The strongest Walking Dead characters are those who helped carry the survivors to the end of their story, or almost killed them before they ever reached that point. The Walking Dead is a tale of what happens when ordinary people get swept up in the carnage and chaos of a zombie apocalypse and with survival being a number one priority, these humans need to be able to hold their own in order to stay alive. The threats don't always come from the undead, but also the worst elements of humanity who are turned loose in a world with no laws.
When the show started, the zombie apocalypse was still fresh and new, and many people gathered together to stay safe, although very few of them had survival skills or knew how to stay alive. It wasn't until former cop Rick Grimes found his family among the survivors that they found someone to help them battle and fight for survival. Throughout the series, more characters joined, and even more died, but the strongest Walking Dead characters remained the ones who could fight off the hoards of walkers while also killing human enemies who stepped in their way. While only a handful lived, the most powerful Walking Dead characters left an impression on the show.
25 Eugene Porter
When it comes to the strongest Walking Dead characters, very few would ever think of Eugene Porter. For almost the entire series, he was the most cowardly and would hide and cower in a fight before ever standing up for himself. In the start, he lied about who he was just so Abraham would protect him. After Abraham died, he lost his protector and he had to learn to survive on his own. His biggest trait for survival was his scientific ability, and he used this to stay alive long after most felt he should have died.
He survived Negan and the Commonwealth, two places where he almost met his fate. However, by the time he was in the Commonwealth, Eugene had started to change. He was willing to stand up and fight for those he loved, whether it was Rosita or his future wife Max. He still wouldn't win many fights on the show, but he was at least more accomplished than he was when he first arrived.
24 Father Gabriel Stokes
Father Gabriel Stokes was one of the most hated Walking Dead characters for a long time because he wasn't a fighter. He was even a bigger coward than Eugene. He locked people out of his church and let them die to save himself and tried to betray Rick and the other survivors to also save himself. However, shockingly, Father Gabriel outlived many of the best fighters on The Walking Dead and made it all the way to the finale and beyond. Unlike Eugene, Gabriel also learned a little bit from Negan and Daryl and could fight when needed, although he was never long for a battle before needing some help.
23 The Governor
The Governor's fighting skills were amplified heavily by his own unhinged personality, and that made him an extremely dangerous foe. Not only was he a manipulator and a master strategist, but he also knew how to wage war on a large scale, if so required. He almost ended Rick Grimes and his group before he was slain by one of his own in Lilly. He was lethal in a hand-to-hand fight, tapping into his own unbridled aggression and rage. The Governor nearly killed Michonne during an altercation, and he defeated Merle during a one-on-one brawl, which was no easy feat. However, the worst beating he ever delivered was to Rick, whose injuries took a long time to heal.
22 King Ezekiel
King Ezekiel was a ruler, and a lover, more than he was a fighter. He was first seen leading his own community with a pet tiger by his side. He also helped build his community a worthwhile army of fighters, proving that Ezekiel might rather lead than fight, but he could fight when needed. He proved himself over the show as well, as he killed dozens of Saviors and even took the fight to the Commonwealth soldiers. There are several of the best fighters on The Walking Dead who are stronger than him, but Ezekiel lived to the end and he didn't do it sitting on his throne.
21 Carl Grimes
Carl Grimes was a polarizing figure as for most of his tenure on The Walking Dead, fans online seemed to hate him. He often made the worst decisions and put his dad Rick and the other survivors in danger more times than he helped them. However, as he got older - and especially after he lost his eye - Carl began to grow up. He even impressed Negan with his courage. By the time Carl died, fans had come over to his side, and the complaints about his death were almost as loud as those about his prior mistakes. He developed into one of the strongest Walking Dead characters before his death and could hold his own against almost anyone.
20 Tyreese
Not many wanted to tangle with Tyreese when he was alive, and it's easy to see why. Not only was he very large, but he was also a natural fighter who wasn't afraid to jump into the fire. Still, he was a gentle person at heart, and he never lost sight of the value of holding human life as sacred. When the time came to fight, however, Tyreese was a bull in the middle of a charge, and those who got in his way either lived to regret it or died too fast to notice. One thing that holds him back is that his comic book counterpart was one of the strongest Walking Dead characters of them all, but his TV character was a little too passive to really want to fight too much.
