Who are the best 30 under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet? As in, those under the age of 30 years old. It is a tough thing to answer because you can probably name a few, but the rest are harder to name. This is either due to not knowing their actual age or being unsure if a person is worthy of being called one of the top Under-30 Pro Wrestlers in the world.
When putting this list together, we had to consider something. There are many wrestlers right at 30 years old such as Will Ospreay, Ilja Dragunov, and Sammy Guevara. Each man has already made a big impact on the business. Therefore, it would be wrong to say that they are not going to be a huge part of the future of the business too. However, this list is only about those under the age of 30. Which sadly means, no one at the age of 30 or beyond will count.
Of course, we mean that one cannot be the age of 30 at the time this article is published. People will get older and not be under 30 forever, obviously. Our list, by the way, is in no particular order. That said, let”s talk about all of these great young stars right now!
Rhea Ripley
- WWE Women’s World Champion
- WWE RAW Women’s Champion
- NXT Women’s Champion
- NXT UK Women’s Champion
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion
- 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble Winner
- 7th WWE Women’s Triple Crown Champion
- 5th WWE Women’s Grand Slam Champion
It’s potentially a sin to be as good as Rhea Ripley is at her age. “Mami” is only 27 years old as of this writing, yet she already has a massive list of accomplishments. The thing about Rhea Ripley that makes her one of the best Under-30 Pro Wrestlers is that she is a complete player. She has proven that she can have 5-star matches with various women, such as with Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. Yet she is also an incredible mic worker.
Her ability to be so good can be attributed somewhat to WWE and their great Performance Center.
However, to give WWE all the credit here would be crazy. Ripley has proven, if nothing else, that she is an individual who does what she wants. When she first arrived in WWE, the bleach-blonde pretty girl was what WWE wanted. You needed to be in great shape but not look too athletic, as they were still connected somewhat to the “Diva” concept. Times were changing though, and Ripley came up during that fantastic change.
Now Ripley has shown that a strong, athletic body type can be sexy. Yet she does not do any of this to be appealing to men, but rather, just because she wants to. She’s a role model to women, as she shows she is as valuable as any man in the industry. Ripley is not spreading some sort of feministic message, she is a walking example of why women are worthy of being in this industry alongside men.
Nick Wayne
- DEFY World Champion
As of this writing, AEW Wrestler Nick Wayne is only 18 years old. He actually began wrestling at the age of 12, which was no surprise to his family. He”s a third-generation wrestler, so it is in his blood to do this. Is he perfect in the ring or on the microphone? No. However, the improvements he has made are significant. Plus, people, this kid is only 18 and is THIS good right now. We also have to admit that pairing him with Christian Cage was perfect.
While Cage is clearly not his father nor does he want to be, Christian does offer a lot of aid. He can be a great veteran mentor for someone like Nick. Christian has been a multi-time World Champion in two different companies. He has proven he can make the TNT Championship worth a darn when so many others never could. Sitting under his learning tree will only help Nick more.
So far, Wayne has proven to be a great athlete who is surely employing what he has learned from his mentor. It shows, making him one of our names to watch in 2024. At the same time, we also feel he is worthy of being on our best Under-30 Pro Wrestlers list.
Roxanne Perez
- NXT Women’s Champion
- NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion
- 2022 NXT Breakout Tournament Winner
- 2022 NXT Women’s Iron Survivor Winner
- ROH Women’s World Champion
Roxanne Perez is only 22 years old and has clearly lived up to the nickname given to her, “The Prodigy.” She was trained at Booker T”s training school in Texas and did a lot of great work there before going out into the independent scene. When she made it out there, Ring of Honor picked her up for a bit where she won the ROH Women”s World Championship.
Of course, someone like Perez is too good to just leave out there in the Indies. She got the call to join the WWE when she was 20 years old. It did not take long for her to make it onto NXT programming where she had great success early on in 2022. Perez won the Women’s Breakout Tournament, which gave her a title shot against then-long-reigning NXT Women’s Champion, Mandy Rose. Due to her former tag partner Cora Jade interfering, she’d lose the match.
Yet thankfully, Perez was able to win the Iron Survivor match to get another shot at Rose.
Coincidentally, around this same time, Rose had gotten in trouble with WWE management over nude images she put on her “fan” site. While Rose knew she was going to be let go, she had a fantastic match with Roxanne and dropped the title to her. Making Perez the youngest NXT Women’s Champion ever at 21. Roxanne has had so much success in her WWE career so far, but more will come. We feel she is one of the best Under-30 Pro Wrestlers on the planet, and well worth keeping an eye on in 2024.
Wheeler Yuta
- 3-time ROH Pure Champion
- 2018 NOVA Men’s Commonwealth Cup Winner
- Chikara Young Lions Cup Winner
- 2018 CZW Dramatic Destination Series Winner
- 2018 CZW Trifecta Winner
Wheeler Yuta is an incredible wrestler. A lot of people forget that this man has never had a problem being physical and going insane in matches. He has a deep background in CZW, but he’s also a 3-time ROH Pure Champion. Yet when he came to AEW, he joined the Best Friends team which worked for a while. However, Yuta was not happy when Bryan Danielson the Blackpool Combat Club looked down on him. This led to a match with Jon Moxley on an episode of AEW Rampage where the two tore down the house.
