The 2010 PWI 500... Who Are the Top 10 Wrestlers of the Past Year?

Since 1991, the world of pro wrestling has looked to Pro Wrestling Illustrated for its annual listing of the top 500 pro wrestlers in the world to rank who had the best year.

For the first time in the history of the PWI 500, a TNA wrestler is being ranked No. 1 this year.

Congratulations are in order for A.J. Styles, the face of TNA, who had a "Phenomenal" year. This was no easy feat; in fact, the only other non-WWE/WWF wrestlers to be ranked No. 1 were both in WCW: Sting in 1992, and Dean Malenko in 1997 (a year in which PWI decided no one was a clear-cut winner and based the No. 1 ranking on pure wrestling ability). Styles' 7-month reign as TNA World Heavyweight Champion made him the most dominant world champion of the year, and helped solidify him as the top wrestler in the business today.

The 2010 PWI 500 hits newsstands Aug. 3, but I couldn't wait to make my own list of who should round out the top ten rankings this year.

This is my first article with Bleacher Report, please leave your comments and enjoy!

10. Rob Van Dam

last ranking: #24 (2007)
highest previous ranking: #1 (2002)

Considering that he didn't make his TNA debut until March, I'm being a bit generous ranking RVD in the top 10, but he has already had more success than any TNA star this year with the exception of Styles and one other man (keep reading to find out who!).

Fans of Van Dam have long felt he never reached his full potential in WWE, so it's nice to see him achieve such immediate success in TNA.

Big wins over Sting and A.J. Styles and holding the TNA World Heavyweight Championship have cemented his place as perhaps the new face of TNA.

9. Rey Mysterio

last ranking: #26 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #4 (1999)

Despite a slump in the second half of 2009, Mysterio's luck turned around during the first half of 2010, dominating a feud with CM Punk (who nearly made my top 10) and winning his second World Heavyweight Championship at Fatal 4-Way.

Despite a short reign ended by Kane at Money in the Bank, Mysterio is consistently a major player on Smackdown and could regain the title at SummerSlam.

8. Sheamus

last ranking: #94 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #94 (2009)

Sheamus is the undoubtedly the hottest rookie WWE has seen in several years, at least since CM Punk.

However, while it took Punk a couple years to work his way up to main events, Sheamus quickly made an impression on ECW before moving to Raw and shockingly winning the WWE Title from John Cena in a tables match in his first world title shot ever at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December.

Although he was not a dominant champion, the fact that he survived challenges from Cena and Randy Orton before losing the title in an Elimination Chamber was still impressive.

Losing to Triple H at WrestleMania didn't slow his momentum; a sneak attack gave Sheamus a victory over the Game at Extreme Rules, putting him out of action, and set the stage for Sheamus to regain the WWE Championship at Fatal 4-Way.

It remains to be seen if his truce with Nexus will last, but Sheamus has proven himself a solid main-eventer with little over a year of experience in WWE.

7. Triple H

last ranking: #1 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #1 (2000 and 2009)

Wrestling in tag team matches with Shawn Michaels for the second half of 2009, DX won their first Tag Team Championship from the Big Show & Chris Jericho and dominated a feud with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.

Triple H nearly won the WWE title at Elimination Chamber, pinning defending champion Sheamus before tapping out to John Cena.

A victory over Sheamus at WrestleMania was Triple H's first non-title match at WrestleMania since 2001, but the Game proved he was the better man in a fair match.

It will be interesting to see Triple H seek his revenge against Sheamus when he returns, and how he will react to Nexus, among other changes on Raw since he was injured back in April.

6. Kurt Angle

last ranking: #12 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #1 (2001)

Angle is a different man now than he was a year ago. While part of the Main Event Mafia, he was starting to look like an NWO-era Hollywood Hogan, and despite his enormous talent, was overshadowed by his group's shady actions.

A stellar feud with Mr. Anderson and a brief hiatus re-invigorated Angle, who is on a quest to prove he's the best in TNA by beating the top 10 contenders one at a time.

This will make it a long journey to the top, but it would be foolish to bet against Kurt getting the job done.

5. The Undertaker

last ranking: #11 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #2 (2002)

Retiring Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania is something only the Undertaker could've accomplished.

He had a great year besides that, defeating CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship at Hell in a Cell and holding a death grip on the title before Michaels' interference cost him the title against Chris Jericho at Elimination Chamber.

If it weren't for that, Undertaker could still be champion now. When he comes back from his vegetative state, everyone on Smackdown, including new World Heavyweight Champion Kane, will be put on notice.

4. Chris Jericho

last ranking: #2 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #2 (2009)

Jericho would love nothing more than to be ranked #1 in the PWI 500, and he certainly came close again this year.

Jericho held gold for almost the entire year, forming a dominant team with the Big Show after Edge was injured, and winning the World Heavyweight Title from the Undertaker at Elimination Chamber.

Jericho is also one of the few men to retain a world title at Wrestlemania by defeating Edge.

If it weren't for an attack by Edge, Jack Swagger may have failed in his Money in the Bank cash-in, which Jericho hasn't had a fair opportunity to regain. Jericho has been in a slight slump as of late, losing to Evan Bourne, but if history is any indication, Jericho is rarely out of the spotlight for long.

3. Randy Orton

last ranking: #5 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #1 (2008)

The hottest superstar in WWE today had a great year, holding the WWE Title for the entire summer of 2009, and regaining it from John Cena in October at Hell in a Cell.

Losing the title at Bragging Rights barely slowed his momentum, and Orton had a great feud with Kofi Kingston and may have won the WWE Title from Sheamus if it weren't for Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase's interference.

Putting an end to Legacy, Orton's win at Wrestlemania proved he's still at the top of his game, and SummerSlam should give him a fair shot at winning his seventh world title.

2. John Cena

last ranking: #3 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #1 (2006 and 2007)

Bring on the boos, Cena haters! You can't argue with the facts though: no one in WWE has been more consistently in the world title scene than Cena.

He won the WWE title four times in the past year, trading it back and forth with Randy Orton and thoroughly dominating Batista at Wrestlemania, Extreme Rules in a Last Man Standing Match and Over the Limit in a I Quit Match.

Sheamus seems to be Cena's Achilles' heel, or maybe his Irish luck has worked in his favor.

In either case, Cena had an amazing year, and if Styles hadn't already been named No. 1, Cena would've been the logical pick.

1. A.J. Styles

last ranking: #19 (2009)
highest previous ranking: #7 (2005)

The Phenomenal One deserves his #1 ranking. To have a seven-month reign in TNA as world champion is impressive, especially considering all the new talent and changes that have been going on there.

Having Ric Flair at his side can only serve to motivate him and make him better.

If he can get the world title back and hold onto it, he could really make history by becoming the fourth wrestler to be #1 in back-to-back PWI 500s, a feat only achieved by Bret Hart (1993-1994), Steve Austin (1998-1999) and John Cena (2006-2007).

If Styles did that, it would prove that TNA is not only here to stay, but its competition is on the same level as WWE.

Are your top 10 different from mine? Let's hear your opinions!

This is my first article on Bleacher Report, so please comment and click "like" if you enjoyed reading it!