AEW continues to be popular among wrestling fans. One reason is their ability to build new stars. Here’s a look at five potential future stars for AEW.
What a first six to seven months for AEW‘s Dynamite!
The show has been the harbinger of star-making moments for many a wrestler on the roster. I’m not just discussing the obvious ones in Cody, Chris Jericho, and Jox Moxley.
Think of Darby Allin, and his matches against Cody, Jericho, Moxley, and Sammy Guevara. Speaking of Guevara, think of his matches with the same wrestlers sans Jericho.
Most notable is Adam “Hangman” Page. After a tepid start as a white-meat babyface, he’s found his niche as an everyman cowboy who likes to have a little drink after work, something I’m sure is relatable to so many.
In looking at five future wrestlers with major star potential, I am considering a few things. In-ring ability and promo skills are to be expected, but I’m also looking at character, personality, and how all that coalesces into the connection (or potential connection) with fans. Even heels need to connect with the fans lest they be received with silence or go-away heat.
I am going to avoid naming current champions because as champions, there is a belief that they’ve already achieved a certain star status. I will also avoid the names above and others that are stars either due to their name power built before AEW (The Elite) and/or are being billed as major players (think “Mr. Brodie” and Lance Archer, for example).
I think all the names I have selected have not yet reached their star potential and/or are clearly on the road to superstardom. There is one selection (at least) where people might already consider them a star, but I will make the case as to why they have not hit their ceiling.
Also, even in the case of a pair, all my arguments will be for each of these wrestlers to be singles megastars. In pro wrestling, that’s what drives the notoriety and money.
Let’s start with a former AEW World Championship #1 contender.
5) Scorpio Sky
As part of So Cal Uncensored, Sky has played the younger, more athletic, and talented (at this stage) third wheel to veterans Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian. The latter two had teamed for years as The Addiction before the addition of Sky.
As I wrote in my now-laughable article on why Scorpio Sky could have been The Exalted One, I argued Sky had a star-making moment in the above video when he filled-in as an emergency injury replacement. He wrestled in slacks and eventually, one shoe!
He pinned then-World Champion Jericho in a tag match, and put up a valiant effort in his title match the next week in defeat. He reigned as one-half of the AEW Tag Team Champion until losing to Page and Kenny Omega.
With Dark Order seemingly focused on the elder members, now would be an opportune time for Sky to pursue a singles career.
Sky is talented in the ring, well-versed in the technical and aerial styles. He hasn’t received much time on the mic, but he acquitted himself well in the promo build with Jericho before their World Championship match.
Considering shows aren’t live and there are a lot of videos being played, why not do the same for Sky and the other wrestlers on this list to build them up during this time?
Sky as a singles star also helps address the issue of a lack of men of color in the singles division and in particular, the World Championship picture. Sky is still the only man of color to challenge for the AEW World Championship, and one of only two to main event Dynamite or a PPV in a singles match (Santana when he faced Moxley on the Feb. 12 episode of Dynamite).
Omega did defend his AAA Mega Championship against Guevara on Mar. 25 in the main event, but AAA matches do not appear to count towards AEW records, so I don’t consider this an actual AEW main event.
In any case, Sky has the makings of a star. He can do pretty much anything. I hope he has another run to a World Title match before 2020 is over.
4) Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford (Kipelope? Penelekip? The Fordians?)
If your reaction to seeing Sabian and Ford is, “I hate these two,” trust me, that’s exactly the reaction they want to elicit from you.
Sabian is so good in the ring considering his age. Remember when he and Guevara (both extremely talented young wrestlers) had the first singles match in AEW history? Even then, he was showing his arrogant, grating heel side that is now his forte.
He was kind of forgotten until he and Ford teamed up both in real life and on-screen. Ford, herself an underrated wrestler, really completes this package with her work as a physically-capable and willing manager. She constantly involves herself in matches (usually to the benefit of Sabian), and many times takes a bump or two.
She really reminds of AEW’s version of what Zelina Vega has been doing on RAW for the past year or so. Sabian would be OK without her, but it’s really her presence that elevates both of these wrestlers.
Sabian and Ford also play the overconfident yet fearful heel well. The look on Sabian’s face after Colt Cabana slapped him a few weeks ago is pure gold, a little bit of “How dare you?!” mixed in with “I better not mess with him or I’m going to get my a** kicked.”
A subtle aspect they both excel in: taking bumps. Sabian (and Guevara) take some wicked, wicked Cross Rhodes bumps right on top of their heads. Ford understands how to use her slight frame to take bumps safely while making it look like her body is utterly destroyed.
I would like to hear more promos from Sabian in particular, but what he has done in AEW has come off well. Much like with pretty much everyone on this list (except maybe one), just give them the space to succeed or fail on the mic.
Sabian (with Ford) takes on Dustin Rhodes tonight in the first round of the TNT Championship Tournament, and Rhodes has vowed to retire if he loses. Retiring Rhodes could be a moment-maker for Sabian considering the stature and respect wrestlers and fans have for “The Natural.”
3) Jungle Boy
If anyone seems tailor-made for stardom, it would be Jack Perry (or “Jungle Jack” as Jim Ross likes to say), the son of late actor Luke Perry. Refreshingly, he hasn’t been pushed as if he was the son of a famous actor.