While Wheeler lost in this match, the kid earned the respect of the BCC. Since joining the BCC, Yuta has been getting several chances to show how great he really is in the ring. Sure, Wheeler likes to play around a lot and his Chikara background proves that. However, when you need a guy to get it done in the ring, Yuta is as good as anyone. The BCC guys like Moxley and Danielson know this, which is why they are happy to have him in the group.
His work with AEW has also led to some appearances in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerilla. In both, he has been quite impressive too. It is obvious to us that Wheeler Yuta is one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers alive today. At just 27, this guy is going to only keep getting better, which is probably scary when you think about it.
Ace Austin
- 3-time TNA X-Division Champion
- 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion
- 2-time AAW Heritage Champion
- WXW Ultimate Hybrid Champion
- CZW Wired Champion
- 2021 TNA Super X Cup Winner
Ace Austin is mostly known for his work in TNA Wrestling where he has been a multi-time tag team champion, as well as a major asset to the X-Division. In fact, he is a 3-time TNA X-Division Champion. Yet Ace is well traveled, having worked for promotions like AAW & CZW where he has won championships. Of course, many young workers like to go overseas to work with the major players in places like Europe and Japan.
Due to the affiliation TNA had with AEW & New Japan, Austin was able to become a member of the Bullet Club in 2022. This naturally led to some appearances on NJPW programming in 2022 as well. Ace also had a chance to work for AAA Wrestling in Mexico where he was a welcome addition. Due to his love of Parkour, he’s always been able to pull off some incredible moves in the ring. Being among Lucha Libre performers must have been a great learning experience.
Of course, Austin has also worked at Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore as well as Major League Wrestling. While TNA might be his home, never assume Austin won’t pop up in a random promotion from time to time. Despite being so well-traveled and seasoned, Austin is only 26 years old as of this writing. To us, he was an easy addition to our best under-30 pro wrestlers list.
Lyra Valkyria
- NXT Women’s Champion
- OTT Women’s Champion
You might not realize it due to how incredible she is, but Lyra Valkyria is only 27 years old, as of this writing. They say age is just a number and Lyra proves this, as she has been wrestling for a very long time now. The Irish wrestler began her career in 2015 after being a student for just one year at the Fight Factory Pro Wrestling training school. This means she began training around 16 or 17 years old and made her debut around the age of 18.
She worked her butt off to become one of the best young female wrestlers in Europe and won several titles along the way. That includes the OTT Women’s Championship, as well as a tag title in Pro Wrestling: Eve. WWE was trying to expand its presence in Europe and decided to sign a lot of wrestlers for the NXT UK show, which included Valkyria. Of course, she was signed in 2020.
Due to COVID, she only had a few matches on NXT UK programming before they had to shut down operations. She also had a few matches at the United States version of NXT before going back to NXT UK later that same year. By Fall 2022, NXT UK was shutting down so Lyra moved to the United States under a full, exclusive NXT developmental contract.
Lyra had a lot of impressive performances, but none was better than her match with Becky Lynch. She”d actually defeated “The Man” for the NXT Women’s Championship and has been incredible ever since. To us, Valkyria has most certainly earned a spot on our list of the best Under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet.
Julius Creed
- 2-time NCAA Division 1 All-American
- NXT Tag Team Champion
- 2022 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Winner
- 2018 ACC Heavyweight Champion
- 2017 & 2018 Southern Scuffle Heavyweight Division Winner
While his brother Brutus Creed has been fun to watch too, Julius Creed is freakin incredible. WWE has slowly been letting him run loose in matches where he’ll throw a guy and do a kip-up like 10 times in a row. The great thing about Creed is that, while he is a great tag team performer, we all know he”ll be a great solo star too. People like Chad Gable and Jason Jordan have shown flashes of Kurt Angle-like intensity and movements.
However, it seems that Creed is probably more like Kurt Angle than anyone else from his body type to his intensity, intelligence, and ability in the ring. He still has a long way to go before he’ll be as good as Kurt was. Even still, Julius is one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet, and he’s only getting better.
Julius attended Duke University where he became a 2-time NCC Division 1 All-American and even won the ACC Heavyweight Championship in 2018. The pedigree of this guy is impressive already, but transitioning into becoming a great pro wrestler seemed way too easy for him. Creed”s offense is incredible, and he probably has one of the best hot tags in the business.
However, there are still weaknesses. His facial expressions are good but the acting is not quite where it needs to be. He also can sell okay but isn’t fantastic at it. He’ll need to sell better if he is going to make his opponents look even better. However, these can be fixed. Creed’s raw talent perfectly handles the rest.
Tessa Blanchard
- TNA World Champion
- TNA Knockouts Champion
- AAA Reina de Reinas Champion
- WOW World Champion
- WSW Champion
- 2023 CMLL Women’s International Grand Prix Winner
We know, we know.
