The Top 20 WWE Superstars

What makes a great WWE Superstar? 

A combination of in-ring ability, mic/promo ability and fan reaction would seem to be the biggest factors that would go into making a superstar.

But other things like their character, originality and prestige are just some of the dozens of factors that one could use when making a list like this.

In the end, I decided to make this list basically of just my own opinions instead of trying to figure out a complex point system. I understand that not everyone's list will be the same as mine and everyone believes in different superstars for their own reasons.

But this is my ranking of the Top 20 current WWE Superstars.

Note: I decided not to include part-time wrestlers such as Triple H, Kevin Nash, Booker T, The Rock, The Undertaker etc etc. since they are not full-time current Superstars. 

20, Evan Bourne, WWE Tag Team Champion

We start off our list with one half of the current WWE Tag Team Champions, Air Boom, with Evan Bourne. 

Bourne has great in-ring skills and is one of the best high-flyers in the business today. He and partner Kofi Kingston have brought back some of the legitimacy to the Tag Team Championships since winning the titles from David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. 

However, Bourne has not wrestled on TV in over a month due to a suspension for using marijuana, which has lost some of his momentum as well as the momentum of the Tag Team Championships. 

Considering that WWE decided not to have Air Boom drop the titles after his suspension though says that they believe in Air Boom as champions, and they should begin a new feud for the title with the likes of The Uso's or Epico and Hunico sometime soon. 

19. Jack Swagger

Jack Swagger seems to be in no man's land in the WWE. 

After winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Swagger fell completely off the card, only to reemerge this summer after joining forces with Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler. 

However, after Swagger and Ziggler failed to win the Tag Team Championships, Ziggler has clearly become the biggest star of the group and may move on to bigger and better things soon. 

The good news for Swagger is that when Ziggler does leave, he could be one of the top contenders for the US Title, through either a face turn if Ziggler retains or as a heel against new champion Zack Ryder. 

Swagger has little to no mic skills, but he's solid in the ring and has shown he can compete with the best of the company when given the opportunity. 

18. The Big Show

I'm just not a believer in the Big Show as a main event talent at this point in his career. 

While he and Mark Henry have done better then expected in their big man feud for the World Heavyweight Championship, Show can't really move around the ring anymore and his move set is severely lacking, which is why I have him so low on the list.

However, Show is over with the crowd, and is one of the most respected guys on the roster for the years of work he has put into the business. 

Show still has enough credibility to put over anyone in the business as a face or a heel when feuding with them. 

17. Kofi Kingston, WWE Tag Team Champion

The other half of Air Boom comes in at No. 17 on this list. 

Kofi has more of a fanbase than Bourne does and is more likely to be OK as a singles competitor once Air Boom eventually breaks up.

Kingston is one of those guys that will simply never turn heel but will always be a fan favorite because of his bubbly personality and high flying ability. 

While this is great and he will always have his loyal fanbase, his lack of diversity in his character may mean he never becomes a world champion in the WWE.

However, as a mid carder, they don't come much better then Kingston.  

16. Rey Mysterio

While Mysterio has been off the air for a while with an injury, it would be a mistake to overlook him for this list. 

Mysterio will always be one of the most over superstars with the crowd and still is great in the ring even though he is nowhere near where he was in his prime. 

Many people may forget but Mysterio was actually WWE champion over the summer, although his reign lasted just a few hours. Despite this, having Mysterio win the eight-man tournament for the title showed the WWE's faith in him, when they could have easily just given the title to The Miz to set up a heel-face title match between him and Cena.

When Mysterio gets back he could easily be once again inserted in the Main event if the WWE needs a face contender for the championship.

Many people also expect Mysterio to battle with Sin Cara at WrestleMania to pass the torch to the next potentially great masked wrestler in the WWE. 

15. Kane

While the "It Begins" promos have been taking much of the attention as of late, another series of promos have been coming on to our televisions during WWE programming lately.

Those promos are prompting the return of Kane and are teasing that he may come back with his mask like he had for had for the majority of his career.

Many will say that Kane has lost some of his luster once he lost his mask and I would tend to agree with that. But Kane has still been an effective worker throughout his career and has shown an ability to shine as both a heel and a face.

Kane even had an unexpected reign as World Champion in 2010, showing he still has what it takes to be at the top of the company. I for one, can't wait for his return (especially with the mask) and one final feud with his brother, The Undertaker.

14. R-Truth

R-Truth benefited from one of the best heel turns in recent memory.

Since turning heel Truth was given shots at the WWE Championship, and joined one of the most dynamic partnership of the year when he teamed with The Miz to form Awesome Truth.

