Vaquer Tops PWI Women's 250; Moné Falls to No. 4
Summary: Pro Wrestling Illustrated named WWE's Stephanie Vaquer the top woman in its 2026 Women's 250 on Thursday, Nov. 12. AEW's Willow Nightingale is second, Thekla third and last year's No. 1, Mercedes Moné, fourth.
The quick version
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated released its 2026 Women's 250 on Thursday, Nov. 12, with WWE's Stephanie Vaquer at No. 1, per Bleacher Report and Features of Wrestling.
- Willow Nightingale is No. 2, Thekla No. 3 and Mercedes Moné No. 4. Moné was No. 1 on last year's list, per Bleacher Report.
- The ranking covers Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026, per Features of Wrestling's quote of PWI's criteria.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated named WWE's Stephanie Vaquer the No. 1 women's wrestler of 2026 in its annual PWI Women's 250 on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. Bleacher Report and Features of Wrestling both carried the list on the day. PWI's own store lists the issue as the "Holiday 2026 - PWI Women's 250 (Stephanie Vaquer)" edition, a preorder at $10.99 with a digital edition. We did not see PWI's full list. It is a paid magazine issue, so the top 10 below is as printed by the two outlets, which match.
The top 10
- Stephanie Vaquer (WWE)
- Willow Nightingale (AEW)
- Thekla (AEW)
- Mercedes Moné (AEW)
- Saya Kamitani (Stardom)
- Liv Morgan (WWE)
- Persephone (AEW and CMLL, per Bleacher Report)
- Syuri (Stardom)
- Rhea Ripley (WWE)
- Kris Statlander (AEW)
By our count from those labels, five of the 10 work for AEW, three for WWE and two for Stardom.
How the list is judged
Features of Wrestling quotes PWI's criteria: in-ring achievement, influence, technical ability, depth and quality of competition, and activity, with a minimum of 10 singles matches, or six in six months, in the period. The period ran from Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026.
What changed from last year
Vaquer was No. 5 on the list in 2024 and 2025, per Bleacher Report. Moné was No. 1 last year, and the 2025 issue carried Moné and Toni Storm on its cover, per PWI's store. Ripley was No. 1 on the first Women's 250 in 2023, per Bleacher Report.
Bleacher Report says Vaquer held the WWE Women's World Championship twice in the period, for 237 days in all. The first reign lasted 210 days. The second ended in under a month, and it began when she beat Liv Morgan in Chile, per Bleacher Report. Features of Wrestling dates that win to September 2026. Bleacher Report's writer calls the pick "controversial to some" and argues there is a strong case for Moné at No. 1. That is the outlet's view. The list is PWI's own ranking, and it is a judgment, not a result.
What to watch next
The full list of 250 and the rest of PWI's year-end awards. PWI's 2026 awards ballot comes with the Holiday issue, per its store.
Source: Bleacher Report (Mike Chiari) and Features of Wrestling (Alex Hunt), both read in full, with PWI's store page for the issue and its blog and ratings pages, read Nov. 13. PWI's list itself is not free online and we did not read it. Where the two outlets differ on detail, we say so. We did not contact PWI. Nothing in this story is a rumor: PWI published the ranking.
Sources
- Bleacher Report (Mike Chiari), "WWE's Stephanie Vaquer, AEW's Willow Nightingale Lead Top 10 of PWI Women's Top 250 List for 2026", Nov. 12, 2026 (the top 10, last year's and 2024's results, Vaquer's reigns). https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25532615-wwes-stephanie-vaquer-aews-willow-nightingale-lead-top-10-pwi-womens-top-250-list-2026
- Features of Wrestling (Alex Hunt), "Stephanie Vaquer Tops 2026 PWI Women's 250, Who Made The Top 10?", Nov. 12, 2026 (the top 10, PWI's period and criteria). https://featuresofwrestling.com/stephanie-vaquer-tops-2026-pwi-womens-250-who-made-the-top-10/
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated, "Holiday 2026 - PWI Women's 250 (Stephanie Vaquer)", store page, read Nov. 13, 2026, no date shown (the issue, the price, the awards ballot). https://pwi-online.com/product/womens-250-stephanie-vaquer/
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated, store search for "women's 250", read Nov. 13, 2026 (the 2025 issue with Moné and Storm). https://pwi-online.com/?s=women%27s+250&post_type=product
- WrestlingNews.com, "Stephanie Vaquer Returns to the Ring at WWE Live Event", Nov. 6, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/stephanie-vaquer-returns-wwe-live-event/
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read the Bleacher Report and Features of Wrestling articles in full, compared the two top 10 lists, and checked our own site for an earlier story on the Women's 250 (none). We did not read PWI's full list or contact PWI.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.