5 wrestlers most poised to become 2025's breakout WWE and AEW stars

It's a great time to be a wrestling fan — and arguably, an even better time to be a wrestler.

With promotional options popping up throughout the globe, and the spotlight on professional wrestling growing daily, the rising tide continues to lift all boats and give fans plenty to be excited about in 2025.

Mariah May was Uncrowned's Breakthrough Wrestler of 2024 after a stellar campaign that saw her switch from Robin to Batman as Toni Storm's protege and eventual rival-turned-champion. Now the foundation is already in place for several names to make similar headway in the new year. We'll circle back in December, but until then, here are the five wrestlers most poised to be the breakout wrestlers of 2025.

Stephanie Vaquer

There are admittedly several good choices among the women in NXT. However, Stephanie Vaquer is the most ready-made to be a bonafide superstar champion.

Vaquer has the look, talent and experience to take herself straight to the top in WWE. Still only 31, the proud Chilean has accomplished plenty in her career thus far, winning gold in NJPW and CMLL — the latter of which saw her became a staple in Mexico. Whether with a tag team partner or by herself, Vaquer is a fearless force.

The only thing hindering Vaquer going into 2025 is the language barrier as her English slowly improves. Thankfully, she possesses a strength of skill similar to Asuka when she arrived in WWE — her performances were so good that her words didn't matter.

Vaquer is an international star who can hang with the best of them. She doesn't need to be a champion right from the jump on the main roster, but by the time we enter 2026, she'll be a major player and have held WWE gold in some capacity. It just looks right on her.

AEW severely dropped the ball by not signing Vaquer when it had the chance. At least we got that awesome Mercedes Moné match out of her brief appearance — further proving her how damn good she truly is.

Trick Williams

Trick Williams has that vibe to him. You know the one.

NXT has been a platform that Williams has fully utilized to shine. The current NXT Champion is in the middle of his second reign and is a former NXT North American Champion. Williams wears the title and role of the brand frontman perfectly, but he's outgrown chef Shawn Michaels' kitchen.

Williams' latest feud with Ethan Page was a highlight to close out 2024 and nicely integrated some nostalgia with the use of ECW legends Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. No matter the dance partner, Williams can flow and do his thing.

With boatloads of athleticism and charisma, fans will be chanting "Whoop that trick" for years to come.

Ludwig Kaiser

The end of 2024 set Ludwig Kaiser up for a massive 2025.

Kaiser is becoming literally and figuratively his own man in WWE. The Imperium henchman alongside WWE champion "The Ring General" Gunther was implored to go and "do his own thing" at the end of the year, prompting Kaiser to chase Intercontinental gold. Despite falling short in his attempts, Kaiser's villainous ways and incredible character work further displayed his potential. He's always been solid in the ring — now it's time for him to truly grow into a singles lone-wolf contender outside the shadow of Gunther, which very easily could (and arguably should) come at the expense of his longtime leader.

I've said it once and I'll repeat that Kaiser is the James Bond villain of professional wrestling. With some more dastardly and surely selfish wrinkles to his character on the horizon, Kaiser can catch all the heat necessary to succeed and progress.

Jade Cargill

It's fair to say Jade Cargill has already "broken through" with what she's accomplished for her limited experience in the business. (She was one-half of Uncrowned's 2024 Tag Team of the Year, after all.) However, Cargill is on the cusp of peeling back even more layers to this onion to become a mega-star.

AEW brilliantly built Cargill into the unbeatable dominant champion she was upon her departure. As unfortunate as that exit was for Tony Khan's organization, Cargill did what was best for her. Once she arrived in WWE, she was immediately — and rightly — treated like a big deal, capturing her first WWE title as a tag team champion alongside perennial major player Bianca Belair.

Like Vaquer, Cargill has the look and can be that women's superhero-type figure to counter many of her fellow big stars and top wrestlers. While still a work in progress between the ropes, Cargill has come a long way, and getting reps in as a tag team with someone like Belair has only added to her development. In 2025, she'll break away and take her career to the next level.

Daniel Garcia

Daniel Garcia is similar to Cargill, having done a lot with plenty left. He's somehow still just 26 years old.

After going through a whole dancing gimmick, concern and disagreement rose throughout the community in regards to Garcia's use in AEW. He's since gotten on a better track with a TNT title reign and now rides into 2025 poised to be a part of some major feuds, whether involving his current title or otherwise.

Garcia is undeniably ahead of his time regarding his in-ring talent and there are still plenty of spectacular matches for him we haven't seen in AEW. Even the ones we have seen demand revisits considering Garcia's rapid growth in the squared circle.

Will Ospreay, Swerve Strickland, MJF, Adam Copeland, Shelton Benjamin, Kazuchika Okada ... the list is long for who Garcia brushed up with in 2024. A strong new year is around the corner.