Tessa Blanchard isn’t exactly beloved right now. However, this list is about the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet. Without a doubt, Tessa belongs on this list. The 28-year-old is best known for her great work in TNA Wrestling. She became the Knockouts Champion and did well there, but felt she could also handle working with the men.
That led to Tessa having matches with the guys, including people like Brian Cage and Sami Callihan. She’d lose some of her matches pretty badly, and a few were very hard to watch. Yet Blanchard did not let losses hurt her, she kept coming and would not be stopped. That eventually led to more work with Sami, the TNA World Champion.
She’d win the TNA World Title….then COVID-19 happened.
That was sort of when the Tessa issues started to come out, as she did not want to return to TNA and had to vacate the World Championship. Many female wrestlers then came out and spoke about her abusive actions in the locker room at TNA & Independent shows. Issues cited with her included things bullying and racism, among other things.
This sort of put her career on hold, but she would end up working a lot in Mexico after this.
Initially, Tessa worked with AAA Wrestling but has since worked mostly with CMLL. Blanchard will need to make a lot of apologies along the way but could end up becoming a hot name in pro wrestling again. As long as she does not become a monster behind the scenes again.
Tyler Bate
- 2-time NXT UK World Champion
- wXw Shotgun Champion
- NXT Tag Team Champion
- NXT UK Tag Team Champion
- First NXT UK Triple Crown Winner
- NXT Heritage Cup Winner
When we first saw Tyler Bate in the WWE, he was just 19! He started his career in Europe but he quickly made his way to the United States to perform in the Chikara promotion as a teenager. He actually teamed up with one of his trainers, Trent Seven, during this point. The two were able to click pretty well as tag team partners which led to a nice run in Progress Wrestling. This is where most know the early version of Tyler Bate. Progress managed to make waves enough in Europe to catch the attention of WWE.
Since WWE wanted to expand a lot in the United Kingdom, a partnership with Progress was smart. Bate was one of the guys that WWE loved and saw a lot of promise in, which is why he was brought in to be part of a major tournament. WWE would crown a United Kingdom Champion, and many thought Pete Dunne had it in the bag. Yet a 19-year-old Bate would somehow defeat him and become a big part of WWE ever since.
His first reign with the title was impressive as was his second, but he would also win the tag titles as well as the Heritage Cup. Then Bate went to the U.S. to become a nice asset to NXT in America. When it comes to prodigy types, a lot of people are thrown into that conversation. In our view, Tyler Bate is one of the people that deserves such a label. That easily makes him one of the best Under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet.
Jamie Hayter
- 2-time RevPro Women’s Champion
- AEW Women’s Champion
- Goddess of Stardom Champion
- SWA World Champion
- Pro Wrestling: EVE International Champion
Jaime Hayter is one of the most unsung pro wrestlers in women’s wrestling. It is sad to see, as she is quite talented. The 28-year-old made her debut in 2015 and has wrestled for some of the best European and Japanese promotions. Especially those related to women’s wrestling. That includes Stardom in Japan as well as Pro Wrestling Eve. Like other women native to the United Kingdom, Revolution Pro (or RevPro) is always a good place to work. Working here can be a huge step up for many young European wrestlers.
Hayter had a very small run in the WWE when NXT UK was still going on back in 2019. However, she eventually signed with All Elite Wrestling. The idea for Hayter was that she could still perform in Europe & Japan while also getting the major exposure AEW provided. On top of that, the women’s division in AEW was pretty suspect. Therefore, having her around was going to help it dramatically. She would win the AEW Women’s Championship and her run truly did bring about better women’s wrestling for the promotion.
While several other great women have signed with AEW since this, it can be argued that Hayer helped to turn that division around during her title run. She might be 28 years old, but Hayter has proven how much of a veteran she already is by enhancing every place she performs. In our book, that is what makes one worthy of being named one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet.
Wes Lee
- 2-time NXT Tag Team Champion
- 2-time CZW World Tag Team Champion
- NXT North American Champion
- PWG World Tag Team Champion
- AAW Tag Team Champion
- 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Winner
Wes Lee’s inclusion on this list is pretty interesting because he signed with WWE as a member of a tag team known as MSK. He and his tag team partner, Zachary Wentz (Nash Carter in WWE), would go in to win the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and have 2 NXT Tag Team Title runs.
Just as they were riding high, Wentz would get into some hot water. He had been accused of domestic abuse on multiple counts. On top of that, he seemed to have a lot more love for Adolph Hitler and the Nazis than WWE was comfortable with. As a result, WWE released him but kept Wes Lee.
WWE saw a lot of promise in Lee and felt he was always more than just a tag team wrestler anyway. Wentz’s release was a blessing in disguise, as it led to Wes winning the NXT North American Championship. He held the title for 269 days, which is the longest North American Title reign in WWE history as of this writing. It solidified that Wes Lee could wrestle with anyone in the singles division. Now, he’s proving he’s worthy of World Title considerations in NXT.
In our book, it’s commendable that Wes was able to have a lot of tag team & singles success. Especially since he was sort of thrust into the singles division immediately after his partner was released. To us, that makes Lee worthy of being referred to as one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers in the world.
