Stephanie Vaquer has been named the No. 1 wrestler in the 2026 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Women’s 250 rankings, topping a list that includes the biggest stars from WWE, AEW and promotions around the world. The rankings were published on November 12, 2026.
PWI’s annual Women’s 250 evaluates performers over a defined period rather than a single calendar year, and Vaquer’s résumé during that window made her case difficult to ignore. She entered the evaluation period already holding the WWE Women’s Championship, then lost and recaptured the title before the cutoff, giving her a body of work that included both defending and reclaiming a top WWE title.
According to Fightful, Vaquer was champion at the start of the period under review, then won the WWE Women’s Championship again at WWE Money in the Bank during that same window. She later lost the title before the evaluation closed, meaning her final ranking reflects a stretch in which she both carried the championship into the period and fought her way back to it rather than simply holding it uninterrupted.
That kind of championship turnover, winning, losing and winning again, is often viewed within the industry as evidence of a wrestler being positioned as a focal point of a division rather than a passing titleholder. PWI’s rankings have long been used as an independent, outside-the-promotion measure of a wrestler’s standing, and finishing at number one places Vaquer above every other woman competing in WWE, AEW and the wider global scene for the period PWI assessed.
Both Ringside News and NoDQ confirmed the same top placement for Vaquer, with Ringside News noting she finished ahead of some of the biggest names in women’s wrestling across multiple promotions. Fightful’s report did not detail the full order of the remaining rankings beyond confirming Vaquer’s position at the top.
The honor arrives as Vaquer continues to be positioned as one of WWE’s marquee women’s stars, with her Money in the Bank title win already a notable milestone on her record before this latest recognition. No further details on her current championship status beyond the reported loss during the evaluation window were included in the available reporting.
