The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from United Kingdom

This page contains a list of the greatest British Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,027 Wrestlers, 32 of which were born in United Kingdom. This makes United Kingdom the birth place of the 6th most number of Wrestlers behind Canada, and Georgia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary British Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous British Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of British Wrestlers.

1. Dave Finlay (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 64.49, Dave Finlay is the most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages on wikipedia.

David John Finlay (born 31 January 1958) is an Irish former professional wrestler from Northern Ireland. He is signed to WWE as a trainer and assistant coach at the Performance Center, as well as a producer. He is best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1996 to 2000 under the ring name Fit Finlay, and in WWE from 2005 to 2010 under the mononymous name Finlay. Finlay debuted in 1974, and has held over 20 championships around the world throughout his career, including the WCW World Television Championship and the WWE United States Championship.

2. Wade Barrett (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 59.32, Wade Barrett is the 2nd most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English-American former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a colour commentator on the Raw brand. Barrett won the first season of NXT in 2010 and made his main roster debut on Raw later that year, rising to prominence as the leader of The Nexus, a villainous faction composed of the remaining NXT first season rookies. He headlined five PPV events for WWE in 2010—SummerSlam, Night of Champions, Bragging Rights, Survivor Series, and TLC—three of which saw him unsuccessfully challenge for the WWE Championship. In 2011, he formed The Corre, a short-lived group with former Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel as well as Ezekiel Jackson. After they disbanded, he would go on to become a five-time Intercontinental Champion. In 2013, Barrett's ring name was amended to Bad News Barrett and he adopted the character of someone who took immense pleasure in delivering bad news. Upon winning the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, his ring name was changed to King Barrett and he began portraying an arrogant royal character. He notably portrayed a villain for his entire WWE career, regardless of the other changes made to his character. He left WWE in 2016 and has not wrestled since, though he has appeared in non-wrestling roles on the international independent circuit, such as a commentator for World of Sport Wrestling and a general manager for Defiant Wrestling under his real name. He returned to WWE as a commentator for NXT in 2020. Bennett became a naturalized American citizen in 2021. Bennett made his acting debut in the action film Dead Man Down (2013) and has since starred in action films such as Eliminators (2016), I Am Vengeance (2018), and I Am Vengeance: Retaliation (2020).

3. Drew McIntyre (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 57.17, Drew McIntyre is the 3rd most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish-American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began his career in 2001 in the United Kingdom with Scottish promotions British Championship Wrestling (BCW) and Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), and also performed in Ireland with Irish Whip Wrestling (IWW), all under his real name stylized as Drew Galloway; he is the inaugural ICW World Heavyweight Champion. He signed a development contract with WWE in 2007, took on the ring name Drew McIntyre, and was sent to its developmental territories Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) after appearances on both SmackDown and Raw. Using the moniker "The Chosen One", he returned to SmackDown in 2009 (two years since his first appearance on said brand), winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championship alongside "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. He would then be relegated to lower-card status until he was released from his WWE contract in 2014. Between 2014 and 2017, he worked once again under his real name in several independent promotions across the world, as well as returning to ICW, where he won the ICW World Heavyweight Championship for a second time and was inducted into the ICW Hall of Fame in 2018. He made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2015, becoming a one-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion and one-time Impact Grand Champion. He also performed in Evolve, where he was a one-time Evolve Champion and two-time Evolve Tag Team Champion. He was also a one-time Open the Freedom Gate Champion due to Evolve's partnership with Dragon Gate USA. Galloway also appeared in Pro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG) between 2015 and 2016. Galloway returned to WWE in 2017, once again as Drew McIntyre, and was assigned to NXT, where he won the NXT Championship once. Upon returning to WWE's main roster in 2018, he won the Raw Tag Team Championship alongside Dolph Ziggler, the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble match, the 2024 Men's Money in the Bank ladder match, two WWE Championships (the first coming in the main event of WrestleMania 36 - Night 2), and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL. He is the first British and only Scottish world champion in WWE history and the 31st Triple Crown champion.