19 Glenn Rhee
Glenn was a major fan favorite due to his fun personality and loving nature, and he proved to be one of the moral linchpins of the series for a long time. He was the everyday guy who would rather be enjoying life instead of fighting for it. However, as the series moved forward, Glenn became a capable fighter who never lost touch with the good man inside. Before the apocalypse, Glenn was a pizza delivery boy just starting out on the steps of adulthood, and that meant little-to-no combat experience. However, with time, patience, and training, he became a decent strategist and a formidable combatant, lacking only in physical strength.
18 Carol
What Carol lacks in size and strength, she makes up for with conviction and dedication. Of the entire group, she's perhaps the only one willing to go to any lengths to protect those she cares about. Unfortunately, that has forced her to pursue a lot of painful decisions which have taken a toll on her gentle mind. As a result, Carol has lost much of her empathy or at least buried it deep down. This allows her to focus herself in combat, only feeling the effects after the bullets have stopped flying. She's also good at misdirecting her opponents during a fight and capitalizing on her own stereotypes in order to fool them.
Carol proved over time that she would do anything to stop evil people and protect the survivors. She murdered countless people with explosives and guns, and she even drove one child to death by pushing him too far with her threats. She might not be one of the strongest Walking Dead characters, but she is someone no one wants to cross in a fight.
17 Sasha Williams
Sasha Williams started off her time on The Walking Dead traveling with her brother Tyreese and boyfriend Bob. Of the three, Sasha seemed the most likely to fight when the need comes. Her brother Tyreese was more passive and Bob was about worthless in a fight. With that said, Sasha proved to be a formidable warrior, and she showed that with her company, dating Abraham at one point and even earning Negan's respect. She was able to fight as well as almost any man on the show, and while she wasn't as strong as others, she never gave up. Sasha even took her own life to give her a better chance to kill Negan when she turned.
16 Shane Walsh
Although Shane Walsh was only in The Walking Dead for a few seasons, he quickly established himself as a powerful fighter. He was Rick's best friend, and fellow sheriff's deputy before the apocalypse, and quickly understood that he needed to be ruthless to protect Lori and Carl from both walkers and humans alike. Not only was Shane highly proficient with guns, but he was also a capable hand-to-hand combatant. His unhinged personality and aggressive nature amplified his natural strength, and that made him more unpredictable as the story drove forward.
15 Jerry
Jerry began his tenure in The Walking Dead as the loyal protector of the Kingdom's King, Ezekiel. Viewers may have been quick to write him off as a happy-go-lucky side character, but Cooper Andrews slowly ingratiated himself in fans' hearts, appearing on the series all the way through its finale. Though Jerry is typically a friendly and jolly individual, one certainly doesn't want to meet the business end of his battle axe. Ezekiel's loyal right-hand man possessed far more physical strength than many of the show's other characters, even proving able to split a man in half when necessary. As the top fighter in the Kingdom's army, he was easily one of the strongest Walking Dead characters.
14 Elijah
Elijah arrived alongside Maggie when she returned to the series after an extended hiatus. As one of the few survivors of Maggie's latest community, Elijah is intensely loyal to his leader, who views him as family. While he may not have an abundance of fight scenes, Elijah is shown to be incredibly skilled with his pair of Japanese kama. Equipped with his twin scythes and his particularly imposing mask, Elijah is easily one of the most formidable fighters in the entire series, one of the strongest Walking Dead characters introduced later in the series.
13 Aaron
Aaron started out as a gentle-natured guy, but over the years, he's racked up a series of chips on his shoulder that have permanently changed his character. It all came to an apex when he lost his hand, which forced Aaron to replace it with a mechanical tool that could be used in battle. Since then, Aaron has become a very dangerous fighter. His jaded personality has granted him the ability to dispatch enemies without any remorse or pity, and that pays off in a life-or-death encounter. He's a changed man since his debut on the show thanks to losing his lover, but that has only made him one of the strongest Walking Dead characters.
