TJR: 10 WWE Stars Under 30 Who Will Main Event WrestleMania
Ranking the WWE stars of the future by trying to forecast who could main event WrestleMania in the future.
The current WWE roster is full of outstanding performers in the prime of their careers in their 30s, along with many top stars in their 40s and even some people in their 50s. But what about the young talent? Oh, there are a lot of them, too.
As somebody who has reviewed NXT weekly for most of the last decade, along with Raw and SmackDown for decades, I feel like I have a good eye for talent. When it comes to the NXT roster, there are way more wrestlers in their 20s compared to the main roster, but there are also plenty in their 30s, too, so they don’t make the list.
If I was writing this earlier in the year, Logan Paul would have made this kind of list, but he turned 30 years old this past April. I definitely think he can main event WrestleMania.
For this column, I’m going to rank five women and five men who I think have the potential to main event WrestleMania in the future. When I list their age, it’s their age as of when this article is being written. Let’s get to it.
10. Blake Monroe
Age: 27
The former AEW Women’s World Champion, who was known as Mariah May, has fit in nicely on the NXT brand. Blake started as a face, but it didn’t last long since she turned on Jordynne Grace. Blake is natural in the heel role, and I think it’s only a matter of time until she’s the NXT Women’s Champion.
I wouldn’t expect a long run in NXT for Monroe because she has breakout star potential and a lot of TV experience, so she could thrive on Raw or SmackDown in the right story and role. I’m not saying she’s going to main event WrestleMania in three years or less, or something like that, but at some point in her career, she certainly will be in that main event spot.
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9. Austin Theory
Age: 28
This might feel like a bit of a stretch for the former US Champion and Tag Team Champion, but the guy is still under contract while he rehabs whatever injury he is dealing with. In terms of his look and talent in the ring, Austin Theory has it all. Where he might be lacking a bit is in terms of his personality. In NXT, he had a run as a goofy heel and then on the main roster, he was also a goofy heel with Grayson Waller. I think sometimes people get pigeonholed in a row, even though they could be doing a whole lot more.
My booking suggestion for Theory is to put him in a stable similar to the Seth Rollins group The Vision where he has Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed by his side. At some point, Breakker and Reed will be against Rollins and hopefully they become bigger stars for it. So why not Theory? He even has a history with Rollins going back about five years ago in the pandemic era. I’d make Theory more serious and see what he can do that way.
If Theory is on his own he’ll do fine, but I think in order for him to truly succeed, it would be a good idea to get him into a steel stable, let him grow from there and see him blossom into a main event player.
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8. Roxanne Perez
Age: 23
The former NXT Women’s Champion and Women’s Tag Team Champion will turn 24 years old on November 5th (one day after my birthday), and she is the youngest person on this list. Perez is one of the youngest people on WWE TV right now, which is a testament to how good she is.
Perez was always somebody who I thought would be a prototypical underdog babyface since she’s barely five-feet-tall, and that makes her easy to root for as an underdog. However, she has thrived as a heel, so I’m glad to see it because it shows she can be a character that is different from her personality.
There may be people saying that a 5’0” woman could never main event WrestleMania, and I get that opinion, but Sasha Banks headlined WrestleMania 3,7 and she’s not much bigger than Perez is. So the doubters I say, why not? Perez is going to be in the title picture for many year,s and she’ll become one of the biggest stars in the women’s division.
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7. Sol Ruca
Age: 26
The current NXT Women’s North American Champion and Women’s Speed Champion turned 26 at the end of August. Sol has only been wrestling on TV for about three years, and that includes a long break on the shelf due to a torn ACL. Sol was able to overcome that, she has gone on to have several entertaining matches and knows how to wow the crowd every time she’s out there.
I put Sol Ruca ahead of the likes of Roxanne Perez and Blake Monroe. You could say the other two women are more polished, and that’s fine. I honestly think all of them could be WrestleMania main eventers, but to me, Sol stands out more with her athleticism and the all-important it factor. That Soul Snatcher finisher she does, where she flips off the turnbuckle and hits a Cutter on her opponent, is one of the coolest finishers anywhere in pro wrestling.