4. Paige (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 56.39, Paige is the 4th most famous British Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Saraya-Jade Bevis (; born 17 August 1992) is an English professional wrestler. She is known for her time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performed mononymously as Saraya, and in WWE, performing under the ring name Paige. She was the youngest female champion in WWE history, a two-time WWE Divas Champion, and the inaugural NXT Women's Champion. She is also the first woman to hold both a WWE and NXT Women's Championship simultaneously. She is a former AEW Women's World Champion. In 2005, at the age of 13, Bevis made her debut under the ring name Britani Knight for her family's World Association of Wrestling (WAW) promotion. She went on to hold several championships on the European independent circuit. After talent scouting in England, WWE signed Bevis in 2011 and she began wrestling in its developmental systems, debuting in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2012 and later going on a winning streak in NXT. She made her surprise debut on the main roster in 2014 and immediately won the Divas Championship, making her the youngest Divas Champion at the age of 21. In 2015 and 2016, Bevis went on hiatus due to injury, undergoing neck surgery in October 2016. She suffered another neck injury in December 2017 that forced her into retirement. Following her retirement, she remained with WWE as a contributor to WWE-related programs and fulfilled managing roles until her contract with the company expired in July 2022. In September 2022, she signed with AEW and made her debut for the company at Grand Slam, where she was the leader of The Outcasts stable. At All In, she won the Women's World title in London. In 2012, Channel 4 produced a documentary about Bevis and her family called The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family, which was later adapted into the biographical sports comedy-drama film Fighting with My Family (2019), starring Florence Pugh as Bevis. She ranked No. 1 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Female 50 in 2014, and was named Diva of the Year by Rolling Stone that same year.

5. Davey Boy Smith (1962 - 2002)

With an HPI of 52.21, Davey Boy Smith is the 5th most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog. Smith won titles within the WWF in three decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s. Though he was never a world champion, Smith nevertheless headlined multiple pay-per-view events in the WWF and WCW, in which he challenged for the WWF and WCW World Heavyweight championships. He defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in the main event of SummerSlam 1992 at London's original Wembley Stadium; he also has the distinction of being the inaugural and longest reigning WWF European Champion in a total of 206 days, and to have held the title on the sole occasion where a match for that championship headlined a pay-per-view event, at One Night Only in 1997. Prior to finding singles success, Smith achieved stardom as one half of The British Bulldogs tag team, alongside the Dynamite Kid. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020.

6. Frederick Humphreys (1878 - 1954)

With an HPI of 51.63, Frederick Humphreys is the 6th most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Frederick Harkness Humphreys (28 January 1878 – 10 August 1954) was a British tug of war competitor and sport wrestler who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. He was also a constable in the City of London Police, collar number 970, as were two of his brothers. He was part of the British team City of London Police, which won two gold medals in 1908 and 1920, and the joint City of London Police-Metropolitan Police "K" Division British team, which won a silver medal in 1912. There were no games in 1916 due to World War I. He also competed in wrestling and took part in demonstration bouts around Europe and the United Kingdom. In the 1908 Olympic Greco-Roman super heavyweight competition he was eliminated in the first round and in the freestyle heavyweight event he was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In May 2013, some of his medals, including the 1912 silver and 1920 gold, as well as family photographs, were shown on an episode of a BBC television programme by two of his great-nieces. They stated that the whereabouts of his 1908 gold medal are unknown.

7. Neville (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 50.42, Neville is the 7th most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Benjamin Satterley (born 22 August 1986), better known by his ring name Pac (often stylised in all caps), is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders. He is a former one-time (and the inaugural) AEW International Champion and former two-time AEW World Trios Champion, at one point holding both the International and Trios titles simultaneously to become the first double champion in AEW history. Satterley is noted for his high-flying style and aerial attacks, which has earned him the nicknames "The Super Superman" and later "The Man That Gravity Forgot". He began his wrestling career under the ring name Pac in his native north east England with the Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF). After establishing himself throughout the country with promotions such as Real Quality Wrestling (RQW) and One Pro Wrestling (1PW), he began to perform overseas, most notably for American promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Chikara, as well as the Japanese promotion Dragongate, where he won the Open the Brave, Triangle, and Twin Gate Championship. He is a former PWG World Tag Team Champion and winner of PWG's inaugural Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. From 2012 to 2015, Satterley wrestled under the ring name Adrian Neville in NXT, the developmental territory of WWE. He won the NXT Tag Team Championship twice, with his first reign coming as one half of the inaugural champions with Oliver Grey and his second reign being with Corey Graves. He is also a one-time NXT Champion, making him the first man to have held both the NXT Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championship. He was promoted to the main roster under the shortened ring name Neville in 2015, and began competing in the cruiserweight division in 2016, becoming a record two-time (and longest-reigning) WWE Cruiserweight Champion. After leaving WWE in 2018, Satterley reverted to his previous ring name of Pac and returned to Dragongate, holding the Open the Dream Gate Championship for much of his time there and joining the villainous R.E.D. stable. He assumed the moniker of "The Bastard", which he continues to use. In 2019, he left Dragon Gate and signed with AEW, where he became a member of the Death Triangle alongside Penta El Zero M and Rey Fénix.

