Who is the most gifted in-ring performer in the WWE?

[Dave]

I've been thinking about this for a while now but after seeing Tyler Bate versus the Velveteen Dream on NXT last week, it has been even more prevalent in my mind.

I honestly think that Bate might be the most gifted in-ring performer that the WWE has right now. He's on a losing streak right, reportedly down to turning down a call from the WWE at the last minute, but the punishment last long and Bate will be the back to winning championships before too long.

Even in a losing effort against Dream, Bate looked fantastic. He's strong, he's agile, he's athletic - he's go it all. But more over, he's only 21 years old! That's absolutely unreal. The guy is talented way beyond his years and, I think, only Styles is as gifted as him in a WWE ring at present.

What about you? Who's head and shoulders above the rest?

[Jack-Hammer]

There's a case to be made for Bate. As Dave pointed out, the kid's just 21 years old and that's potentially a huge upside. He seems mature well beyond his years and he's obviously worked hard to get his craft up to the level it is. Granted, I haven't seen a ton of his stuff but I've watched everything he's done in WWE and while that hasn't been a huge amount, he's yet to have a poor match.

If this was 10-12 years ago, Bate is someone who'd have never gotten the time of day in WWE but wrestling as a whole has changed and been changing. The era of the big man is pretty much over with at this point, yet Vince is still stubbornly holding onto the past because....well he's able to, quite frankly. Bate isn't a big guy: he's maybe 5'9" probably weighs around 180 lbs., a muscular 180 lbs. but still just 180. The average American male is about 5'9" and 180 lbs., so Bate is literally a normal sized man. However, indie wrestling has been growing over the last 15 years and has been able to reach bigger audiences due to social media; plus, a lot of the top guys in the ring to come along in the last 15 years are "normal" sized guys or wrestlers who're generally on the smaller side compared to guys like Hogan, Savage, Warrior, Hart, Hall, Nash, Austin, Rock, Taker, Foley, Triple H, Angle, Cena, Batista and others. Guys like AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Chad Gable, Sami Zayn, Roderick Strong, Hideo Itami, etc. are all guys who're, realistically, in that 180-210 lbs. range.

When it comes to someone who can match up with Bate in terms of athleticism, agility and strength, not to mention technical knowhow, Styles is someone who's on that level, maybe even higher, and I think Chad Gable can match up with him there as well. We know Gable is fast and is great at technical stuff, but you have to admit that it's pretty damned impressive to see him delivering the Chaos Theory move to guys like Rusev and Big E, both of whom are legitimately close to around 300 lbs.. To lift the dead weight of Rusev or Big E off the mat in what's essentially a modified dead lift and hurl them up and over is pretty sick strength. I also think Gable is someone in which we haven't really seen half of what he's capable of. I'd love to see him get a 15-20 minute singles bout sometime against someone like Styles, Zayn, Owens, Rollins, Balor, Cena or Cesaro.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I'll go with A.J. Styles right now. Rollins, Balor, and Zayn a close 2nd.

[Slyfox696]

John Cena and AJ Styles are the two that immediately come to my mind. Cena is more of a part-timer at this point, so I could understand disqualifying him, but he's still tops when it comes to getting the best out of someone. The same goes AJ Styles, except Styles is still active.

[Fallout]

In terms of the current, active roster, all of my selections have been named, such as Styles, Cena, Balor, Cesaro and Gable. So looking retrospectively, I think Kurt Angle is the greatest in-ring performer of all-time.

Angle has everything required to be a phenomenal athlete. Agility, dexterity, strength, technical ability, good understanding of wrestling psychology, and the ability to work phenomenal matches with all kinds of performers. A dark horse candidate for my favourite match of all-time is Angle vs HBK at WM21. I don't even remember the story behind it (something about brand supremacy?), but I remember the match vividly because of the storytelling and sheer abundance of talent in the ring. At his peak, Angle was a marvel to behold in the ring.

[Yaz]

John Cena and AJ Styles are the two that immediately come to my mind. Cena is more of a part-timer at this point, so I could understand disqualifying him, but he's still tops when it comes to getting the best out of someone. The same goes AJ Styles, except Styles is still active.

Legit question, do you still feel Cena fits the description or do you base that on his last few years before the part time status? I ask because I do feel like Cena is right there with Styles in being able to produce an entertaining match with anyone (he did it with Khali ffs), but since he started the part time deal, I feel like his matches have been a bit formulaic in that they are often just 12-18 minutes of finisher one-upsmanship.

[Slyfox696]

Legit question, do you still feel Cena fits the description or do you base that on his last few years before the part time status? I ask because I do feel like Cena is right there with Styles in being able to produce an entertaining match with anyone (he did it with Khali ffs), but since he started the part time deal, I feel like his matches have been a bit formulaic in that they are often just 12-18 minutes of finisher one-upsmanship.
I feel Cena still fits the description, but what Cena is asked to do has changed.

In professional wrestling, there does come a point where the body simply cannot do the same things it once did (See: The Undertaker), but the fact is that in wrestling experience is a VASTLY more important factor in quality work than youth. It was not that long ago Cena was working matches with the likes of Kevin Owens and AJ Styles.

[Dark Grin]

6 months ago, I would've had Neville at #1. Now it's Rollins, Cesaro, AJ, Owens, and...... Harper. He just needs a chance to shine.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and AJ Styles. Those are the undisputed Top 3, and no one else really comes close.

[DNA 2.0]

A great wrestler is not someone who is a great technician or a high flyer or whatever.. but someone who has the ability to hold the crowd's emotions in his hands.

In this aspect, Cena and Styles are the elite. Nobody can really touch them.

Now.. gifted and best are two different terms. Cena was never gifted, but he became the best. Orton was gifted.

Right now the most gifted has to be AJ. Is the something that AJ cannot do??? I thought Punk and Bryan were great and I thought Bret and Shawn were amazing, but AJ is just unreal.