Predicting Sol Ruca as a WrestleMania main eventer is a bet on her potential. I hope she does it.
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6. Je’Von Evans
Age 21
It’s hard not to be excited about the future of Je’Von Evans, who is terrific at hitting moves out of the air, he knows how to get the crowd behind and what impresses me the most is how much he sells. Selling moves the right way is so important because you need the fans to get into the match, have them show you sympathy and care when you make a comeback. Evans gets that and he’ll continue to get better as he gets more experience in the ring too.
Since Evans is only 21, I assume WWE management is in no rush to have him go to the main roster. He will probably get the NXT Title later this year, then have a long reign, and maybe by 2026 or 2027, he’ll be on the main roster. The dude is so young, so there’s still plenty of time.
My feeling is that Evans is a guy who should be a babyface for the majority of his career. At some point there might be a turn, and I hope he thrives at it, but the guy who loves to “get bouncy” needs to be a good guy. Evans’ WWE future is limitless, and I strongly believe he’s going to main event for many more years.
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5. Tiffany Stratton
Age: 26
The current WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton has thrived on the main roster during her two years, first as a woman trying to navigate on SmackDown, and this year she’s had an 8-month reign as the WWE Women’s Champion. Along the way, Stratton has beaten former champions like Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax and Hall of Famer Trish Stratus in some big matches.
When I think about Stratton long term, I believe in her a lot because I think she has the look and athleticism to go far. Where she is lacking a bit is in terms of promos. Remember the squeaky voice that Flair mentioned when they had their promo issues? It’s hard to ignore that. Personally, I think Stratton would thrive more as a heel instead of a babyface who must rely on saying, “It’s Tiffy Time” to get a pop.
If Stratton is a heel, she could thrive by having somebody watching her back and bragging about how pretty she is, while also mocking the competition for not being as good as her in the ring. The Stratton heel character would be easy to write for. With WWE lacking in terms of women’s heels a bit, I think Stratton could thrive in that kind of role.
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4. Dominik Mysterio
Age: 28
The current Intercontinental Champion and potentially future AAA Grand Champion, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, has been on the main roster for about five years, and he continues to get better every time I see him. Dom’s recent matches with AJ Styles impressed me a lot, and they showed that Dom absolutely has what it takes to be a top guy.
I think long term, Domi s better off as a heel, but there might be some fans that want to cheer him since he’s such a unique character that has been around some of the best performers in WWE. It actually wouldn’t shock me if he were very successful as a face for a year or two at some point. However, I don’t think it should be any time soon because Dominik is finally winning matches without cheating as much as he used to.
When it comes to promos, Dominik is solid when it comes to that as well. Plus, the fans boo the shit out of him every time he speaks, so it’s entertaining to watch. Working with AJ Styles will make him better. I want to see him against more babyface wrestlers. I’m excited to watch and review Dom’s future.
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3. Oba Femi
Age: 27
The 300-pound WWE NXT Champion Oba Femi is a lot older than he looks. Some dudes at 27 look like the biggest nerds who are much younger than they are, but Oba Femi has the aura of a giant who is ten years or more older than what he really is. Do you know that Femi has only been wrestling on TV for less than three years? It’s incredible to see how good he’s become in the ring.
When WWE signed Femi as a shotputter out of Alabama, I doubt they knew they would be adding a charismatic powerhouse to the roster. Since being in NXT, Femi has held gold a lot with a long title reign as the NXT North American Champion, and his current run as NXT Champion has exceeded 240 days. If he can hold it for four more months than it will be a full year as champion.
What separates Femi from a lot of the others is how talented he is in the ring. If you would have told me a guy who has been wrestling for three years would have dozens of matches over 3.5* and several over 4* I would have thought no way, but I’ve seen Femi do it. Any time he’s in a PLE match, he’s usually the one who shines the brightest. It happened in college for him and now for NXT as well.