Utami Hayashishita
- 3-time Goddess of Stardom Champion
- World of Stardom Champion
- SWA World Champion
- Artist of Stardom Champion
- Future of Stardom Champion
- Pro-Wrestling EVE: International Champion
- 2018 Goddess of Stardom Tag League Winner
- 2020 5★Star Grand Prix Winner
Many Western audiences might not know who Utami Hayashishita is. However, this 25-year-old is one of the best young women’s wrestlers in Japan. She has mostly made her name in Stardom, the all-female Japanese promotion. Utami has been in the spotlight for most of her life. Due to being part of a 12-person family, she was part of a Japanese reality show about the family from 2006 to 2013. Reportedly, she found pro wrestling to be a nice escape from all of that. She adored watching Taijiri in WWE, and that inspired her to go to get trained at the Stardom Dojo.
Amazingly, while training to wrestle she was also working at a restaurant to help pay school expenses for her sisters. She debuted with Stardom in 2018 and began to work her way up the card to become a top-tier name in the promotion. Utami has now pretty much won every title worthy of importance. Due to her success in Stardom, Utami was brought into Pro Wrestling EVE where she won the International Championship.
Of course, Utami aspired to go to America and perform too. She finally did this in 2023 when she performed for both GCW & Ring of Honor. Many believe Utami will end up in WWE one day, but whether she does or not, she will likely remain one of the best women’s wrestlers on the planet. She is certainly worthy of being on our list of the best under-30 pro wrestlers.
Logan Paul
- WWE United States Champion
We know, having Logan Paul on this list seems to taint it for some of you. However, can anyone really say that Paul has not been impressive since he debuted? Of course, both Paul brothers (Logan & Jake) have been involved in Boxing. Logan has always been more of a performer. Keep in mind that Logan really began his career as a YouTuber. Of course, there is still a lot of controversy surrounding some of the things he did when he was much younger.
That managed to pass as he has repaired his image. However, Paul still wanted to perform and WWE seemed to be willing to let him. Especially since his social media following is insanely large. He showed up for some stuff in 2021 that was mostly appearance only but he’d get in the ring by 2022. He would debut in a tag team match alongside The Miz against Dominik & Rey Mysterio in a winning effort at WrestleMania 38. Fans were shocked to see just how great Logan was.
Miz turned on Logan after that match, setting up for a SummerSlam return for Paul later that year. He has appeared off and on throughout the year ever since. Logan has now signed a full-time deal which led to WWE allowing him to hold gold. He beat Rey Mysterio, a familiar foe, to capture the WWE United States Title in 2023.
The 28-year-old has proven to be an incredible athlete who is dedicated to his work with WWE. One cannot ask much more. We’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to his potential. Yet he’s already this good right now! To us, that makes him worthy of being called one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers.
Liv Morgan
- 2-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion
- WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion
- 2022 WWE Women’s Money in the Bank Winner
- 2022 New York Post Female Breakout Wrestler of the Year
Liv Morgan just barely qualified for this list at the age of 29. She’ll be 30 years old in June 2024, so thankfully we wrote this article before the summer hit. That said when you talk about potential…Liv Morgan oozes it. Look, we all know that Liv is absolutely stunning….but this is not the WWE of 2008. You cannot just be beautiful as a woman anymore, you need to be great in the ring too. Since Morgan proved to be pretty solid but still needed development, they put her in a three-woman faction.
Known as the Riott Squad, the group was led by veteran Ruby Riott. The group also involved another impressive veteran, Sara Logan (now known as Valhalla). Morgan was the one chosen to lose most of the matches the group would need to lose. Yet the entire time, the hope was that she’d learn from her partners. Morgan has proven that she can be a star as a solo act. When the group ended due to the release of both of her partners (though Logan was rehired later), Liv was on her own.
She had to either sink or swim, and this blonde bombshell refused to sink. While Morgan struggled at first, she quickly gained her footing and became a solid solo act.
Morgan won MITB in 2022 and cashed in on Ronda Rousey to capture the SmackDown Women’s Title, then managed to beat Ronda in the rematch. Making her the only woman to beat Ronda in back-to-back matches at the time. Since then, Liv has continued to show just how great she is.
Austin Theory
- 2-time WWE United States Champion
- 2-time WWN Champion
- Evolve Champion
- FIP World Heavyweight Champion
- 2022 WWE Men’s Money in the Bank Winner
While WWE managed to sign Austin Theory at a young age, he was proving himself in a major way on the independent circuit for a while. He debuted in 2016 after being trained by AR Fox. Theory would jump around the Indies almost immediately, ending up in places like Progress Wrestling, Full Impact Pro, & Evolve. Of course, Triple H and others were keeping an eye on these promotions at the time anyway. Leading to an eventual connection between places like WWN & WWE.
Austin would get a tryout in 2019 and was an easy decision for the WWE Staff at the time. Of course, the Pandemic happened pretty early in his WWE run which led to some main roster use earlier than most expected. He was then sent back to NXT where he played a moron who was sort of like Johnny Gargano’s son but not. WWE would drop that version of his character later. Vince McMahon took a liking to the kid because, well, what’s not to like? He has a great look and incredible athletic ability.
