The next generation of professional wrestling is already in peak position to be future faces of sports entertainment.
Last year, ESPN took on the unique task of highlighting the top young stars across WWE, AEW, NJPW and other wrestling promotions worldwide. The result was an inaugural list of the 30 best professional wrestlers under the age of 30.
Why under the age of 30? In wrestling, the sport’s top stars usually peak in their 30s. Jon Moxley, formerly Dean Ambrose, won his first WWE intercontinental title at age 30. Charlotte Flair won the inaugural WWE women’s championship at age 30. Swerve Strickland won his first AEW world championship just this year at age 33.
Below is our second edition of the 30 best pro wrestlers under 30. The rankings were based on merit rather than future potential, which is far more subjective. The criteria included drawing power, popularity, skills, position on the roster and accomplishments, including championships and tournament victories. A dozen different promotions were represented in our voting ballot across multiple countries.
Andreas Hale, Mike Coppinger, David Dennis Jr., Arda Ocal, Brandon Caldwell and Eddie Maisonet provide analysis on the final list.
Editor’s note: Along the writers above, special thanks to Marc…
