The past year was transformational in seeing rising pro-wrestling stars begin to find their footing in WWE and AEW.
Across 2025, we saw Kyle Fletcher evolve from a solid mid-card guy to a certified main-eventer capable of winning the AEW World Championship. At the same time, Stephanie Vaquer became one of the most dominant women on the WWE roster, holding nearly every title she put her eyes on.
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As we sprint into the new year, here are the challengers who are next in line to reasonably make the leap in 2026 from their current positions into the upper echelon of their respective promotions.
Kevin Knight
Kevin Knight’s first year as part of the AEW roster was one to remember. With wins over Darby Allin and Kazuchika Okada, and standout performances as part of the JetSpeed tag team alongside “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Knight established himself as one to watch for the future of AEW.
Knight has the build, look, in-ring ability and charisma to develop into a world champion. Given the opportunities in 2026 to show his abilities in a long-term story, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Knight have a Kyle Fletcher-eqsue year, with big-time matches against some of the top stars in AEW.
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Signature moment of 2025: Since 2024, Okada has only been pinned in AEW singles competitions by four men — Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Kyle Fletcher and now Kevin Knight. While the match wasn’t a dominant win for Knight, it was a statement of trust in just how far up the ladder Knight can climb.
What success looks like in 2026: Knight getting his first taste of mid-card gold would set himself up well as a future main eventer, in the same way Fletcher did in 2025. Whether Knight breaks out of the JetSpeed tag team, joins a larger faction, or continues along the path he’s on, continuing to be fed matches against established stars and fans seeing him more regularly in big moments is exactly where he needs to be.
Sol Ruca
The past year was transformational for Sol Ruca, who moved from simply having one of the best finishing moves in wrestling to also establishing herself as a legit competitor across not only NXT, but the main roster as well. Ruca’s 2025 saw her win both the Women’s Speed and the NXT Women’s North American championships before a knee injury derailed her title reign.
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She also got valuable time on the WWE main roster, wrestling at July’s Evolution PLE and flexing her time into big-time moments on “WWE SmackDown.” Perhaps most importantly, it felt like Ruca experienced significant character development and became a well-rounded part of the NXT roster. She’s been involved in a long-term story as she and Zaria developed their partnership, and later teased a breakup.
Signature moment of 2025: Ruca had her Stand and Deliver moment, winning the NXT Women’s North American title as part of an outstanding six-woman ladder match. But her year was defined by picking up an impressive singles victory over former world champion, Bayley, on the limited stage of John Cena’s swan-song show in December at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event.
What success looks like in 2026: A full-time move from NXT to the WWE main roster certainly looks like it’s in the cards for 2026, and that feels like enough of a leap for Ruca at this stage in the game. After competing for the Women’s United States title twice this year, Ruca is already being groomed for even bigger things.
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Jacob Fatu
The first half of 2025 established Jacob Fatu as a future star with endless potential. In doing so, he became the enforcer of WWE, dominating big men like Braun Strowman, Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre.
Fatu’s all gas, no brakes wrestling style saw him leapfrog his way into a United States championship match against LA Knight at WrestleMania 41 and win the belt on the grandest of stages. Fatu’s stock was at an all-time high just after WrestleMania. But after “The Samoan Werewolf” turned on Solo Sikoa and the MFT, he plateaued, unable to break the cycle of their in-family drama. Just as Fatu began a feud with Drew McIntyre, he was written off of television through the end of the year due to injury.
Next year should provide a fresh start for Fatu, a new feud — and an opportunity to make his mark in a men’s division in desperate need of fresh faces.
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Signature moment of 2025: Fatu climbing the ladder quickly, winning the United States championship at WrestleMania 41 over LA Knight gave him his biggest in-ring moment thus far.
What success looks like in 2026: A move away from mid-card rivalries and the feeling that Fatu is a legit challenger for a World Championship. That doesn’t mean being thrown into the Elimination Chamber as another body. He doesn’t need to actually win a title, but he should be facing head-on guys like Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and other top stars in the promotion.
Megan Bayne
Megan Bayne’s first year on the AEW roster offered a preview of what could be in store for her tenure with the promotion. She hit the ground running in January as part of the Women’s World Title No. 1 Contender Casino Gauntlet match, and dominated the likes of Kris Statlander and Thunder Rosa en route to a World Title shot within months of her debut. While Bayne seemed like a sure thing at the time to dethrone Toni Storm, she was unsuccessful in her first title challenge.
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Unfortunately for Bayne, she fell into a similar pattern as other previous challengers as a one-and-done opponent for the world championship. Bayne spent most of the rest of 2025 floating in and out of tag-teams with Penelope Ford and Marina Shafir. She has the look and all the tools to develop into a powerhouse for the AEW women’s division when given the right opportunities on a stacked roster.
Signature moment of 2025: Pinning Toni Storm to defeat her and Thunder Rosa in a tag-team match with Penelope Ford before AEW Dynasty felt enormous at the time. The moment signaled Bayne had arrived and could be a legit challenger for the world championship. Despite her loss to Storm in their subsequent title match, she has all the tools to be a future world champion.
What success looks like in 2026: Bayne made the most of her onscreen time as AEW’s focus was on building the women’s tag-team division through the back half of 2025. But Bayne has a commanding presence, from her entrance to her in-ring ability. After spending the year balanced between the indies, Stardom and AEW, we should see a move back into AEW’s singles division and a clear path for championship gold this year. The way the division is trending, seeing Bayne mix it up with the likes of Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter could provide some incredibly hard-hitting bouts.
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Oba Femi
Expectations are through the rough for what Oba Femi can provide in 2026. The past two years have seen Femi grow leaps and bounds after entering WWE’s NIL program. Lengthy NXT North American championship reigns helped him develop a firm footing for dominance before making the leap into the main NXT title picture in 2025. With his development both on the mic and in the ring, Femi not only enters 2026 looking like a legit star, but also having shown his balance in offering moments for talent like Je’Von Evans and Ricky Saints to shine.
Femi closed out 2025 with the biggest back-to-back moments of his career. He did more than hold his own with Cody Rhodes on the mic on “WWE SmackDown,” then took the WWE Champion to the limit as part of John Cena’s farewell show in December.
Signature moment of 2025: As outstanding as Femi’s match against Rhodes was, I thought his promo on the preceding “SmackDown” was even more impressive. The wrestling world should be well aware of what Femi is capable of in the ring, but his ability to match the intensity and presence of Rhodes on the mic did more to boost his stock.
What success looks like in 2026: A permanent move up to WWE’s main roster shouldn’t be out of the question following Femi’s impressive showing in December. He’s a ready-made challenger for major championships and should find his way into the Royal Rumble as well as a premier match at WrestleMania 42.