The potential he brought to the table was endless and still is, as he’s only 26 years old.
Yet Vince seemed to like him too much, leading to a United States Championship run and capturing the Money in the Bank briefcase very early into his main roster run. Of course, Triple H likes Theory too but felt this was far too fast. Still, too fast or not, Theory is incredible to watch in the ring. Making him one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers working today.
Toni Storm
- 3-time AEW Women’s World Champion
- 2-time wXw Women’s Champion
- NXT UK Women’s Champion
- SWA World Champion
- World of Stardom Champion
- Progress Women’s Champion
- 2017 Stardom Cinderella Tournament Winner
- 2017 Stardom 5★Star Grand Prix Winner
- 2018 WWE Mae Young Classic Winner
It should not shock us to see another gorgeous woman in pro wrestling. Yet Toni Storm has never been just a pretty face, she’s also one of the best in-ring workers (man or woman) in any promotion she enters. At least when it comes to most of her work in promotions we know about. This Australian Beauty made her debut in Progress back in 2015 and went on to be the promotion’s first Women’s Champion. Of course, she also wrestled in other European promotions early on too, such as wXw.
Her work in Progress put her on WWE’s map and that led to many more opportunities. She worked with NXT UK as well as Stardom from 2016 to 2018 before WWE signed her to an exclusive WWE contract. They had Storm win the 2018 Mae Young Classic and then the NXT UK Women’s Title. Toni had a long run with NXT before going to the main roster but was released pretty early into her main roster run. She requested to be released, FYI.
Storm has mostly worked for AEW ever since then. Her signing was huge for the company as she truly helped to make the women’s division worthy of note for the first time. The best thing is that her in-ring work remains great but she keeps evolving as a character. Her “Timeless” Toni Storm gimmick is one of the best gimmicks in pro wrestling today. In our view, Storm is easily one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet today.
Bandido
- ROH World Champion
- PWG World Champion
- WWA World Welterweight Champion
- Progress Tag Team Champion
- 2019 PWG Battle of Los Angeles Winner
When you see a guy like Bandido, you just assume he’s a luchador and not much more. Lucha Libre wrestling is not just about high-flying, fast-paced action. There is another side to it that involves a ton of submissions and groundwork. He was trained through the CMLL system, which utilizes knowledge they picked up from the Japanese to add Strong Style techniques to their training too.
Bandido seemed to master all versions of Lucha and would end up becoming a must-use act for promotions worldwide. This is not shocking, considering Bandido is a fourth-generation wrestler. His connections in Mexico were deep as a result, but he also had connections to places throughout North America, Europe, and Japan.
That led to seeing him pop up in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, Ring of Honor, Crash Lucha Libre, World Wrestling Association, Westside Xtreme Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, DDT Pro, CMLL, & AAA Wrestling.
He has spent most of his in-ring career with PWG, AAA, & now ROH/AEW.
Bandido has been a champion in pretty much every major promotion he worked for. What’s so interesting is that despite his incredible career so far, Bandido is just 28 years old. He has the potential to do even greater things in the future. To us, the potential combined with what he’s already done makes him an easy addition to our best under-30 pro wrestlers list.
Kaito Kiyomiya
- 2-time GHC World Champion
- 2-time GHC Tag Team Champion
- Open The Twin Gate Champion
- 2-time N-1 Tournament Winner (2018 & 2022)
If you really want to talk about someone with the potential to become a massive star in pro wrestling, we should tell you about Kaito Kiyomiya. Again, many Western audiences might not know as much about him. While Kaito has competed throughout Japan, he is mostly known for his impressive work in Pro Wrestling Noah. He was trained by the terrific Pro Wrestling Noah Dojo pretty much right after he graduated high school.
The 27-year-old has already managed to win the GHC World Championship twice. He won it in 2018 and held the title for 386 days, which is impressive for any title run, especially your first World Championship. Kaito won his second World Title in 2022 and held it for a respectable 175 days. Both times he won the N-1 Tournament to qualify to compete for the GHC World Title.
He also won the tag titles for Noah, as well as had a tag title run over in Dragongate, the Ultimo Dragon promotion in Japan. Ultimately, we do not know how long Kaito wants to work for Noah or if he aspires to work in front of more Western audiences. However, if you have not seen him perform yet, we highly recommend it as the young man is among the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet.
Jordynne Grace
- 3-time TNA Knockouts Champion
- 2-time WSW Women’s Champion
- Progress Women’s Champion
- TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion
- TNA Digital Media Champion
- 2022 TNA Queen of the Mountain Winner
- 2023 Lucha Libre World Cup: Women’s Division Winner
- First TNA Knockouts Triple Crown Winner
Years ago, Jordynne Grace was a respectable pro wrestler who proved she could hang with a lot of women. Yet she was not satisfied with how she looked, as she was a little heavier at the time. Grace made it her mission to get into shape, yet she far surpassed her goal and now has the body of a fitness model. Her in-ring work even improved during this point. Whether it was just from the veteran instincts getting stronger or because she was an even better athlete, Jordynne kept showing us greatness.
