But you have to consider that the end of PRIDE was also the end of Wand's prime but the start of Shogun's. So yeah, Shogun was crushing people while Wand had lost a step and was starting to lose more, but that's not exactly a fair comparison.
We could debate the respective wins if we wanted to, but I'm more interested in the sly little intimations that Shogun could've taken the belt from Wand if he wanted to, which I want to state for the record that I disagree with very strongly, especially if Shogun had to face '03 or '04 Wand.
Leaving aside the "Shogun would've beaten Wand" bit, Sherdog didn't start putting out rankings until 2007, so which outlets do you have in mind? Besides which, Sherdog's initial rankings were fucking bonkers. They ranked Gonzaga multiple spots ahead of Couture while Couture was the UFC champ
Does Wand get any bonus points for training Shogun like as much of a brother as Ninja was, to the point where he was in his street clothes purely as a spectator but still went backstage and helped Shogun warm up for Randleman in his jeans? It's not a one-way street of Shogun being held back (of his own volition or by Chute Boxe) by his friendship with Wand, he also would never have been the fighter he was without Wand in his corner. That has to at least even this out.
And this is to say nothing of the issue of head-to-head competition, on the subject of which I've always maintained and will maintain to my last breath that prime Chuck beats both Wand and Shogun. His iron chin, his crazy power, and his straight punching against their wild, looping styles would've been nightmares for both guys. Disregarding "prime versus prime" fantasy match-ups, if either Wand or Shogun would've fought Chuck in 2005, Chuck would've destroyed them both IMO. Shogun was getting chewed up by Lil Nog and had to resort to wrestling, but against Chuck he wouldn't have been able to eat his power shots nor would he have been able to wrestle his way out of danger, while what Chuck did to Wand in their fight once they'd both lost a couple of steps is a solid indicator of what their fight would've looked like when they were both sharper, except he may have been able to actually put Wand away. Prime Shogun versus prime Chuck would be more interesting, as the more measured and calculating Shogun who beat Machida would've been a tougher fight for Chuck, but I still think that Chuck's iron chin and punching power would've caused problems for Shogun coming in.
At the end of the day, we're talking millimeters that separate these three legends, but head-to-head, prime-versus-prime, if pressed I'd have it Chuck>Wand>Shogun, while career-versus-career, I'd have it Wand>Chuck>Shogun.