For most of his NXT run, Femi has been a babyface, but I think he could thrive as a monster heel. Imagine Paul Heyman doing promos for him and putting over how dominant Femi is? It would be so easy to do. It doesn’t have to be Heyman because Femi can talk for himself, but I think Heyman is such an elite talker that he would be a boost to Femi for sure. Just like Je’Von Evans, I’m so excited about watching Femi’s future in WWE.
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2. Rhea Ripley
Age: 28
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see “Mami” Rhea Ripley on a list like this. Some people may not realize she is still under 30, but she’ll turn 29 in October. Ripley has been a mainstay on the main roster for the past five years, she has competed against the best and shined every time she is out there. Heel or face, Ripley has done well in any role she is put in. The fans absolutely love her as a face, so that’s a role should be in for a long time.
Rhea Ripley has already main evented PLEs in the past like Elimination Chamber 2024 in her home country of Australia and the women-only Evolution PLE from earlier this year. However, she has yet to main event a WrestleMania even though she has had championship matches at WrestleMania against big names like Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky.
I don’t think I’m overstating when I say that Ripley has it all in terms of in-ring ability, charisma, a strong ability on the microphone, and she knows how to get big reactions from the fans. They care about her because she cares so much about them. When she was on WWE Unreal, she talked about how nervous she gets before she goes out to the ring, but once she’s out there, she’s in her comfort zone.
A WrestleMania main event for Rhea Ripley seems likely. I think it’s going to happen within the next five years, and I’d love to see it happen for her more than once, too.
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1. Bron Breakker
Age: 27
The rise of Bron Breakker (who really should be named Bron Steiner) has been a lot of fun to watch. I was reviewing NXT when he started on TV in September 2021, when they rebranded it as NXT 2.0, and he was pushed as a main eventer of the brand for the next two-plus years. While on Raw, Breakker has been the Intercontinental Champion, and now he’s a part of The Vision stable with Seth Rollins, Bronson Reed, and the WWE Hall of Famer, Paul Heyman.
While the association with Rollins will be great for Breakker’s career whenever they end up feuding, it’s the association with Heyman that I love the most. We know that being a “Paul Heyman Guy” often leads to a lot of success in a wrestler’s career. Just ask Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and now Seth Rollins. Let’s not ask Ryback and Curtis Axel, okay? Anyway, being around Heyman and learning from him will be a wonderful thing for Breakker, who is getting more comfortable on camera every week, and I love when he trash-talks his opponents. That reminds me of his uncle Scott Steiner, who was a great pro wrestling heel, so as long as Bron keeps doing some Uncle Scotty things, he’ll be on the right path.
When I think of Breakker (who turns 28 in October), I marvel at his athleticism. WWE does a great job of putting over his athleticism by talking about his sprint speed, and his Spear looks better than perhaps anybody who has ever done the move. Where he has to improve is promos. He will get there because I think he’s learning more about showing his personality, and as he gets more comfortable with that, he’ll be able to cut main event-level promos. And if not, that’s what a great manager like Paul Heyman is for.
I’m very excited about Bron Breakker’s future in WWE because I believe he’s only scratched the surface of what he’s going to be as a WWE superstar. Just like many people on this list, the best is yet to come.
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In Closing
This was a fun exercise for me and I’m glad I wrote it. The talent roster in WWE is absolutely loaded with all different kinds of wrestlers who have different experience levels. Many people I mentioned on this list have been wrestling for five years or less, which means they have way less experience compared to the bigger names on the WWE roster.
I’m not sure how accurate this list will be. I certainly don’t know if I’ll still be writing about wrestling in 15 years, looking back on it and seeing how well these wrestlers are doing in their 40s. What I know is they all have bright futures and I look forward to documenting those futures in the weeks, months, and years ahead.
Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email [email protected]
Twitter/X @johnreport