WWE fans got their first look at her during the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble match. Yet fans of TNA Wrestling have known for years that Jordynne Grace is incredible to watch. During her run with TNA, she won the 2022 Queen of the Mountain, captured the Digital Media Title, the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Title, and even won the TNA Knockouts Championship on three occasions. Her first title run went for 182 days, the second went for 208 days, and the third Knockouts Title run is ongoing.
Despite all of that success, she’s just 27 years old as of this writing. WWE executives already want to sign her, TNA wants to keep her, and so many other promotions want to use her. We could very well see Jordynne Grace a lot more over the next few years. The cool thing is that she’s already one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers in the world.
Dominik Mysterio
- 2-time NXT North American Champion
- WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion
- 2023 PWI Most Hated Wrestler Of The Year
Dominik Mysterio will tell you that he’s basically a 20-year veteran. That is probably because “Dirty” Dom is counting the first time he appeared in a pro wrestling ring, which we all know he did as a kid. Dom often makes it a habit of exaggerating how long something is, considering he did this when discussing his incarceration period a while back. He was in a jail cell for, like, 5 minutes before getting out. He acts like he was running the yard over there or something.
We won’t lie, we felt that Dominik was given a ton of special treatment. During the Rey Mysterio/Brock Lesnar rivalry years back, Dom had already been trained as a wrestler but the world did not know that. That is why the attack Lesnar did on Dominik was so much bigger. Then in 2020, the Mysterio Family was used heavily for content purposes. Dom mostly tagged with his father during his first few years in WWE.
Finally, he’d turn on his father and join Judgment Day in 2022. He would get hatred from the start and he then made that fester in fans ever since. This allowed Dominik to become the most booed man in pro wrestling. At the same time, he had improved dramatically and even won a couple of NXT North American Championships. He has proven to be invaluable and at just 26 years old, he is clearly one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers of our time.
Tiffany Stratton
- NXT Women’s Champion
- No. 25 Ranking In PWI Women’s 250 List
Tiffany Stratton has been getting a ton of love from WWE fans already in her young career. Only 24 years old as of this writing, Stratton has taken the industry by storm to the shock of many. Keep in mind that this young woman was mostly a gymnast for years, who played some other sports from time to time. Anything she put her mind to, she seemed to excel. That led her to seek out a wrestling school where she trained for a very short period before she took part in a WWE Tryout.
During that tryout, she impressed the WWE Staff. Due to some minor training, she seemed to do well in the tryout. Yet she also stood out due to being the complete package. She’s gorgeous, but one hell of an athlete. Stratton also seemed to pick stuff up very quickly, which can make for a perfect student. Tiffany was actually the only person signed from that tryout, making her the only person announced for the August 2021 Class of NXT Recruits.
She was on television wrestling within three months, then would get regular television time in 2022. Her improvement led to a ton of opportunities in 2023, including capturing the NXT Women’s Championship and having a rivalry with Becky Lynch. With Becky, she proved she belonged. Yet in her other matches, she proved to be incredibly innovative. You cannot miss a Tiffany Stratton match, because she makes them all exciting and she’s just getting started!
To us, this makes her one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers in the world.
Dragon Lee
- 2-time CMLL World Lightweight Champion
- 2-time ROH Television Champion
- CMLL World Welterweight Champion
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion
- NXT North American Champion
WWE has been trying to find someone who could be the next Rey Mysterio for over a decade. While Rey might still be performing for WWE, he’s closer to retirement than he ever has been. Funny enough, right as we get here, the company is able to sign Dragon Lee. For those unaware, Lee has been a big name on the independent scene for several years. He comes from a wrestling family, as he has two brothers (Rush & Dralístico) who are both very successful. Plus, they are all second-generation wrestlers.
Yet Dragon Lee wrestled all over the world where they mostly worked in North America. It’s likely you saw him work a lot in Ring of Honor, among other American promotions. Yet his biggest work comes from his time in CMLL & AAA Wrestling in Mexico.
Due to the CMLL affiliation, Lee also worked a good bit with New Japan Pro Wrestling as well. However, today he’s part of WWE and was fast-tracked to the main roster due to making a huge impression in his young career. While he did spend some time in NXT, he hit the main roster within roughly 6 months. Like Rey, Lee can work with everyone of every style. His lucha background makes him the perfect underdog as well as someone who can make anyone else look impressive.
He’s easily one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet. We’ve only seen a little of what he is capable of in the WWE so far, and the crowds are already loving his work.
Konosuke Takeshita
- 5-time KO-D Openweight Champion
- 5-time KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champion
- 4-time KO-D Tag Team Champion
- 2-time King of DDT Tournament Winner (2019 & 2021)
- 2-time D-Oh Grand Prix Winner (2019 & 2021)
The Japanese promotion, DDT Pro, has often been seen by Westerners as a comedic promotion. Yet that is just one small part of what this company offers. The comedic side is truly what made them stand out. The company mostly began as a parody of WWE. Especially its use of over-the-top gimmicks, which was ironically perfect for a Japanese audience.