12 Rosita Espinosa
Although Rosita didn't always get a large percentage of screen time, it was always clear that she was a capable fighter. Starting out as part of Abraham's group, both he and Rosita took it upon themselves to protect Eugene from threats both great and small. Abraham trusted her to take care of herself and to help complete his mission of delivering Eugene to Washington, D.C. Later when she became part of Rick's group, she put her fighting skills on the front line against a variety of threats, including Negan's Saviors. She made it to the finale, and while she didn't survive that episode, she proved her worth as one of the strongest Walking Dead characters.
11 Maggie Rhee
Maggie Rhee was a mainstay of The Walking Dead since its second season, becoming a fan-favorite over the course of the following decade. Her romance with Glenn Rhee proved to be one of the show's biggest draws in its early seasons and her storyline after her husband's tragic death has been both emotional and empowering. Maggie may not have the physical strength that certain other survivors have, but she can certainly hold her own in a fight. Her sheer determination not to give in lends her an advantage against her opponents, who typically don't fare as well as her. Maggie proved on Walking Dead: Dead City that she became one of the strongest Walking Dead characters in any fight.
10 Merle Dixon
Merle Dixon was Daryl's older brother, who found himself on the opposite side of Rick's war with the Governor. Despite his problematic nature, Merle was a fan-favorite during his time on the series, in part due to his relationship with Daryl, as well as Michael Rooker's charming performance. With a signature prosthetic forearm that consisted of a small blade instead of a hand, Merle was quite formidable in battle. He could easily dispatch any walkers that got too close and even took out plenty of humans along the way as well. His final fight with the Governor was brutal and violent, but Merle was broken down by then, less of a man than he once was.
9 Negan
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Negan wasn't a particularly violent man before the apocalypse broke out, but the trauma of losing his beloved wife after the apocalypse was in full swing was too much. He quickly learned that the world was full of nefarious humans far more dangerous than the undead, and he toughened himself up for what came next. Intimidation tactics are Negan's strongest card, but he's no slouch in a fight, either. Against the undead, he's a wrecking ball, but he's also a capable combatant against the living. Even without his trusty baseball bat Lucille, Negan can best some powerful fighters in hand-to-hand combat, making him a constant threat.
However, Negan is someone who spent so much time having other people fight for him that he lost a step over time. He fell to Rick Grimes in a fight, but Rick allowed him to live. Since that battle, Negan slowly built himself back up and showed how deadly he was when he killed Alpha, although that was a sneak attack. Negan was often evil though he's seen in a better light in Dead City, where he has proven to be as deadly as ever and is once again one of the strongest Walking Dead characters.
8 Rick Grimes
Rick Grimes was a sheriff's deputy who had enough training to survive the apocalypse more than most. However, he was held back by his good nature and adherence to ethics early on, which nearly cost him, and his group their lives. It would take a while before he learned how to strike a proper balance. Though not as physically strong, or well-trained as some others in the Walking Dead universe, Rick was undoubtedly one of the most brutal.
When push came to shove, there was no line he would not cross, and that made him extremely unpredictable in a fight. In one noteworthy episode, Rick gruesomely kills a human by biting his throat out during one of The Walking Dead's most violent battles. While Rick seemed beaten down in The Walking Dead finale, he has never been down for long and proved over the years that he can win any fair fight, and that should happen again in his and Michonne's spinoff series.
7 Abraham Ford
Abraham always favored brute force over tactical fighting techniques, especially when compared to other characters, but it always seemed to work for him. He was an imposing fellow, whether he was facing humans or walkers, and his strong military mind and training helped him immensely during the apocalypse. His hot temper had its pros and cons, fueling him to go all out in a fight. There were few who could step into the ring with Abraham and expect to walk out victorious, much less with their teeth intact. His only real disadvantage was his large size, which hampered his agility.
6 Beta
He may have been the second fiddle to Alpha in The Walking Dead, but Beta represented the brutal hulking force of a man who had nothing to lose, and no connections to hold him back. As the primary enforcer inside the Whisperers, Beta's job was to carry out Alpha's orders and ensure ultimate loyalty to the ideology they shared. In combat, Beta was always one of the strongest Walking Dead characters. He could shred multiple opponents at a time with a unique combination of incredible strength and combat techniques. Hand-to-hand, Beta was extremely dangerous and could shrug off painful injuries long enough to either strangle or beat his opponents to death.