AEW has more than enough talent, titles, and television time to build up the next generation of stars on the roster. There isn't a lot of room at the top of the promotion, but some performers need their breakthrough moments. Three names can emerge from their current position and rise higher if they are given the opportunity to push through.
Athena
Athena is the present and future of AEW. She happens to be the longest-reigning champion in the history of Ring of Honor (ROH), and she is seemingly unstoppable in destroying anyone who comes for her title. The access to ROH for the average viewer is limited because it is streamed on a service opposed to being broadcast on a nationally recognized network television. She will come to AEW based on her goal to capture an AEW title, namely AEW TBS and AEW Women's World Championships.
It was announced that Athena will team with the AEW TBS Champion to crown the new AEW Women's World Tag Team Champions. This tournament will get more eyes on Athena as she is trying to reach a new level that will advance her career and break through to AEW Title success.
Kyle O'Reilly
Kyle O'Reilly won his biggest match in AEW so far by beating Jon Moxley by DQ. This may look strange in regard to the fact that it is a win by disqualification, but it is not. This win comes off of Jon Moxley saying "I Quit" in the main event of AEW WrestleDream 2025 PPV. Kyle (who is a submission-based pro wrestler) kept locking on submission after submission, and Jon did not want to tap out or quit after his big main event PPV loss.
Kyle O'Reilly is a former ROH World Champion, and he is no stranger to the main event singles-wise, but he has yet to win any title in his AEW career. This win means that his future has hope and ambition to be more fruitful in the future.
Jack Perry
Jack Perry is a part of the future, but he has not had a chance to be an AEW World Championship holder. He has held the AEW World Tag Team Championships with Luchasaurus and the AEW TNT Championship. His rise seemed to be getting better as the AEW TNT Champion, with big wins over Bryan Danielson and Darby Allin.
That rise seems to stop after losing the championship, as he disappeared. Recently, he has reappeared, tagged with Luchasaurus (no longer Killswitch) to become Jungle Express once again. This role gets him to talk more and show what he can do tag team-wise, but I believe that this is the path to get to the AEW World Championship in the coming years. Why? He has youth, time, presence, crowd interactions, and a catchy theme song that could see this man being in the main event of AEW All In in the coming years!