Saito & Scott Norton, NJPW, July 8
- vs Sting, WCW, July 12
- vs Sting, WCW, December 28 (#9 MOTY)
#3
“Ravishing” Rick Rude
Previous Ranking: 1989 (13th)
Years Unranked: 1983, 1985, 1990, 1993, & 1994
Matches: 226
Places Worked: WCW & NJPW
Tournaments: WCW Nintendo Top Ten Challenge Tournament (winner), NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament w/ Steve Austin, G1 Climax (finals), & WCW King of Cable
The greatest year of Rick Rude’s career. He has such an amazing heel and seemed to put all of his potential together into his role as the top shithead in WCW. Whether he was in a heated feud with Steamboat, facing youngsters like Rhodes, or going to Japan and having classics in the G1, Rude did it all in 1992.
Recommended Matches:
- w/ Steve Austin vs Ricky Steamboat & Sting, WCW, January 21
- w/ The Dangerous Alliance vs Sting’s Squadron, WCW, May 17 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Dustin Rhodes, WCW, May 30
- vs Ricky Steamboat, WCW, June 20
- vs Masahiro Chono, NJPW, August 12 (#8 MOTY)
#2
“The Dangerous Queen” Akira Hokuto
Previous Ranking: 1989 (14th), 1990 (4th), 1993 (1st), 1994 (9th), 1995 (15th), 1997 (24th), & 2001 (9th)
Years Unranked: 1996
Places Worked: AJW, CMLL, W*ING, & FMW
Titles Won: All Pacific Championship
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix
The greatest wrestler ever had another great year has she became more and more of The Dangerous Queen. She was one of the best brawlers and one of the best technical wrestlers of the year. She can do anything and had some great matches to back it up. Her simmering underneath the main event as a force had everyone of her matches feel special.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Bull Nakano, AJW, July 30 (#5 MOTY)
- w/ Toshiyo Yamada vs Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW, August 15
- vs Suzuka Minami, AJW, September 15
- w/ Bull Nakano vs Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo, FMW, September 19
- vs Kyoko Inoue, AJW, November 26 (#6 MOTY)
#1 “Wrestler of the Year”
Bull Nakano
Previous Ranking: 1985 (14th), 1989 (16th), 1990 (1st), 1993 (7th), 1994 (8th), & 1995 (23rd)
Years Unranked: none
Places Worked: AJW, CMLL, & FMW
Titles Won: CMLL World Women’s Championship
Tournaments: CMLL World Women’s Title Tournament
The final year of Nakano’s WWWA title reign was another of her great years. She was able to show the wear and tear of the defenses as the year went along. You can see her go from dominant champion to vulnerable champion throughout 1992, dating back to 1991. She had three matches in the top 10 of the year, so the high end was there as well.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Aja Kong, AJW, April 25 (#7 MOTY)
- w/ Akira Hokuto vs Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue, AJW, June 21
- vs Akira Hokuto, AJW, July 30 (#5 MOTY)
- w/ Akira Hokuto vs Combot Toyoda & Megumi Kudo, FMW, September 19
- vs Aja Kong, AJW, November 26 (#3 MOTY)
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