When CyberAgent bought the company in 2017, comedy remained but DDT Pro also shifted to serious wrestling a lot too. When CyberAgent bought Pro Wrestling Noah, DDT would remain a sister promotion and the wrestlers crossed over a lot. One of the biggest names to come out of all of this was Konosuke Takeshita. The 28-year-old has an impressive look and incredible athletic ability. He was trained by the DDT Pro Team and would become a huge asset to the company ever since his debut in 2012.
Takeshita has since wrestled a lot in AEW since 2021, due to a deal between the two companies. Yet during his time with DDT, he won pretty much every major tournament in the company as well as the top prize in the company, the KO-D Openweight Championship. He captured this title 5 times and holds the longest single reign record at 405 days. His 5 title reigns rank him second all-time in total days holding the title. It is hard to find a more complete wrestler who can do it all, which is why we feel he’s one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet.
Deonna Purrazzo
- 3-time TNA Knockouts Champion
- AAA Reina de Reinas Champion
- ROH Women’s Champion
- GCW Women’s Champion
- TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion
- 2023 Lucha Libre World Cup: Women’s Division Winner
Deonna Purrazzo also barely qualified for this list as she’ll be 30 this Summer. The current 29-year-old is worthy of respect. We should also scold WWE a bit for having this incredibly talented wrestler and literally doing nothing with her. Deonna’s best work likely comes from her performances everywhere outside of WWE, ironically. While she has been great in TNA, managing to win 3 Knockouts Championships, she has also been great in a lot of other American promotions.
She’s been a star in places like ROH & GCW too. Yet her early work in the ECWA is also worth a mention, as she was a stud for them. In fact, her great work there led to opportunities elsewhere. She has worked all over the world and has the honor of saying she performed for most notable wrestling companies.
Her work in AAA Wrestling is still considered some of her best, as she had several great matches from 2021 to 2023 for them. While it was sort of a blink-and-you-miss-it situation, she also wrestled for Stardom and obviously served her time in the WWE system. She’s now in AEW and will be a major asset going forward as the company attempts to improve its women’s division.
Deonna is one of the best technical wrestlers on the planet today, man or woman. We’re very interested in seeing her continue to grow and show how incredible she is in the ring. For now, at least, Purrazzo is worthy of being called one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers alive today!
Bron Breakker
- 2-time NXT World Champion
- NXT Tag Team Champion
- 2024 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Winner
While it is clear that being a second-generation wrestler can help you get your foot in the door with a place like WWE, it is not as if the Steiner Family has a lot of pull there. That meant that the son of Rick Steiner, Bron Breakker, would need to prove he was worth hiring. That was not very hard for him, as this freakin stud of an athlete was an easy signing for WWE.
Bron was a star on the football field but also took part in the wrestling team at his high school. He won the 220lbs wrestling title in 2016, but he’d get a scholarship for football from Kennesaw State University. He had great success but could not hang at the next level. The Baltimore Ravens signed him as a fullback in 2020 only to release him the same year. That is what led to a decision to consider the family business.
Of course, he memorably hit the NXT system in a bit way with the move to NXT 2.0 in September 2021. Breakker is a great in-ring worker with an impressive power game. His incredible athletic ability has been his calling card. His rope running speed was clocked to be the same speed as Tyreek Hill when he’s running to catch a deep TD.
Of course, that big speed made him nearly decapitate himself in Feb. 2024, but that is another story for another time. This guy is scary good and he’s just 26 years old. We’ll be seeing him for years to come, but let’s hope WWE decides to get rid of that weird last name. He’s a Steiner, let him be that!
Hook
- 2-time AEW FTW Champion
Speaking of second-generation wrestlers, we have to talk about Hook. The son of the “Human Suplex Machine” Tazz has proven himself a lot in All Elite Wrestling. This kid is only 24 years old yet, like his father, Hook is proving he can hang in the ring with men much larger than him. He also brings another thing to the table that his father had, pure intimidation. Hook is said to be 6 feet tall, but this is disputed. He’s also around 180lbs at his legit weight.
Despite the lack of size, he still can make you rethink assuming you can do anything to him. Perhaps the match that made many people see him as a possible contender for major titles was a recent bout with Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship. Hook had been the FTW Champion, a title his father was known for during his days in ECW. When Tazz reintroduced the title in AEW, Hook would eventually go on to win it. It is an outlaw title and unsanctioned officially by any company it has been in.
Hook could win a title like that but could he hang with a veteran like Samoa Joe? He proved that he could and has been proving constantly that he’s just as much of a technician as his father was. Hook’s future looks incredibly bright, yet his future might not be with AEW long-term. WWE is said to be interested, and it’ll be very fun to see if he can succeed there. Considering his father was never really given much of a chance to do so.
Due to what we’ve already seen from him, it is pretty clear that Hook is one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet.
El Hijo del Vikingo
- AAA Mega Champion
- Crash Heavyweight Champion
- 2019 Copa Antonio Peña Tournament Winner
- 2024 Rey de Reyes Winner
El Hijo del Vikingo is a notable luchador who has been incredibly successful in his young career. As his name suggests, his character is essentially a Viking. Many AAA Wrestling stars have been known to have interesting characters, so it’s not shocking that Vikingo has done so well. He’s known to be very charismatic and brings that to his in-ring work.