8. Alexander Munro (1870 - 1934)

With an HPI of 50.36, Alexander Munro is the 8th most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Alexander Munro (30 November 1870 – 3 January 1934) was a British strongman, wrestler, and tug of war competitor who competed in the latter sport in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics. In 1908, he won the bronze medal as a member of the British team Metropolitan Police "K" Division. Four years later, he won the silver medal as a member of the joint City of London Police-Metropolitan Police "K" Division British team. In 1908, Munro was also the Scottish wrestling champion but lost a noted match to Georg Hackenschmidt.

9. Nick Aldis (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 48.35, Nick Aldis is the 9th most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Nicholas Harry Aldis (born 6 November 1986) is an English professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a producer and the on-screen general manager of the SmackDown brand. He is best known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Magnus from 2008 to 2015, and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 2017 to 2022. Aldis made his debut on the British independent circuit in 2004 before signing with his first major contract with TNA in 2008. During his seven-year tenure there, he won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once, becoming the first British-born world champion in the company's history along with becoming a three-time tag team champion, winning the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice and the IWGP Tag Team Championship once. At Ring Ka King in 2011, he won the RKK World Heavyweight Championship. Immediately after leaving TNA in 2015, Aldis signed with Global Force Wrestling (GFW), where he was the inaugural GFW Global Champion and subsequently became the longest-reigning champion in the title's history. In 2017, Aldis briefly returned to TNA, now Impact Wrestling, due to their new partnership with GFW, dropping the title and leaving the company later that year. He then signed with the NWA and would soon after win the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship, a title he would hold twice, becoming the second British wrestler to hold that championship (after Gary Steele), making him a four-time world champion in professional wrestling. Aldis then left the NWA in late 2022 and briefly returned to Impact Wrestling in 2023 before departing the company in July and subsequently began working for WWE in August. Aldis also appeared in the 2008 revival of Gladiators, where he was known as Oblivion. He was also a co-presenter of Britain's Strongest Man on Challenge TV.

10. William Regal (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 48.32, William Regal is the 10th most famous British Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), having served as a manager in the latter promotion. Trained by Marty Jones, Matthews started his career at the age of 15 in 1983. His first matches took place at one of the rare final wrestling carnival booths at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. He went on to wrestle for national promotions on the British wrestling circuit and wrestled on television for ITV. He then progressed to touring around the world until 1993 when he was signed to WCW, where he took the ring name Steven Regal and became a four-time WCW World Television Champion. In 1998, Matthews joined the WWF (later WWE), where he became a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Hardcore Champion, a four-time European Champion, a four-time World Tag Team Champion, and the 2008 winner of the King of the Ring tournament. He also had stints as on-screen authority figures such as commissioner, General Manager of Raw, and match co-ordinator for the 2011 season of the original NXT. As NXT became WWE's developmental brand in 2012, he appeared as the on-screen General Manager; behind the scenes, he began serving as WWE's Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting from 2018 until he was released in 2022. He then signed with AEW and debuted as the founder and manager of the Blackpool Combat Club, leaving the company nine months later to return to WWE as the vice-president of Global Talent Development.

People

Pantheon has 36 people classified as British wrestlers born between 1870 and 2001. Of these 36, 32 (88.89%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living British wrestlers include Dave Finlay, Wade Barrett, and Drew McIntyre. The most famous deceased British wrestlers include Davey Boy Smith, Frederick Humphreys, and Alexander Munro. As of April 2024, 5 new British wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Will Ospreay, Piper Niven, and Kay Lee Ray.