Awesome Truth was a hilarious but also deadly combination that got to main event Survivor Series against the team of The Rock and John Cena.

However, Miz turned on Truth on RAW two weeks ago, which we later found out was because Truth became the latest superstar to be suspended for testing positive for marijuana.

This was a devastating blow for Truth who will likely be written as a face once he returns which kills the momentum he had built up as a heel.

However, Truth proved in that time period that he absolutely has what it takes to be a top WWE superstar. 

13. Alberto Del Rio

The Mexican aristocrat Alberto Del Rio falls in at 13 on my list of the best WWE superstars.

Many might be surprised that he is so low considering he is a multi-time WWE Champion in the last four months.  I don't dislike Del Rio as a WWE superstar, I just find his character to have become stale and I'm not really sold on him being a credible enough WWE Champion.

Del Rio is good enough in the ring, and I think in time once he gets better on the mic and becomes a more devilish heel character, he can draw some heat from the crowd and become a good champion.

I think he was rushed to the big time though which is why he's so low on this list. 

12. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan was quickly becoming irrelevant earlier in the fall after winning SmackDown's Money in the Bank briefcase, but he has since been built up nicely. 

Bryan cashed in his briefcase on SmackDown a few weeks back and for a brief few minutes it seemed like Bryan was one of the more unlikely World Champions in recent memory until Theodore Long took it away from him on a technicality. 

Bryan is an Internet darling, with his great wrestling ability, and he is better on the mic than people give him credit for. 

In a year or two, Bryan might be a multiple-time World Champion in the WWE and one of the top five superstars in the business. For now he'll have to settle for twelfth, but he is certainly on the rise. 

11. Zack Ryder

The Internet Champion Zack Ryder might very well be more then just that come TLC.

Ryder finally gets his long awaited chance at the United States Championship as he faces off against Dolph Ziggler for the strap in Baltimore.  

Ryder's road to his current success has been unusual to say the least. Unlike most other superstars who get built up by the company, Ryder did it almost by himself with his popular Youtube series.

Ryder went from being a low carder that is almost never on TV, to being someone who main events RAW and is going after the United States Championship.

Ryder is hugely popular with the crowd, which makes up for some shortcomings he has in the ring. The jury is still out on whether Ryder can ever be a main event talent but for now no one is hotter in the WWE then him. 

10. Mark Henry, World Heavyweight Champion

Mark Henry certainly has paid his dues in the business over the course of his 15-year run in the WWE.

Henry was nothing more then a mid carder for the majority of his career until this year, when his monster heel persona carried him all the way to the World Heavyweight Championship (which he still currently holds) for the first time in his career.

It was without a doubt a special moment for Henry, and he has done a credible job as champion since winning it, defending it successfully against Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and the Big Show so far.

Henry is far from the best in ring worker. He is slow and methodical, but he is powerful and his world's strongest slam is one of the better finishers out there today.

Who knows how long Henry's reign will last, and due to his age plus the new up and coming talent, it is unlikely The World's Strongest Man will have more then one or two go arounds as World Champion. However, Henry has proven he can be at the top of the WWE, even if it took him 15 years to do so. 

9. Cody Rhodes, Intercontinental Champion

The current Intercontinental Champion, Cody Rhodes, is one of the fastest rising stars in the WWE today.

Rhodes has an opportunity with his talent to be more successful then his father Dusty or his half brother Goldust by the time he is done in the WWE.

Rhodes has proven he has what it takes already to compete with the best, as he feuded with former Legacy leader Randy Orton recently including a memorable street fight on SmackDown.

Rhodes brought back the classic IC belt when he became champion and promised to bring back the legitimacy of the title. Although he has not defended it as much as I would have liked, I certainly think Rhodes has done that.

Now Rhodes is facing off against one of the more popular WWE personalities Booker T at TLC for his Intercontinental Championship, which he will likely win to put him even more over.

Rhodes has all the makings of a future World Champion and it may happen very soon. 

8. Christian

Captain Charisma comes in at No. 8 on my list of the Top WWE superstars.

Christian has been around for over a decade and can still bring it in the ring as well as on the mic, as was shown by his summer long feud with Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Christian has won the world title twice since coming back to the WWE, and he has done great in his whiny heel gimmick.

While many got tired of his "one more match" claims, every time he got that one more match he showed that he still has what it takes.

Christian has been out with an injury for a while now, but I for one can't wait for his return to see what angle he gets involved with next. 

7. Wade Barrett

From the look, to the wrestling ability, to the gimmick, Wade Barrett just has the it factor as a WWE Superstar.

