10 Wrestlers Who NEED A Huge 2024
It's crunch time for these WWE, AEW and NJPW stars.
The dawning of a new year - no point on the calendar bristles with more possibility. From resolutions and personal improvement to career goals, the cracking open of a fresh calendar is usually a cause for unbridled optimism.
When it comes to these ten wrestlers, though, it’s less blue sky thinking and more last chance saloon. For reasons in and, more often, out of their control, they’re not where they’d like to be in the business right now. Whether it’s down to bad booking, a lack of TV time, or the cruel but reliable ticking of the clock, these superstars simply need 2024 to go their way.
For some wrestlers, this is a note of caution rather than a dire prognosis. For others, things don’t look so rosy, with momentum and the finite nature of wrestling careers very much against them.
There are so many things that can reshape and redefine a career in the squared circle, from fan interest to injury to sheer self promotion. Whatever it takes, though, these performers had better grab the bull by the horns, before it’s too late.
10. Ruby Soho
It’s been a funny run in AEW for Ruby Soho, who seems to have floated on the periphery of major success since she landed on these shores. Introduced as the Joker of a battle royale and given star treatment by the way of licensed music, WWE’s loss seemed set to be Tony Khan’s gain.
While she has enjoyed the spotlight from time to time, in two Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments most notably, Ruby Soho’s star has been consistently outshone. Most recently Toni Storm demonstrated that the best thing you can do if you’re a member of The Outcasts is to leave The Outcasts, becoming as over as she’s ever been by ditching the spraypaint and weird, adolescent behaviour.
The soapy stuff with Angelo Parker feels a step in the right direction, but not a particularly large one.
Soho has the attitude and the mic skills and has had a few decent matches, but if her time in AEW is going to be worth more than it was in WWE, she needs far more substantive booking as soon as possible. It doesn’t help that screen time for the women is in short supply to start with, mind.