WWE Power Rankings: Rating Professional Wrestling's Elite

With the NFL season about to kickoff Thursday evening, many websites and writers feel compelled to rank the elite quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and defenses the league has to offer.

As fun and entertaining as those articles can be, it left me wondering about professional wrestling and which of the sports' performers could be considered the best-of-the-best, the elite if you will.

Join me as I rank the elite performers in the world of sports-entertainment, based on in-ring work, microphone skills, overall popularity, longevity and marketability. These Superstars are the cream of the crop, the most immediately recognizable and celebrated stars the industry has to offer.

Honorable Mention: Mr. Anderson

Mr. Anderson entered the "elite" conversation as 2010 came to a close and he managed to overcome several poor booking decisions to remain at the top of Total Nonstop Action/Impact Wrestling.

One of the No. 2 promotion's top acts for well over a year now, Anderson has cemented himself as one of the industry's top performers.

Like Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys, however, Anderson has proven to be often-criticized and has failed to really match the hype surrounding him.

At times, the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion has proven himself to be one of the most entertaining stars in the business. He has solid microphone skills and his in-ring work has greatly improved from his days with World Wrestling Entertainment. The Lockdown 2010 match with Kurt Angle ranks among the best matches from any company in North America in the past two or three years.

As great as Anderson has proven to be, he has also proven himself capable of dropping the ball. Following the tremendous performance against Angle in the steel cage at Lockdown, Anderson followed up with several disappointing outings against Rob Van Dam and Sting.

Add to that a largely unsatisfactory TNA title reign and an increasingly stale character and you have the very up-and-down roller coaster of a performer Anderson has gained the reputation for being.

This inconsistency lands Anderson just outside of the top ten with room, however, to grow if he can manage to become more well-rounded.

10. The Miz

One year ago, The Miz would not have a place in these rankings. After all, he had established himself as a solid in-ring performer and an entertaining heel but he had yet to really make that jump to main event Superstar. He was the United States Champion and enjoying a program with Daniel Bryan.

Fast forward a year and Miz has quickly become one of the top performers in all of sports-entertainment. He has been in the main event of Wrestlemania, has become a media powerhouse for the company, and is arguably the most over heel on either Raw or Smackdown.

Miz has worked extremely hard, advancing up the ranks in WWE, since his debut with the company in 2006. No one expected the level of success he has achieved and that alone is a testament to the determination he has to be one of the greats. In the future, expect Miz to only advance higher in these rankings.

9. Sting

Sting remains elite in name value only. While no longer the in-ring competitor he once was, and with a character as mind-numbingly idiotic as any in recent history, there is still something to Sting's undeniable appeal. He remains one of the most popular stars in the business and TNA's one true draw.

There is little Sting can continue to offer TNA in terms of in-ring contributions or significant, quality character development but he still functions as the promotion's most decorated and celebrated star. His presence provides the company a sense of legitimacy that only Hulk Hogan and Kurt Angle can match.

His matches are treated as big deals and his presence on any card brings with it an aura of excitement. At its most fundamental, that is what wrestling is and for that reason alone, Sting remains one of the elite performers in the sport.

8. AJ Styles

Arguably the most gifted and talented professional wrestler on the planet today.

AJ Styles has become the face of Impact Wrestling over the course of its nine year existence. The reason many caught onto and became fans of the promotion in the first place, AJ has shown the ability to consistently deliver high-quality matches with an array of stars. Some have been big, some small.

Some were highly talented, while others had no real business performing in the ring. Whatever the case, AJ cemented his legacy as the "godfather" of the company.

Today, Styles continues to be one of the top competitors in the world. While Impact Wrestling's television program has devolved into a story-heavy product, AJ brings quality in-ring work to the table and continues to remind fans that the business still is, and always will be, built on the backs of the real professional wrestlers.

One of the most exciting acts in the entire industry, AJ looks primed to continue on as one of the top 10 talents on any roster, in any country, in the world.

7. The Undertaker

It has always been said that the real, true elite performers excel in high pressure, big-match situations. No one man exemplifies that statement more than the Undertaker.

No longer a full-time performer has not hurt "The Dead Man's" status as one of the elite wrestlers in the world. In 2009 and 2010, Undertaker was a part of the Match of the Year, recognized for his series of great contests against the now-retired Shawn Michaels.

At WrestleMania 27, he was apart of what many believe could be another Match of the Year candidate against Triple H. Despite his rather light body of work in the past three to four years, the quality of that work is at an all-time high.

The Undertaker's days as an active competitor with WWE are nearing an end. His body no longer can handle the stress and punishment that a wrestling career entails. But to not include him in the rankings of the sport's elite performers would be a mistake.

6. Rey Mysterio

The best word to describe Rey Mysterio's claim to elite stature is consistency. Injured or healthy, Rey has been and continues to be one of the most consistent performers on the WWE roster.

Add to that his status as one of the most popular, most marketed, and most merchandised stars in the world and you have a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer.

Rey's recent matches with CM Punk, The Miz, Cody Rhodes and John Cena were a part of a roll that the legendary masked luchador had been on, indicated an increased determination not to fall into the pack.

Regardless of his spot on the card, or his position on the card, Rey remains a vital part of the roster and one of the great in-ring performers of his time.

5. Triple H

"The Game" has seen his in-ring role diminish substantially since the spring of 2010, wrestling in only one match prior to his up-coming contest with CM Punk at Night of Champions.

However, Triple H remains one of the most powerful stars in the entire wrestling world, largely due to his relationship to the McMahon family, but also because of his legendary career.

Going back as far as SummerSlam of 2009, Triple H has proven to be as solid an in-ring performer as he has been since returning from his initial quadriceps injury in 2002. At that 2009 pay-per-view event, D-Generation X battled Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in the first of what would be several tag team encounters.

From there, DX wrapped up a short program with Chris Jericho and Big Show before moving to singles action and a feud with relative newcomer Sheamus.

Underrated for his work with the younger stars in the last two years, Triple H helped Rhodes, DiBiase, and Sheamus gain immediate legitimacy and traction with WWE fans.

Currently, Triple H prepares for a showdown with CM Punk at Night of Champions, a match that could challenge for Match of the Year honors, if "The Game's" showing is anything close to the work he put in against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 27.

Too often, fans are quick to write off aging performers. Like the Undertaker, Triple H has displayed the ability to continue performing at a level higher than the majority of the young talent that populate the roster. Love him or hate him, for that, you must respect him.

4. Kurt Angle

Much like Peyton Manning of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, there is no professional wrestler who plies his craft with as much pin-point accuracy and technical prowess as Kurt Angle.

The current TNA World Heavyweight Champion, at age 42, remains one of the truly great in-ring performers and one of the few men that can be counted on to deliver a very good-to-great match on every pay-per-view event.

Despite his body wearing down on him, Angle consistently gives everything he physically can to provide great matches for the company and its fans.

Angle's recent work with Sting has proven to be among "The Icon's" recent best and his contests with Ken Anderson rarely disappoint. Kurt has had spectacular battles with AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, and Jeff Hardy in the last year.

With potential matches against any one of the four Bound for Glory series competitors (Bully Ray, Gunner, Robert Roode and James Storm) on the horizon, a slew of new challenges await Impact Wrestling's top dog.

3. CM Punk

In the span of one summer, CM Punk has elevated himself from "very good" to "elite." Not unlike the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers, Punk has exploded onto the scene and has used a weeks-long hot streak to earn a spot amongst the best of the best the professional wrestling industry has to offer.

But Punk did not get suddenly hot. CM Punk has been amongst the business' most talented and skillful stars for nearly three years now.

Since engaging in a summer-long rivalry with Jeff Hardy over the World Heavyweight Championship in 2009, on the Smackdown brand, CM Punk has been one of the bright spots in an often-criticized WWE.

His microphone abilities are second to none and his in-ring work has certainly taken a giant leap since the faith was put in him this past June to carry a major storyline.

Unlike others on the list, CM Punk may never again be as hot as he is right now. No other WWE Superstar has elicited as much emotion from the wrestling community as the "Straight Edge Savior" has in the last three months.

He has people caring about wrestling again. Whether he can parlay that into becoming the elite of the elite is the question.

2. John Cena

John Cena is THE guy in WWE. He's the poster boy, the main event act. He is featured on more promotional materials, on more merchandise, and in more company publications than any other current Superstar.

He is the most immediately recognizable, full-time professional wrestler in the world today. He is the unquestioned main event of nearly every WWE pay-per-view event.

So why is John Cena not ranked No. 1 on this list?

Despite Cena's string of solid, mostly-quality matches, there is no denying the significant fall-off of John's in-ring work in the last year, year-and-a-half. Since the Nexus angle began last summer, and outside of his two anticipated showdowns with the red-hot CM Punk in July and August, Cena's in-ring work has been greatly lacking.

At two different points this spring, Cena had the opportunity to prove his worth in the ring, against two stars new to the main event, and he failed tremendously. At WrestleMania 27, John Cena and The Miz were a part of one of the most boring, tedious main events in WrestleMania history.

And at Capitol Punishment, the leader of the "Cenation" was unable to elevate his match with R-Truth past a Monday Night Raw-quality encounter. In both cases, Cena appeared disinterested and the matches devolved into the cookie-cutter formula a number of his matches have been accused of including.

That is not to say that John Cena is not one of the top two elite stars in the industry. The experience that was CM Punk vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank would not have been the same if it were not for Cena's status as the most beloved and, at the same time, most hated star on the roster.

It is also questionable whether Punk would have fared as well with the general public, the casual WWE fan if John Cena was not the polar opposite he was paired against.

There is no bigger star, in the eyes of every wrestling fan (child, parent, Internet smart mark) than John Cena.

1. Randy Orton

There is no professional wrestler in North America better than Randy Orton at this moment.

I understand that one statement will create a reaction. Whether you are a fan or you despise the "Viper," it is hard to argue with the streak of phenomenal matches he has been responsible for in the last year.

His series of matches with Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship this summer were lost in the shuffle created by the CM Punk push but will hopefully be remembered down the road as the phenomenal near-classics they really were.

Add to that better-than-expected matches involving Mark Henry and Kane on Smackdown and you have a star that, in terms of in-ring contributions, simply cannot be touched right now.

Randy's recent match with Dolph Ziggler immediately thrust the United States Champion into the public eye and exposed Ziggler as one of the company's brightest and most underrated.

Orton's work with CM Punk in early 2011 and Wade Barrett and Sheamus in the fall of 2010 was amongst the best of their individual periods as well.

Randy Orton reigns as the No. 1 elite talent in professional wrestling, however, because of his importance to his brand. While John Cena is surrounded by highly-talented, "name" stars on Raw, and Kurt Angle is joined by the likes of Sting, Mr. Anderson, and AJ Styles on Impact Wrestling, Randy Orton is quite literally left to carry the Smackdown brand.

Quite frankly, the Smackdown brand goes where "The Viper" goes and it can be seen in the level of Orton's work since he was drafted in April. It is almost as if Orton welcomes the challenge of being the face...the only face...of the Friday night brand.

As the NFL regular season approaches, most often turn their attention towards Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and celebrate him for his consistent greatness.

In the last 12 months, Randy Orton has developed into the company's most consistently great talent, rarely disappointing when put in a big match situation. He carries an entire brand on his shoulders and is trusted to carry lesser talent to spectacular results.

At the age of 31, Orton is a sure-fire bet to remain at or near the top of these or any other professional wrestling rankings for years to come.