10 Wrestlers With The Most Breakout Star Potential Right Now

1. Paige Van Zant

Paige Vanzant
AEW

Brandon Thurston recently deep-dived into Google in a bid to determine which wrestlers draw the most interest online, and in doing so, he discovered that, of all the wrestlers currently contracted to AEW, the most searched-for act hasn't even debuted yet: Paige VanZant.

There's a strange quirk to the data that means it doesn't necessarily indicate who is the most over, lucrative or potentially lucrative act, in that of all people, Paul Wight, who you forget even works there, lands at #2.

But there's more to it than this one isolated study; VanZant has a huge, loyal online following for Jim Ross cowboy hat emoji reasons, projects star quality, and has a sort of legitimacy stemming from her UFC career. She lost the big ones, but in a worked business, AEW can make her 8-5 record seem more impressive than it is. This is effectively what they already do with Dark and Elevation.

VanZant already looks the part, as shown by her brief physical cameos, and combat athletes tend to "get" wrestling so well. If VanZant is as marketable and promising as the early indications suggest, AEW has a real star on their hands - a real needle-mover.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!