10 Wrestlers AEW Plucked From Complete Obscurity

4. Leyla Hirsch

Britt Baker Wardlow
AEW

North American obscurity.

Leyla Hirsch had already left her mark on Stardom in Japan and wXw in Germany courtesy of a long stretch training in the CZW dojo, which perhaps explains how seasoned she looks in matches despite not yet hitting five years in wrestling total.

The 'Legit' current AEW star smartly used an awesome double springboard moonsault miss as a core reason for some of her toughest defeats as a babyface, obscuring the high risk move with a shooter aesthetic that will likely have its focus sharpened as a heel.

Her mean streak has already shown itself in a feud with Kris Statlander. She's pivoted from spirited underdog to angry underachiever, drawing yet more calls that she should join Team Taz and tear up the women's division waving the orange and black flag. As AEW's female division increases in quality and quantity, Hirsch will no longer be in a jobber-to-the-stars spot, but will be the one laying down the losers.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett