Summary

A newly published top-20 ranking of the greatest WWE wrestlers of all time placed "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the No. 1 spot.

Austin finished ahead of Hulk Hogan, The Rock, John Cena, and Roman Reigns in the top five. The full ranking also included names such as Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, Randy Savage, Kurt Angle, Roddy Piper, Edge, Randy Orton, Andre the Giant, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Mick Foley, and Becky Lynch.

Top 20 ranking

1. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 2. Hulk Hogan 3. The Rock 4. John Cena 5. Roman Reigns 6. Undertaker 7. Triple H 8. Shawn Michaels 9. Bret Hart 10. Bruno Sammartino 11. Randy Savage 12. Kurt Angle 13. Roddy Piper 14. Edge 15. Randy Orton 16. Andre the Giant 17. CM Punk 18. Chris Jericho 19. Mick Foley 20. Becky Lynch

Quote from the writeup

"Stone Cold Steve Austin was the face of the biggest and most memorable professional wrestling boom period, The Attitude Era. Austin brought the realism and rawness that the business needed in the mid 1990's.

Helping WWE push past WCW and win the Monday Night Wars, 'The Rattlesnake' and his era-defining feud with Vince McMahon became the greatest feud in the history of the business. His other fantastic feuds with The Rock and Triple H left an unforgettable mark on the company that is often talked about to this day.

Austin tops this list because without him, there might not be a WWE at the top of the industry today. His legacy is untouchable and worthy of being the greatest WWE wrestler of all time."

What Austin's placement says about WWE history

Putting Austin above Hogan, The Rock, and Cena shows how heavily WWE's biggest business boom still shapes any all-time debate. The ranking puts the Attitude Era standard at the center of the conversation, with Austin still framed as the defining figure of that period.

Roman Reigns landing at No. 5 also stands out. It suggests modern stars are already being measured against Austin's level of influence, which is part of why his name still surfaces in present-day comparisons, including when LA Knight discussed his own WWE rise against names like Steve Austin.

Sources

As reported by Sports Illustrated