While many might know him for his work in AAA, it’s possible most people saw him for the first time in 2023 when he worked a few matches in AEW & ROH. Others might remember him from a brief appearance in TNA too.
During his time in Mexico, he has been incredibly successful. As of this writing, Vikingo is still the AAA Mega Champion. He has held the title for over 800 days thus far and no one is sure when he will drop it. The Mega Title is said to be the top prize for the AAA Wrestling promotion. You could consider him their version of Roman Reigns basically. Except he’s far better in the ring than our Tribal Chief.
His reign is the longest single reign with the title. However, the reign is currently second in total reign time. Yet if he holds onto the title until the Summer, he’ll surpass El Texano, Jr.’s total time as champion. Vikingo’s 23 title defenses dwarf the amount of any other Mega Champion too. When we talk about incredible performers who can get it done in the ring, Vikingo is one of the best. That’s why we feel he belongs on our list of the best under-30 pro wrestlers.
Daniel Garcia
- ROH Pure Champion
- PWG World Champion
- 2022 PWG Battle of Los Angeles Winner
Daniel Garcia might not be the most notable name on this list, but he’s slowly becoming a star. Of course, he’s known for his work in Pro Wrestling Guerilla where he captured the PWG World Championship and won the infamous Battle of Los Angeles Tournament in 2022. While he still performs for PWG, he went on to wrestle for Ring of Honor & All Elite Wrestling as well.
Due to AEW Owner Tony Khan buying ROH, Garcia was able to go after ROH titles. This led to Garcia winning the ROH Pure Championship. This title had been contested under pure wrestling rules, making it sort of a World Title. The winner was seen as the best “wrestler” in ROH, technically. He’s already proving to be a valuable asset in the ring too.
WWE even saw him as talented, which is why they used him for some enhancement matches on 205 Live & NXT. Riding high from this, Garcia ended up getting a lot of other great independent bookings. Yet his career nearly ended shortly after. In 2019, he was in a car accident along with a few other wrestlers that hit some black ice. While Garcia survived, he broke both of his legs. Yet he returned to the ring just 6 months later.
Daniel is a great technical wrestler who could not only hang in the ring with the likes of Bryan Danielson, but he actually beat the “American Dragon” once too. The “sports entertainer” has a long career ahead of him. He’s one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers working today, and we’re excited to see more from him.
Carmelo Hayes
- 2-time NXT North American Champion
- 2-time Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Champion
- NXT World Champion
- NXT Cruiserweight Champion [last]
- 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament Winner
By the time Carmelo Hayes signed with the WWE, he was already a notable name on the independent circuit. He debuted on the Indie circuit in 2014, so when he signed with WWE in 2021, people expected him to be a star. He just needed a large platform to show he could be one. While his in-ring work has always been great to see, as he mixes his athletic ability with an innovative move-set, people actually questioned his mic work.
However, if you’ve seen anything related to Carmelo in WWE, he’s proven to be pretty darn good in that department too.
His work on NXT has been massive. Seriously, no one has done everything he has.
He began his WWE career on a high note by winning the Breakout Tournament in 2021. Winning this tournament gave him the right to challenge for the NXT North American Title, which he did and would win. Carmelo eventually clashed with Roddy Strong, the NXT Cruiserweight Champion. A match was made to unify those titles, which Hayes won giving him the last official reign of the NXT Cruiserweight Title.
Later on, Hayes won the NXT World Championship and was one of the most exciting champions in recent memory. Along with his friend Trick Williams, Carmelo was one of the hottest acts in the business. Today, he’s simply known as “HIM” due to his immense success. Due to all of this, it’s pretty clear Carmelo belongs on our list of the best under-30 pro wrestlers.
MJF
- AEW World Champion
- CZW World Heavyweight Champion
- CZW Wired Champion
- AAW Heritage Champion
- MLW World Middleweight Champion
- ROH Tag Team Champion
- MLW World Tag Team Champion
- AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring [2019-2023]
- National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame [Class of 2023]
What is there to say about MJF to praise his work that the man has not already said about himself? Due to how great he is at this point, it’s hard to say he isn’t as good as he’s claimed for years.
The most notable graduate of the Create a Pro Wrestling Academy, MJF started his career with CZW (along with several northeastern promotions). CZW is the last surviving company with basically an entirely hardcore card for their shows. He worked there for 3 years before going to Major League Wrestling. He held major titles in both promotions and had a lot of great matches. Yet his character and work on the microphone seemed to get him the most attention.
It certainly caught the eye of AEW. He has been working with the company since 2019. While he did not compete for titles as much earlier in his career there, MJF did go on to win the AEW World Championship and became one of the single best World Champions of any kind. He held the title for 406 days, the longest single reign with the title. He also holds the record for the most total days as champion.
MJF is also openly Jewish, and his great work was noted by the community. That led to his induction into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
Without a doubt, this man is one of the best under-30 pro wrestlers on the planet. MJF is one of the best pro wrestlers in the world, period.