Barrett never has captured a World Title yet, but now that he is being built back up with his "Barrett Barrage," it seems like only a matter of time at this point before Barrett becomes a World Heavyweight or WWE Champion.

Barrett is currently feuding with Randy Orton, widely regarded to be SmackDown's No. 1 superstar. If he can manage to come out on top of that feud at TLC, then he might be the next No. 1 contender for the title once it turns over to a face champion.

6. Sheamus

When Sheamus turned face in the late summer, many people wondered whether he could succeed as much as he did after bursting onto the company as a face and becoming a multi-time WWE Champion.

Those questions were quickly answered as Sheamus quickly became one of the WWE's most popular superstars.

Any way you cut it, Sheamus is one of the biggest names in the company and likely will be for many years to come. The "Great White" and "Celtic Warrior" has proven that he can get it done against anyone in the WWE ring. 

5. Dolph Ziggler, United States Champion

Many will believe I'm jumping the gun putting Dolph Ziggler in the top five, but I truly believe that Dolph Ziggler is one of the best superstars in the business despite only being a mid card champion right now. 

Ziggler has shown recently with matches with Randy Orton and CM Punk that he is one of the best in-ring performers there is, and he has improved drastically in his mic work.

Ziggler will likely lose the US title to Zack Ryder soon, which will allow him to move on to a feud with CM Punk for the WWE Championship. That would be spectacular.  

I truly think that Dolph Ziggler will be a multiple-time World Champion, and he has everything it takes to be one of the best in this era. 

He's gone a long way since spirit squad.

4. The Miz

Really.

I understand that I will get a lot of hate in the comments for this selection, in fact I'll probably get them for my 4-2 picks.

However, I truly believe the best heel in the company is The Miz. He is probably the second-best mic worker in the company and has the ability to draw a reaction from the crowd, which many heels today lack.

Miz is also sold short on his in-ring abilities. No one ever said he was the greatest, but he is absolutely capable of putting on a great match.  Miz's run with the WWE Championship was very memorable, and I look forward to him getting more championship reigns in the future.

Considering where he came from, it's amazing Miz is where he is today, but I for one believe in his transformation into one of the WWE's best. 

3. John Cena

This one is another "controversial" selection, but there is no denying that John Cena is one of the biggest names in the WWE today.

Love him, or love to hate him, there is very little in between on Cena (except for me). Cena is hated by most members of the IWC, but personally I believe that Cena is a credible champion and his character is fine. 

It is the booking the bothers be about Cena. Ask yourself, if Cena was only a five-time champion, would you have as much venom for him?

I would like to see a Cena heel turn as much as the next guy, but as a face Cena appeals to the younger audience and that's okay.  The older crowd can continue to hate Cena, but that may not be the case if his character was changed and he became a heel.

The other major knock on Cena is that he can't wrestle, which also is untrue. Like Miz, no one says Cena can hold a candle to CM Punk or Daniel Bryan in terms of wrestling ability, but he can hold his own and has shown he is capable of putting on great matches.

Cena is the Hulk Hogan of this era whether people want to admit it or not, and he is not going anywhere anytime soon. 

2. Randy Orton

The Viper is another guy who is certainly drawn much ire from wrestling's internet community. 

But Orton is the number two or three guy in the company right now. There is no doubt about that, and he has shown throughout the course of his career that he is one of the best.

From Orton's early days with evolution, to his legend killer days to the psychopath character he now portrays, Randy has grown as a superstar as time has gone on.

His promos can be a bit boring, but once he steps foot in the ring, there are few who can do it better than he can.

Also, there is no denying that Orton is hugely popular with the fans. It can be argued that Orton draws the biggest reaction in the WWE once his "I Hear Voices" song hits.

Randy Orton, like Cena, will likely never go long without being around the World Title, which will bother many people. However, Orton has shown that there is a reason he has had all the success he has managed in his career, which has led to him being the number two WWE Superstar today. 

1. JTG

Pop a 40 and check your rollies! because JTG is your Number one WWE Superstar.

Okay, just kidding.

1. CM Punk

When making this list, there were many spots I went back and forth on, but the number one spot was never in doubt.

The only superstar I ever had in mind was CM Punk.

The voice of the voiceless, and current WWE Champion, is without a doubt the best superstar in the company.

After his famous shoot promo this summer, Punk has been riding a wave of unstoppable momentum that has had him win the WWE Championship three different times and main event most PPV's. 

Punk is wildly popular and for good reason. Not only is he arguably the best pure wrestler, but he is also the best talker without a doubt in the company. 

While Punk's rise has not had his desired effect of completely reshaping the company, he has certainly done his part as the WWE's top superstar.