Remember that Jurassic Express, as a team, was winless for months (Luchasaurus had a quick squash match victory during that time). This was made all the more obvious when he confronted then-champion Jericho as a challenger.
However, his match with Jericho above revealed the latent potential in Jungle Boy.
His lighter frame, even with the muscle he’s added over the past year, still makes for a believable beating. The fans really gained respect and admiration for Jungle Boy during the Jericho match, particularly his grit and heart to last over 90 seconds in the Walls of Jericho.
One of the youngest and least experienced wrestlers on the roster, his skill level and comfortability in the ring is uncanny. Even just six months ago, you could see him planning out the match in his head, like a novice actor who’s memorizing lines rather than acting the part. That has mostly disappeared.
He was obviously uncomfortable in his first real in-ring promo segment with Jericho, but also just needs that practice. If he’s anything like his father, he will have a steely charisma that requires very little talking, almost like a Jake “The Snake” Roberts. I am NOT saying Jungle Boy is Roberts, but only that he seems more fit to conduct promos/interviews in that style.
The fans also love Jungle Boy as an individual and Jurassic Express as an act. They already have a solid support base with fans that can see Jungle Boy become one of the workhorses of AEW.
2) Rey Fenix
I have made my utter disdain for the “cero miedo” taunt known wide and far; just kick them in the face instead of sitting there being taunted!
I digress. You might be asking why Fenix and not his elder brother? Yes, Pentagon Jr. has proven his star power before in the US by being the Impact World Champion.
Look, they’re both freaking fantastic, stupid taunt aside. I believe Fenix is actually better than his brother and has more charisma and star power. That is precisely why I didn’ select Pentagon Jr.
Fenix just seems to do at least one thing a match where I go, “HOLY S**T!” They call Gran Metalik “The King of the Ropes,” but Fenix walks, nay, runs across the top rope like he’s running on a treadmill. The amount of springboard actions he is able to conjure is downright befuddling.
I don’t consider any wrestler speaking a non-English native language as a hindrance. One, we shouldn’t be stupid or lazy enough to not read subtitles or wait for a translator. Two, at least considering myself, I am much more charismatic and myself when speaking English (my native language) than Korean (my second language). I suspect the same for most dual-language speakers.
Three, as shown with our wrestling goddess Asuka, the absence of English makes for a fantastically entertaining character and segment because they can really just do whatever they want. There’s usually enough English interspersed that viewers can grasp a general understanding of the situation.
Lastly, just watch the end of the match above where Fenix, without saying a word, oozes charisma in his denial of Nick Jackson’s handshake. His gestures, his mannerisms, and his facial expressions even under that mask are just so distinct and packed with messages that you don’t need to hear him speak.
However, when he does speak, just let him go to town in Spanish. There are so many fluent Spanish speaking wrestling fans that we’ll have translations almost immediately. Most importantly, it will allow fans to gain a better understanding of Rey Fenix the wrestler.
1) Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
Out of everyone on the list, Baker seems like the most surefire bet to be a megastar.
This is rather surprising considering just six months ago, fans were receiving her lukewarmly at best as a white-meat babyface. It may not have helped that as a face, she tried to incorporate flashier maneuvers that were/are probably not within her skillset just yet.
However, once she flipped the switch and became a heel by calling fans in Austin, TX “chubby, Whataburger faces” (and telling Schiavone he probably has “moderate to severe generalized gingivitis”), everything clicked.
Just listen to the vitriol she receives from fans for her fantastic heel promos.
As I mentioned in my “Booms/Duds” from last week, her vignette in the dentist’s office was really creepy, adding to her heel persona since she believes what she is doing is absolutely just and right. She not only understands how to be a bonafide heel, but how to incorporate her real-life dentistry experience into a viable wrestling character.
Those facial expressions she had in the match with Hikaru Shida above were well done. It’s almost as if seeing her own blood awakened some sort of maniacal entity in her. It just made her seem even more weird and possibly a sadomasochist.
Remember what I said about her move set as a face? Well, she hasn’t faced any issues as a heel (aside from a superkick that needs some work). She knows exactly how to make use of her dentistry knowledge in the ring and not just with her Lockjaw finisher. After “testing” it out on Yuka Sakazaki, it seems Baker has added the rope stomp(?) or molar stomp(?) to her repertoire as she used it to defeat Cassandra Golden.
Baker has gone from being what she probably thought people wanted her to be to now being a wrestler who is genuine to their character and experiences, comfortable in self. Her work as a heel is showing me that as a heel, she may fall into the category of “doesn’t need the title to be relevant.”
However, I do see a huge babyface championship run for Baker in 2021 or 2022. She has the charisma, promo ability, and look, and hopefully after more experience in the ring, she will also have the in-ring skillset to become a legitimate babyface character.
Those are my five. I even thought of adding Aubrey Edwards, but there tends to be more negatives than positives when referees become as popular as wrestlers so I decided against placing her on the list. The beauty of these kinds of discussions, however, is that pretty much any choice is defensible. The question now is: who are your five?